Return to Haeinsa

In my time in Gyeongju, I discovered two passions that would become prominent activities in the weeks after returning. Passion number one, which I had mentioned before, is biking. I have been riding my bike all over the place and wonder why I didn't buy one sooner. Passion number two has been mountain climbing. I had really enjoyed climbing Namsan and realized that this is an activity I could enjoy more often. Each weekend since has involved hiking a different mountain.



A couple of weeks back I had decided to return to the scene where I had lost my camera last summer--Haeinsa. I had been longing to go back ever since. So when my friend and fellow mountaineer Gina suggested we climb the mountain there, I jumped at the opportunity. This is the hotel where I stayed last summer and two weeks ago. The same rustling mountain stream made the familiar melody audible through the open hotel window. The weather was beautiful all weekend, and the turning leaves made the scenery all the more breathless.


Around 10:00 Saturday morning, we embarked on our mountaineering expedition. We followed this road, with the sonorous stream on the right, to the temple and hiked up the mountain. This area is a wonderful retreat from the noise and grime of the city. I had taken a long walk down this road last summer in the evening, savoring the serenity and lack of neon signs. The mountains are usually good for this. It was an added bonus to have such lovely weather so late in the season.



The goal for Saturday was to climb to the peak of Gayasan ("san" means mountain in Hangul). Gayasan is just over 1400 meters high and is the highest peak in the area. The climb was steady and took a little less than 3 hours. Along the way, we saw the temple and some other treasures. We just passed through as we planned to visit the temple the following day. Therefore, I will post the pictures for this later. For now, it's all about the mountain. Here you can see yours truly crouching on the highest peak of the mountain. Don't worry, mom, it's not as dangerous as it looks.

Next we have the two mountaineers posing next to some rock at the peak. If I took a picture of every engraved stone I saw this weekend, it would have taken three memory cards. It was fairly late in the afternoon, so the crowd disappeared down the mountain rapidly. In no time it was just us on the peak, sans noise, Korean chatter, dirt, lights, cars, children, and general mayhem. This, ladies and gentlemen, is why I come to the mountains. Not to mention the mountain air is good for the spirit and well-being. That's what Mr. Kwon told me in Gyeongju.


It began to get a bit late, so we began our descent. We had decided to take a different path down, and figure out how to get back once we got to the bottom. The trek down was a brisk, rapid one. It was getting dark, so we didn't want to lolligag. We bounded down the mountain in record time and reached the bottom just as the last vestige of daylight disappeared. However, there was a slight problem when we arrived--we didn't know how to get back. There weren't any taxis around, nor were there buses, so we decided to walk. We followed the road until we reached an intersection where we could go left or right. I was pretty sure right was the way to go, so we hung a ralphie. After walking for a good half-hour, it was apparent that we weren't exactly sure where we were. I was confident we were going in the right direction, but had no idea how far it was. Keep in mind that we had just spent six hours hiking a mountain and had our equipment. A long walk was not the most appealing option at this point. Therefore, we decided to hitch a ride. It is a testament to Koreans in that you can hitch a ride from a total stranger and feel no danger whatsoever. A nice young gentleman picked us up and informed us that we were about 20 kilometers out! The kind sir drove us all the way to the hotel, and was a knight in shining armor in our eyes. If we would have walked, we probably wouldn't have arrived until after 10. Instead we arrived at 7:00 just in time for a delicious dinner. This episode made me realize the value of knowing some Korean. Gina is very competent in this department, so that evening at dinner I enlisted her help to teach me the language. Three weeks later, I'm nearly 100% fluent! Can you believe that? Don't.