at the pension

I think tonight's going to be a listicle night, just a compilation of random thoughts before the hike begins early tomorrow morning. 

1. Ended up leaving at 3:30, not 3 p.m., but I got to the bus terminal in plenty of time. Tons of people on the subway. Social distancing is a joke, not to mention impractical in a populous city with a mostly functioning economy. So it was a crowded ride from Daechi Station to Gangbyeon Station. One reason why I try to avoid subways.

2. The bus was also packed leaving Seoul, but to answer the question of why so many people were buying tickets for the Daejin-bound bus, it's because many of the passengers got off before Daejin. The bus, it turned out, made many stops along the way. Mystery solved. Spent part of the bus ride writing a detailed email to my coworkers, notifying them of the feast I have left them in the office fridge and freezer, to be consumed after the Chuseok holiday. So technically, I have upheld my vow to feed the troops in September. 

3. Daejin was the terminus. I don't know what I was expecting when I got off (almost left my cell phone inside the bus), but I didn't expect complete silence. When the bus arrived, Daejin Terminal itself was closed, and not a soul was in sight. This was Bumfuck Nowhere. It's quiet near the DMZ. So: so much for the idea of taking a cab. It's raining here on the east coast, so I hoofed it 6.2 km in the rain, which started and stopped as I walked. Ended up arriving at Haedang-hwa Pension about twenty minutes later than planned. Plans. Hah!

4. The pension owner was nice, as she was before, and I find myself once again in the Herb Room, like last December. This isn't a motel, so no coffee, canned drinks, or little snacks are provided. Pensions are like small apartments: they often have a kitchenette where you can cook your own food, a bed (or Korean-style bedding), a bathroom/shower, and some space to breathe. You might get a fan and/or air conditioning. Haedang-hwa Pension has a kitchenette with a nice fridge, a set of flatware that includes tiny bowls for soup and tiny glass cups for tap water or whatever drinks you might bring. I'm thirsty, so I'm drinking tap water from bowls. I also somehow managed not to buy myself any bottled water before arriving at the pension, but I'm not worried about dying of thirst. Civilization all the way down, remember? There'll be plenty of seaside convenience stores. I'll reach them long before my thirst becomes crippling.

5. Here's a pic from after my visit to the hospital. I went there this past Thursday for my post-stroke checkup, and everyone was happy with my much-improved numbers. The girl who took my blood this time around was so automatic and professional about it that bruising was minimal. 

6. I also forgot to clip my damn toenails, so I have to do that tonight. And I don't have my big clippers, so I'll have to make do with what's in my mani-pedi kit. (Yes: real men secure in their sexuality all have mani-pedi kits.) 

7. Another thing I need to do is reconfirm every segment of my route and commit it to my Moleskine. I brought the Moleskine along because the east coast is a new trail for me, and I want to collect my stamps at every certification center. I'm not sure, though, whether the cert centers actually go all the way down to Busan. I stopped seeing them on Naver Map after about Ulsan. Maybe I just need to look harder. I'm also going to research any waypoint with a pension to check whether there are nearby motels. Pensions are nice, but pension owners usually prefer that you call ahead and pay in advance (which I do via wire transfer, using my phone). I'd rather stay at a motel. 

8. If I get to sleep by midnight and actually sleep five hours, it'll be a miracle. The first night is always a toughie. It's a new schedule, and the body complains. I can hack it, as I've done before; I can quickly adjust to a morning person's schedule. But "quickly" still means a day or two of adapting. Will be curious to see whether I actually do get up at 5 and get out the door by 5:30.

9. I debated whether to take along my resistance bands, and in the end, I decided to give myself a break from the training. I might try to do some knee pushups and Australian pullups when and where I can, but no promises. I'm on vacation now. 

10. My pack's base weight is 4.75 kilos, or about ten pounds (with 1.5 liters of water, that would be closer to 6.5 kg). There are expert hikers who navigate the Pacific Crest Trail with little more than ten pounds on their backs. It's weird to be packing this light, but both my pack and my body are significantly less heavy, so my feet are having a grand time.