Day 12, Leg 12

I've decided to start blogging this entry before even reaching my destination. I just got my stamp at the cert center, and I have another 4 or so kilometers to go to reach my pension, 바닷가 펜션, or Badatga/Beach Pension. The forecast for rain says it's coming in the early afternoon, so I'm going to have to get moving soon. It's around 10:30 a.m. as I write this. 

Today, to cut down on delays, I elected to try John McCrarey's occasional technique of taking a photo every thousand steps. I'll list my stats, put up the photos, and then afterward discuss my thoughts on the appropriateness of the technique for this walk.

[picking up again at 1:45 p.m.]

Stats:

Distance: about 26 km, after some extra walking

Time: 377 minutes total for the day

Steps: 39,180

Calories Burned: 4,970

Calories Consumed: 4,744 (deficit = 226)

PHOTO ESSAY

5:25 a.m., and only street lights to show me the way

1,000 steps

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

10,000

11,000

12,000

13,000

14,000

15,000

16,000

17,000

18,000

19,000

20,000

21,000

22,000

23,000

24,000

25,000

26,000

27,000

28,000

29,000

30,000

31,000

32,000

33,000

34,000

approx. 35,000

Despite my narrow calorie deficits, I think MyFitnessPal is again underestimating my burn and overestimating how much I'm consuming. I say this because I have good news: I am finally able to tighten my belt a further notch. I swear, it's probably all this hill work I'm doing. Of course, as you see above, my gluttonous reaction, today, to yesterday's austerity has almost zeroed me out. Will I be able to reach that belt hole tomorrow morning?

The day started out gloomy, but as the hours progressed, the promised rain never showed up. The morning was a weird mix of lingering nighttime coolness and slightly warm humidity, if that makes any sense. Again, no sunrise; I was behind a ridge, and it was too cloudy. 

Things began fairly level, and when the hills came, they weren't anywhere near as bad as yesterday, except for one nasty rise that was, thankfully, very short. 

I stopped at a convenience store in the morning and loaded up on carbs. The friendly cashier, apparently having seen my tee shirt, gave me a strawberry milk for free. Every once in a while, friendly folk will offer random kindnesses to a traveler. I've also received extra plastic spoons and chopsticks from some people. Generosity is always a pleasant surprise. As much as I pick on my mother's culture for its flaws, I am mindful that Koreans are more than their flaws.

I called ahead to Badatga Pension, my planned destination, and discovered they weren't accepting guests at the moment. But the region was full of pensions, so I walked a bit down the road and discovered Sonamu Pension (Pine Tree Pension). At W70,000 for just me, the place is a steal.

The negatives first: the A/C is unplugged and can't be plugged back in without an extension cord, and there's no extension cord. There are three bathrooms, but only two have toilet paper. No bath towels. For a family looking to use plates for dinner, there are no plates. Neither bathroom has a sink. Most of these negatives are immaterial to me, as I always come prepared.

As for the positives: the cabinets may lack plates, but they're fully stocked with bowls and cups. To the side are plenty of spoons and chopsticks. The lower cabinets are full of pots and pans and heavy-duty implements for food prep, from chef's knives to spatulas to cutting boards. There are two bedrooms, one Korean-style, one with a bed. As mentioned above, there are three bathrooms. There's an electric fan. At a guess, this room would cost more were it tourist season, and if I had come with a family. All in all, I highly recommend this place, even if it is a bit rough around the edges.

But the neighborhood is fairly lacking, so if you come here, bring your own food. I saw only one or two sashimi restaurants in the area, and only one working shyupeo (슈퍼), i.e., a little convenience store. 

Seems I got here in plenty of time to avoid the rain, assuming it rains at all today. I see they're still forecasting thunderstorms and rain from this afternoon through 5 a.m. tomorrow morning, so I may be heading out, tomorrow, right as the rain is ending. Then the rest of tomorrow is partly sunny, with rain a possibility (50%-ish) from the 5th through at least the 13th of October—in this region, at least. I hope I can avoid some of that as I continue to move south. October 13 is the final day of this walk. I'd hate to end on a rainy note, but what will be will be.

So all in all, a good walk today, if not ideal. Some cloud, some sun, some threat of rain, but no rain yet. Some hills, too, but nothing like yesterday. So let's talk about photographing things every thousand steps.

I don't know what you thought after going through the day's photos, but I ended up thinking, never again.  Don't get me wrong: when John McCrarey did this on his blog, he got some really interesting shots, and I encouraged him to keep doing that. I'm not saying anything against John or this technique. In my case, though, I think my photos show little more than the characterless road ahead. Whenever I stopped, every thousand steps, there was usually nothing interesting to photograph. Meanwhile, I passed by all sorts of stuff that I would normally photograph, and I think the day's slide show suffers from the dearth of eye-catching sights. I passed some massive spiders near the end of my walk, and I really regret not capturing them on camera. Among other things. And now, all those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. 

So why'd I try this technique at all? Because the forecast was originally for early-afternoon rain, and I didn't want to tarry. I thought that, by taking a shot every thousand steps, I'd walk faster and get through the day quicker. I was right, but the cost was heavy, aesthetically speaking. No spiders, no gloves, no Kevin-shadow, no dead snakes or frogs, no live insects, no bus stops to let you know where I was on the trail, no colorful or dilapidated houses, no weird sculptures or memorials, no shrines, no funny Engrish, no awesome sights along the beach, none of that (and I saw all of that today). So, lesson learned: I'm going to go back to photographing things my way. 

Anyway, that was Day 12. Tomorrow is a long walk at a bit over 30 km (one of two 30+K walks on this trip). I'm going to try to leave this pension around 4:30 a.m. so I can arrive at my destination in a timely manner. And who knows? Maybe I'll see a sunrise tomorrow.

ADDENDUM: the 4 p.m. rain arrived.