Day 13, Leg 8

Only seven more days to go.

Tomorrow morning, I'll start off early in the light rain to Gumi City, where I'll stay at the Libertar Pension next to the Gumi Dam. It'll be a 32K walk, but I'll be staying only one night before pushing on the following day to Sangju City and the Bonghwang Motel close to the Nakdan Dam. After that dam-less stretch at the beginning of the walk—excepting the Nakdong River Estuary Barrage (Nakdong-gang Hagu(t)duk, 낙동강하굿둑)—it's pretty much dams the rest of the way, culminating in the relatively huge Andong Dam at the very end: my eventual goal and stopping point. 

As painful as yesterday's walk was at the end, I've noticed a subtle shift in my attitude from Am I gonna survive this? to When I finish, I'm gonna... —which is a nice change. I can't say I've had any real cardiac complaints except for yesterday, after downing a truckload of carbs at the end of my walk. Carbs will almost certainly be the death of me, and I got a little breathless during the final stretch. Eating, then walking right after, is a recipe for difficulty. It also messes with your blood-sugar levels. Otherwise, experts agree that exercising in a fasted state (which I had been in before my carbfest) can bring certain benefits so long as you're not exercising while starving.

Today, Saturday, is mostly about resting, but this morning, I had to do my traditional walk across the dam and up the hill (Koreans would call this a mountain: Gwanho-san/관호산) to that observation deck. The mix of stairs and dirt path up the hill gets steeper as you go. I could tell my balance has gotten worse since last year, and I was glad I'd taken my trekking pole along with me for stabilization and leverage for those especially tall steps that require a little hop to get up. Koreans don't design their paths for convenience. Then again, Koreans are generally more athletic than us clumsy, elephantine Americans.

Since this is an off-day, I'm dumping nearly a hundred images below. No dead or living snakes, no mantises, no spiders, no bike-path images—just a walk across a dam and up a steep hill, and some images from the observation deck at the hilltop. I promised you ten images on walk days, mainly so I don't have to do a ton of work when I'm tired after a day on the trail, but on rest days like today, I have less to do and more energy, so I might as well unload. Enjoy.

I'd say "edible-looking bush" in the parking lot, but you might get the wrong idea.

verdure in my motel's parking lot

Chilgok Patriots & Peace Memorial

venerable vegetation in front of my motel

marker for protected tree

Some people just don't fucking care. Assholes.

an old marker by my motel (for a grave?)

I think I recognize maybe four Chinese characters.

Construction blocks the normal entrance to the dam's admin building.

A banner by the admin building apologizes for inconvenience caused by construction.

memorial to patriots(?)

wide shot before stepping onto the dam

It only wants to hug you... and prevent you from killing yourself. You're a precious person!

"Chilgok Dam"

a look over the side

eo-do/어도 (lit. "fish way"), i.e., a fish ladder

dam admin building, seen from the dam

I at least caught one bullet train.

Floosh—the Nakdong must flow.

Danger Guy, canceled and falling

catching the floosh

Every dam has its own particular look.

Danger Guy shows the pitfalls of falling.

floosh

floosh

Concerned mom to suicidal child: "Of the miracles I have experienced and will experience, the noblest is certainly you."

They look like feminist mallards to me.

part of the system for raising the sluice gates

"When you can't see any hope in living, don't suffer alone—call us. You're not alone anymore. At your side: 1393."

that hill, that park, that observation deck

"Wait a second! What were you thinking? Wait! Try to think this way: Let's go! Let's go! You can do it!" Hope Call Center, 129.

First three lines: "Did you eat? Are you doing okay? Is the wind really nice? How was your day today?"

rescue equipment

drowning Danger Guy

looking toward the west bank

water, swirling and churning

those three (four?) bridges I'd crossed under to get here

another floosh

almost all the way across

They've changed out the old-style steps for newer ones.

path, then stairs

steep

The path changes character.

An observation deck partway up the hill; I didn't stop here.

trail, not steps

observation deck, a different angle

Do you see the large, metal staples pinning the burlap to the earth?

still a ways to go

old-school-style steps

take the thick-woven burlap in

almost there

the most ignored sign in Korea (people walk willy-nilly)

final ascent

wide shot facing northeast

rail bridge, but no bullet train

looking across the river

looking down

cutesy stone benches

Two old guys finish their exercises before completing their ascent.

Danger Guy vibrates ecstatically as he falls.

a map of the visible area

a look down a slope

Danger Guy shows why you should be careful on stairs.

These columns always remind me of You cannot hide forever, Luke.

looking across the "courtyard"

those East Asian pines that figure in brush paintings and other art

Looks like a place to assemble troops.

No more "Remove your shoes" sign.

Behold the deck (or as the Kiwis might say, Behold the dick).

southeast

northeast

looking out

What sort of care is involved in maintaining this floor?

looking across the way

Danger Guy demonstrates "Don't lean."

backstage secrets

the line... of pines

This blue-green color scheme is common in Korea.

gold dragon, probably checking stock prices

See the lotus? That's associated with Buddhism.

phoenix = 봉황/bonghwang, the name of an upcoming motel on my route

A dragon. A lot of kings wanted to transform into dragons.

phoenix (not really a Buddhist symbol—more like royalty)

the path back down and the dam in the distance

The letters say 칠곡보, or Chilgok Dam.

looking down upon my realm

a view along the deck... or as a Kiwi might say, along the dick

Okay, I lied. Here's one dead hornet.

my location in this park

older, grayer, and fatter

I imagine that Muslims love the imagery.

the large, jumbled font announces this as Gwanho Mountain Fortress Park

the story of Gwanho Mountain Fortress (관호산성)

#5 is the observation deck, called Gwanpyeongru/관평루/觀平樓

Yes, mountain bikers, there is an MTB path. Probably more than one.

far-off rail bridge, with KTX(?) bullet train

apartment complex on the mountainside

in context

the dam's eo-do/어도/魚道/fish ladder again, with no people this time

Just because, I tallied up the steps during my hill climb. I came up with:

• 33 steps
• path
• 14 steps 
• steeper, longer path
• observation deck (전망대)
• 75 steps 
• steep path
• 10 wide/tall steps
• steep path
• 5 big steps
• path 
• 6 big steps 
• grassy path to final set of stairs
• 33 steps—arrive at the hilltop
• 18 steps up to the observation deck

That was the sequence for the ascent. I also have a set of photos from yesterday, taken when I was arriving in town. These statues have been here since I started these walks in 2017, and I only just bothered to read the explanatory description, which left me with a lump in my throat.

A circle of people surround a central, abstract-looking marker. The people are forlorn, and they have the look of refugees heading to a hoped-for home. My mother was in one of those refugee lines once, back when she was a little girl in the 1950s. Anyway, for the first time since 2017, I bothered to come in close and read the central marker. Very roughly, it says:

We will not forget the yearning and pain of the many people who, through the flow of their blood and sweat, worked for the protection of Korea's freedom and peace.

My buddy Charles can doubtless provide a much better translation. I found this simple statement touching, and very much in keeping with the theme of hard-won peace seen throughout the Chilgok region in various memorials, exhibition halls, and outdoor displays. A cynic will note that the wording carefully glosses over the issue of how the Korean people were saved and who saved them, but the refugee lines were real, as was the native desire for peace and rebuilding—a desire that has resulted in a global powerhouse that remains, to this day, peaceful. Sure, it's an imperfect peace, and from an American standpoint, it's required the sacrifice of certain crucial, cherished freedoms, but overall, I'd say the good here outweighs the bad.

And let's end on a humorous note with some shots of the vaguely provocative sculpture gracing the stairwell of my current love motel:

I've always loved her huge Popeye arms.

flute in the shower or sauna

damn, we like 'em chunky

Cupid/Eros sets the tone.

I elected to just do a sponge bath today instead of a shower. A shower would mean having to (1) undo my current set of foot dressings, then (2) put on new ones, which is a 30-minute-long chore. I'll shower at Libertar tomorrow.

And now: some YouTube, a resistance-band workout, some reading, and maybe a Substack note featuring images from the walk not shown either here or on my main blog.