A Weekend Adventure

The weekend started earlier… earlier than any weekend should.  At the unholy hour of 5:00 a.m. (give or take a few crusty-eyed minutes) my friends and I left Pohang and embarked on a cross country trip to climb the challenging rocks of Yongseo Pokpo.  It was myself, Courtney, Mary, and Stefan all packed like sleepy sardines into a small 5 seat compact car with naught but packs, our climbing gear, a handful of over-played CD’s, and a pitifully poor assortment of maps and directions.  An adventure much like any other.

Enjoying the sun in some random town.We made it there with only a little trouble.  The map we had was pretty awful, and the directions sparing at best, so we had a few moments of near-panic as roads changed, split, and ended with no warning from signs or the directions.  But, thanks to a few lucky turns and a little bit of crazy awesome instincts (mine… whoo!), we made the right turns and eventually found the coffee shop that marked the entrance to the trail.  Actually, the hardest bit was right at the end after we got off the highway.  It had taken us 7 hours with stops and a little bit of exploring (including a failed quest to ride a horse through the hills), and we were tired!  We stopped at the coffee shop for a handy caffeine injection and hiked up to the wall.  It was a very nice place, out of the way and with only a few other people… a welcome change from other sites we’ve visited over the past few months.

The ‘waterfall’.  A wee bit dry.Since we’d come to climb, it seemed pointless to do anything but!  We got our gear out and Mary led the first route like a champ.  After she got the quick draws/rope in place, we tried our hands at the route.  It was a 5.10a (maybe a b?) and one of the harder routes I’ve attempted… especially the first bit.  It was so tough for me – and my conditioning so poor – that even though I eventually got past the hard part, I didn’t have the strength to make it up the rest of the wall.  I actually felt like I was going to puke, so I gave up… something I HATE doing.  Attempt #1 = failure.

Mary leading.  The furthest I got on this run is that
cleft in the very top  of the picture

Cooling offSome time later, I tried my hand at an easier run.  Normally, it would’ve been pretty simple for me, but I was still gassed from the run before.  Of course, the start of this one was difficult as well, and Courtney ended up having to give me a little help with the belay.  After that, good ol’ stubbornness kicked in.  I was NOT gonna give up on another route.  So, with a combination of horrendous technique, frequent breaks, and a little extra lift from my belayer, I literally crawled my way to the top of the run.  Covered in sweat and bleeding from the legs (I use my knees when I’m really tired) I made it back down.  Ugh.  I need to work out more.

Showing the rock who’s boss

Seriously, guys?!
I put my life in these peoples’ hands and this happens ^

In the area, I found things that made the little boy in me giddy with excitement.  CRITTERS!  If you’ve known me since grade school, you might remember I wanted to be a herpetologist – someone who studies reptiles and amphibians.  Even though I went away from that, I’ve always loved scaly and slimy things and love picking them up to say hello.  At the waterfall, I found fire-bellied toads and little frogs!  I did make one very important discovery.  You know how frogs are supposed to turn into something sexy when you kiss them?  It’s a load of hooey.  No sexy princess for me :'(

Pucker up!
Mmmm, slimey

Didn’t kiss this little guy.  Don’t do that to toads!I saw a snake too, but there are supposed to be poisonous snakes in that part of Korea, so I didn’t get close enough to touch (or kiss) it.

After the two runs I did I was pretty tuckered out, so I called it quits climbing.  I still belayed a few times though… using my trusted belay device.  I have no desire to use that gri-gri ever again… I feel much more comfortable using the traditional ones.  I didn’t have any near-drops this time… much to everyone’s delight.

Belayin’ like a BOSS

Aww, look at that drool.  Momma, aren’t you proud?

Green tea plantation

Us with the green tea fields in the background.
My friends 🙂