Jirisan Hike

Jirisan is the highest peak in mainland South Korea. Naturally, I felt that I needed to conquer it. This was a hike that is supposed to take four and a half hours. Jeepers! Anyway, the hike was brutal but about halfway up there was a Korean temple. It was nice to take a little break and look around the temple and see the monuments that they had there. The second half of the hike was very difficult. Once we got within two kilometers of the peak, I started getting leg cramps. At this point, I was too close to the top to stop and quitting halfway through just is not my style. Eventually, I reached the top which had a spectacular view and the air was clear. I had packed a lunch and sat to enjoy it at the top of the mountain and give my legs a chance to rest and recover. I made it up the mountain in only three hours, so I had earned a little rest time. Once we reached the bottom, we decided it would be a good idea to go to a jimjilbang which is a Korean spa. The Korean spas have a sauna, a cold pool, a warm pool, and two hot pools as well as showers all around. Everyone in there is naked as a jaybird. It was eerily similar to the old guys at the YMCA who stroll around with their woodpeckers swinging about without a care in the world. Apparently, old men everywhere enjoy showing off their wrinkly elephant trunks to complete strangers. The spa was actually quite nice and there were not too many people in there and I think it did wonders for my legs’ recovery.