more mountains, less mondays

a phrase i resonated with strongly (but just this week, i normally enjoy mondays). last weekend, i went with seoul hiking group to juwangsan and the east coast of korea. i took a train up to seoul to meet the midnight bus on friday. and we drove and drove through the night. no sleep on the windy roads. we arrived well before sunrise at jusanji lake, pond, reservoir, call it what you will. we parked it for an hour or so, sleeping bags spread at random, taking over, taking space. some napped, some snacked, some were in a daze. as the sun started to rise, the lake began appearing among misty mountains. steam from the warm water blew across the lake in waves. and this is what we saw: 

afterwards, we started hiking through the valley, across and back over a river, stream. warned to watch for snakes, we saw four babies. where were the mothers? crossing, crossing, slipping on rocks. i fell several times. but the valley was lush and a green i haven't seen in a long while. even now, i crave that green. trail started upwards. steeply. for an hour. climb, climb. through the beautiful trees. feeling like i was in the appalachians or the pnw. to the peak. at the top. jump across to another rock. stand alone. lowered myself to the edge. no fence, no boundary. the edge. and i sat. and admired. and who could not be amazed at that view.

back down. the long way. to the waterfalls (there were three). in the fairy forest. straight out of game of thrones or the elves domain. ghostly. beautiful. eerie. 

waterfalls. rocks. canyon. to the bottom, again. treated with apple makgeolli and various kinds of pajeon (pancake). mushroom and spinach. another round of makgeolli. back on the bus. to the coast. for a coastal jaunt along these rocks.

back on the bus. to a middle-of-nowhere town. with a beautifully empty beach. to camp. for the night. bonfire. fireworks. sleeping to waves. waking to the sun. peaceful. rejuvenating. 

my new favorite view in all of korea. the mountains go for miles and miles.

one of my favorite trips. i always dread wrenching myself into sleepless weekends. but afterwards, i am always so glad i did it. especially this weekend. it was worth the restless nights. the long drives. the windy roads. for this. climbing mountains. seeing things. seeing far and seeing wide. and meeting like-minded people who enjoy this just as much, and get just as much out of it, and are in awe, too. because we 

talk about these mountains for hours and days later. they become a part of us, of me, these people, these weekends, these mountains. these glorious mountains and trees.