The next morning we set our sights on a series of waterfalls. The first is called Biryong Falls and the trail to it is fairly easy, then a set of stairs heads up the side of the mountain. 883 steps take you to the crest of the hill and a view across the valley to a huge waterfall (1050 feet) 설악산 토왕성폭포 Towangseongpokpo.
The sign says that the climb is "advanced" with only one category above that, "expert." We were determined to get to the top. I, unfortunately was not feeling well. I had become very dehydrated. Three things combined. One, a fear of not finding a bathroom. This is always a problem when traveling to a new country and due to being raised by a Kindergarten teacher (lots of potty breaks) and getting older. So, I was not wanting to drink much water. Two, I was sweating so much due to the temperature that I was drenched and loosing an excessive amount of water. Three, not trusting the local water. We had a couple of small bottles of water, but not nearly enough. The hike had looked easy andso we were not carrying a normal amount of water for one of our hikes.
It was a tough climb and I was not keeping a good pace. I had not worked out the hydration problem so I was frustrated. We kept climbing and resting until eventually we could see the top. Just a few steps further and we saw our first view of the waterfall through the trees. It was breathtaking. After watching the water fall for a long time we headed back down the path and back to the base area.
Our last goal was to take the cable car to the top of the mountain. We considered it several times, but each time the top was smothered by clouds and it did not seem worth it. This time, however, we could see the summit. We jumped in the car and were whisked to the top, but not the summit. It was another long climb.
We stopped at the store bought some orange juice and tried to refill our tanks. We drank and rested and then psyched up ourselves for the last climb. Then we mounted the steep stairs and trudged toward the summit.
We were rewarded with amazing views all the way to the sea. The mountains have that jagged look we associate with the east. The clouds cling to them like gossamer wings and the Oriental paintings we have seen and thought were dream-like, in fact, are almost photographic. After taking pictures and planking it was time to head to our hotel and rewind our trip back to Seoul.
We paid for late check-out so that we could clean up before the trip. It felt amazing to be dry and clean. We had about two hours until we needed to take the bus to town to get our late bus back to Seoul. So we sat in the reading room of the lobby and played Wingspan together on my computer (It's a bird game). The hotel we were staying in was fashioned as an English hotel. It was filled with mahogany and pictures of the Kings and Queens of England. They had artifacts from the monarchy. The gift shop was filled with products a person might buy in London. It was as if we had traveled the other way around the globe.
We reached our leave time, packed our bags, and walked to the bus stop. It was about a 5 min walk away and as we neared the stop we saw a #7 bus. Should we run and sweat or walk and wait for the next bus? We chose walking but kept trying to talk ourselves into running. The bus did not move. We got closer and closer and the urge to run finally erupted. It was only about 20 feet, and even though we knew another bus would come in 30 minutes, we were so excited to reach the bus before it departed. We got on like locals and took seats in the back.
It was about a 30-minute trip with a furious bus driver looking to increase his standings in the NASCAR ranks. We had not heard much honking on the streets, but this guy loved communicating with other drivers and seemed to be in anincessant conversation with them.
The bus stop was down the street from the main terminal and we had 2 hours before our reservation so we decided it was time for dinner. We had been encouraged to try fried chicken in Korea, and there was a place right where we were standing. We bought a box of takeaway, sat at a picnic table on the sidewalk, and polished it off.
We made our way to the bus terminal and I waited nervously for our bus. The anxiousness was unnecessary as the bus arrived right on time and we loaded into our seats and took off back to Seoul. We slept fitfully during the 2-hour journey and then rode the subway back to our hotel and finally fell into our beds at about midnight.
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