Day 3, Leg 3

Today was really good, if a bit disappointing at the very end. Stats:

Distance: about 25.2 km

Time: from 6:10 a.m. to about 2:45 p.m., so about the same speed as yesterday

Steps: 37,537

Calories Burned: 4,163

Calories Consumed: 3,531 (deficit of 631, which isn't much)

I got a massive eyeful of the ocean today for sure. This made up for two days of annoyingly swerving toward and away from the coast. But during today's final two hours, there was a long section of the trail where I was near the ocean but separated from the coast by ridges of land.

With a new digestive rhythm that comes from weight loss, I decided to try having lunch en route. It wasn't bad, but the convenience-store clerk tersely asked me, when he saw my shirt, "Where's Yangyang?", which is the city where I've stopped for the day. I should have told him there was no room to squeeze the city onto the map serving as my shirt's design. Might as well ask where Sokcho was, since Sokcho didn't make it onto my shirt, either.

While we're on the topic of cities, I'll note in shame that I used to think the city of Gangneung was located much farther north than it actually is. I started the walk north of the Unification Observatory, passed through Goseong and Sokcho, and now, I'm in Yangyang. I think I finally hit Gangneung tomorrow.

As expected, the walk today was mostly through unbroken city. I get the impression that Korea's east coast is a bit like a Chile-shaped megalopolis, thinner and thicker in places, but essentially one long, giant, stretched-out earthworm of humanity draped along the eastern shore. There were one or two stretches where there were no public restrooms or convenience stores, but overall, I was in the thick of the urban sprawl. Cities and towns all bleed into each other. I still think it's going to be this way all the way down the coast. A shame that there's no escaping the noise and bustle of traffic. For much of today's walk, I was safely separate from traffic, but never away from it: I was almost always next to some main artery or other. 

Naver Map pulled me away from the official Gukto Jongju route about seven kilometers before I reached the final cert center for the day. I ended up picking up the official route again before the end, but this is a reminder that, when Naver shows you a "bike route," it might not necessarily be the one that the blue road signs are pointing you to.

And my original final destination for the day, Ashoka Pension (a reference to an ancient Buddhist king), was all booked up today. I didn't stress about it; the land is rife with other pensions, minbak, and motels, and I found a motel less than an hour after walking past Ashoka Pension. So I'm at the Blue Sol Motel which, at W50,000 a night, is about what I expect for a motel. I'm around 450 meters away from the official bike path, so I can get right back on the trail tomorrow morning. 

They're forecasting rain for the Yangyang-Gangneung region tomorrow, then again on Friday and over the weekend. Well, a late-September rain is all right, I guess; it's better than a demoralizingly cold October rain. Cold and rain are a horrible combination; for me, they suck all joy out of hiking and turn the day into a heavy slog.

All that said, here are 20 of the day's photos, with the promise to put all the pics up on this post as a long photo essay (probably with captions) once I'm done and back in Seoul.

dawn's early light (I started a bit after 6 a.m.)

sunrise and lighthouse

red crab... the whole coast has crabs

death-row inmates

first cert center of the day

worked hard to get this shot

tetrapods

bunch of slapped-together restaurants

big bridge

one of many bays

I liked the squid shadow. 

far-off island

part of the route away from the water

inlet

more tetrapods

curving beach

second cert center of the day

a blister on my right foot, which formed without pain

Can you tell I wear a bandanna?

You should see the other hand.

PHOTO ESSAY

dawn's early light

seaside town

They await their fate.

Red Crab Land

red crabs, looking pre-boiled

art

context

ship design

first cert center

going the right way

worked hard to compose this shot

harsh reminders

the long shadow

stalls galore... or Sukkot on steroids

approaching bridge

My buddy JW lives in Hillstate Apartments in Seoul, so I texted him this pic. 

Diamond Bridge

now Seorak Bridge

follow the path

Score one for the landlubbers! A resto serving pork and not goddamn seafood.

gar-BAAZH, as we used to say as kids

a most three-dimensional sack

TL; DR

the secret sign of the squid

shadow-play

Clear Sea Pension, very vertical

sculpture in a plaza

a more romantic sculpture in a plaza

I debated whether to take a picture of this. I loathe it for two reasons: (1) the "wear your mask!" message, and (2) the saccharine cuteness, which I can't stand. When kitsch is self-aware, I kind of like it When it's unironic, though, I hate it.

in case you don't know where you are

part of the tiny-house movement?

un dauphin

zee spidairs, zey are everywair!

pleasingly incongruous

one big fucking crab

Ramada. Now add an N at the end and celebrate!

more wall art

I stopped for breakfast here.

This shot came out way better than planned.

This bridge proved to be a bit of a shortcut.

teeny couch

ship of fools?

I hadn't seen a lot of the drying fish that had featured so prominently last December, so this was a surprise.

true Netizens

I almost never see gloves like this.

You know it's all about the boobs.

A park had a sculpture garden, so I went in and started clicking.

Some sculptures featured anatomically correct men. Here's one.

Here's another.

I didn't realize I was at the entrance for Seorak-san National Park. Last time I visited Seorak, I was a high schooler in the 80s.

What is this plant with the flaming petals?

cloud reflection

The path goes left.

I wonder what the story is.

I sat in one of these, expecting it to focus sound or something. Nada.

giant fish painted on the boardwalk

hello, fellow traveler

"On the wings of time, grief flies away." For some, maybe.

hints of a pretty dramatic death

front gate for Naksan Temple

some deterioration... termites?

I didn't enter the grounds.

really serious-looking 4H Club sign

Something about this setup fascinated me.

Hotel Dignity, eh?

Naksan Bridge (san = mountain)

I surprised myself by being able to read all the hanja here (gang weon oeguk-eo gyoyuk-weon), and I only then realized that the name "Gangweon" is actually quite cool, as it's the characters for "river" and "origin/source." The hanja says, "Gangweon Foreign Language Education Institute." In another life, I might've worked there.

Do any other Korean-readers out there look at this and see "Fat Bitch'? (Yes, I know it should be 애, not 에, to represent the short-A sound in English. Say it aloud to yourself, anyway. I bet you hear "Fat Bitch.")

The guy who makes these giant crabs must be rich off his ass.

I liked the way the Chinese character for "fish" was written.

second cert center of the day

The region is apparently famous for its phallic mushrooms.

At the bottom of the stairs is one version of many such signs I've seen on the coast. It asks you to clean your shoes of sand before entering.

It was a 450-meter walk off the main road to the motel I eventually selected.

Halt! Who goes there?

Blue Pine Motel

ruptured snake carcass

entrance

the room and the view

just the view

already-battered feeties

hand 1

hand 2