The view out our window (this photo), is a beautiful one. Since we live half way up a mountain, we have a wonderful view of “The Dream Bay” below us, and a mountain up behind us. On a beautiful autumn day, we embarked to see both. Our walk down the hill toward the bay and the downtown area was for practical reasons- we needed haircuts. But then, after a quick lunch, Kurtis talked Susie into a hike up the mountain. Getting to the entrance of the hiking trails is a pretty steep climb; however, it is a journey made almost daily by the older population here to maintain their good health.
When we reached the park that is the starting point for the trails, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to pose in the most touristy fashion with some interesting wood carvings. Who does the best imitation of a jolly wood carving?
As we hiked up the winding trail—half dirt path, half wooden staircase— the first thing we noticed was the presence of wildlife. Back home, little critters are a constant companion, whether in countryside or city, but here, the only animals you’ll find in the city are wild cats. Other than the occasional crow, there are hardly any birds at all in our area. It was nice to hear birds chirping again up in the mountain woods.
Hiking anywhere in Korea will eventually bring you across these little drinking spots. The brightly colored red (sometimes blue) plastic ladles alert trail goers to complementary fresh stream water via a humble dripping pipe.
Here’s a few photos of us on our courageous climb.
Once we reached an inviting resting platform at a major look-out point, we braved the stilted construction, where we were joined by an elderly couple who stopped for a snack. At first we sat silently seemingly going unnoticed by the new arrivals, until the woman peeled a big persimmon with her knife in ten seconds flat and wordlessly offered us slices along with some grapes on a newspaper. We tried to reciprocate by offering the only consumables we had with us- some tiny dark chocolate cubes- to no avail. We were rewarded for our efforts with a smile though.
We took in some beautiful views of the city below and hiked back to the Design Gwan, which was just a speck from our view on the mountain.
That looks to have been quite a climb. Do you know what the elevation was up there at the observation deck?
The top of the mountain, called Muhaksan is at 761.4 Meters above sea level, so that’s about 2498.0315 feet above sea level. The observation deck is not at the top. It’s just under 3/4 of the way up, so the elevation figure is a bit lower than than the near 2500 figure.
Oh you guys…this made me laugh outloud!
It’s a tough call … but I think Susie gets the prize for the best imitation of the wood carvings. I am so enjoying reading about your adventures … keep it up okay!? What an experience!
Just looking at this again….laughing out loud again!
Well when you come to visit we’ll go back up there and each pose by one of the statues. Then we’ll have the complete set!