Walking to the rising sun

"I'm not what happened to me. I'm what I choose to become" - Carl Jung

It's pitch black in front of me with no city lights in sight. I feel a light breeze on my cheeks and feel a shiver down my spine. "Damn it's fresh and cold out here" I said to Beca. Not feeling my fingers I ate my chocolate muffin and drank a small cup of coffee on the sidewalk where the bus just dropped us off. Far away from the city at the foot of a mountain we cannot see we started our journey with a phone torch in hand, backpacks on our backs and adrenalin flowing through our veins.

We are ready to climb Seoraksan. 

Seoraksan is the 3rd highest mountain in the whole of Korea reaching 1735 m above sea level. Determined we started our journey with the group of people just as crazy as we are. But we lost them soon after starting. It's so dark we cannot see our own hands in front of our face. Every now and then I hear a voice behind me saying "Can you give me some light Chicky?" It's Beca balancing one foot on a rock not knowing where to take the next step. We were alone in the darkness of the night with no idea where we are heading, just following the path. We only had the stars in the heavens and the silhouette of the mountains as guidance and protection. At times we would put the light off and just admire how small and vulnerable we actually are. 

Over rocks and bridges, up and down staircases not able to see what's next to us or ahead of us we kept on going. We stopped from time to time and checked the time. 3:45am, 4:15am, 5:30am the time went by as we put one step in front of the other towards the unknown. With lungs that's burning, legs that's folding from weakness, feet sore and hands cold and a mind that's tired we stayed determined to find the light. We heard waters falling all the way next to us and assumed there was a river or stream rushing through the valley. From time to time we would ask ourselves " Are we still on the right track?" We would look back and see torches in the distance dancing reassuring us in our uncertainty. 

We climbed 10,5km before reaching the look out point where we could see the sun rise over the mountain peaks through the trees. The sight of a sunrise in the distance and stars above your head is a sight you don't see everyday. The red, yellow, orange and browns of autumn started slowly appearing, awaking the mountains, creating a new sense of excitement and celebration in each soul who stood on that platform overlooking the valley.

With warm coffee at last and water to soothe our throats we sat and be wondered the gorgeous arts in front of us. With laughter in our hearts, a real sense of appreciation and a mind blown away we stared into the distance admiring the perfection of creation. 

The journey wasn't finish yet. I still had 2km to go before reaching Dinosaur ridge peak in order to have a panoramic view of my surroundings. Like a traveller on a mission I continued over the rocks up and down stairs hanging onto ropes to get over boulders. I felt a little like a monkey. This hiking trip asked of me to be mentally and physically strong all the way and keeping my head up high. It was difficult but worth it. Reaching that last peak and seeing nothing but nature around me with the ocean on the horizon was worth the climb. I sat on the edge of greatness. 

I celebrated my journey up with 4 other expats on a traditional Korean way: bottle of sojo of course. I didn't stay long before heading back down. I still had 12,5km ahead of me before finishing the hike. My legs ached and vibrated, knees locked, hips compensated and my mind almost gave up but there was only one way down and it was the hard way down. At one point I stopped and thought to myself "Am I on the right path because everything look so different?" I was on the right path but having light to guide the way made the way look so different. I saw chipmunks ruling the grounds, autumn leaves covering my head and streams forming the most beautiful waterfalls everywhere. The water was so clear and pure with boats (leaves) drifting everywhere. 

I took a moment to appreciate the environment around me and sat at one of the waterfalls just watching the water rushing through narrow spaces, listening to the birds singing and resting my legs before continuing. It was beautiful. I caught up with my expat friends and finished the hike sharing Pajeon and drinking a well deserved beer together. Beca and I also reunited a little later and drank some refreshing bamboo tea and ate some Bibimbap. Our body and mind was tired beyond and our feet were so sore so we made use of this lovely stream flowing through the mountains. We found a comfortable rock took off our shoes and dunked our sweaty feet into the water, set an alarm for 20min and closed our eyes. I passed out. 

We conquered the mountain. I did it.