For weeks six and seven, we hit the trails to put new gear to the test.  Sure, we have tried out the trekking poles and the new boots on the Hwangyeong-san (pictures 1 and 2), but to take them out for a long hike like Jangsan (3.5 hours) is a true test. 

 

The trekking poles are doing what they’re supposed to (save leg muscles on the ascent, save knees on the descent).  We may have to get fingerless gloves to decrease the friction on the handle-grips.  However, there may not be need for that, as we are still working-in this set of equipment.

 

As for the boots, Jangsan was conquered.  My boots have thick soles, so I did have a few toe-strikes on trail stones (the poles are great for keeping balance and saved me from tumbling down the hill a few times), but my arches and toes were well-protected from direct trauma.  On sheer, dry rock at 45 degree angles, the treads on the soles did not slip at all.  As expected, though, at the finish of the hike, both Nic’s and my dogs were barking.  It is going to take some time to get them fully broken in but, as with all our gear, this is part of the process of preparing for 30 or 40 straight days on the trail.

 

Someone finally turned off the furnace here, so our flat-land training will be picking up in the coming months.  The biggest challenge we will encounter is the elevation.  We are trying to incorporate more exercises (interval walk-run, and Nordic walking with the trekking poles, for example) that might get our lungs better prepared for those high altitudes.

 

Next week, the status of hiking socks, bandannas, quick-dry towels, underwear and shirts.

Belatedly, an update for Week 5. 

 

We took out our gear for a spin: the second half of Taejongdae seaside hike.  It was an easy 2.5 hour hike all together, but this second half provided some spectacular photo ops and lesser-known pathways. 

 

This hike was good for breaking in the trekking poles and the new boots.  Sometime soon (when typhoon season relents; there have been three in the past month with varying degrees of severity), we plan to do a three hour hike at nearby Jangsan and then a bigger six-hour trek on the other side of town.  What we’re really looking forward to is the drop in temp and humidity so we go on a two-dayer one of these weekends.

Some may say we’re starting our training way too early but to hell with them.  Besides, we’re always in training, trying to stay fit and keep those extra pounds off that accumulate during the summer drinking months (as hard as I try, I cannot help but have a couple cold beverages during these warm evenings).

 

We are gathering the things we need over the next few months so things like boots are broken in.  I picked up a pair of Gore-Tex TrekSta last week for about 130 USD.  As I’ve learned, the feet swell after a hike, so when we got back from today’s hike, I tried them on for the first time; they seem like a good fit.  On the other hand, Nic’s boots are too narrow, so she’ll have to exchange them for something appropriate.  A slow breaking-in process is key for maximum comfort for the long days on the trails; it also reduces the chances of the shoes being the cause of any foot injuries.

 

Today, as we took an hour and a half seaside hike in Igidae along a fairly easy path, we tried out our new trekking poles.  Just as with everything else that we’ve purchased, Nic was diligent in her online research.  Granted, we paid a little more than we probably should have, but features like extended grips make choking up when ascending much more comfortable and convenient.  Also, we both got a style of Black Diamond poles that are not only light-weight (key for the weight-limits that airlines put on us these days) but also have a special clip feature.  Most hiking poles have a twist mechanism that, in my experience, are difficult to adjust and often break down after moderate use.  Beware, though.  The clip mechanism is available only on Black Diamond models.  Unfortunately, the kind we got do not have spring-shocks; these are good for taking even more pressure off of pre-existing ankle injuries.

 

All told, poles will be invaluable for a number of reasons.  For example, I have knees that sometimes give out on me in both ACL and bursa regions (from four years of egg-beater water-treading in high school water polo and a couple drunken falls in my early 20s).  I discovered today on the hike that the poles take a lot of pressure off of the knee joints as long as I am willing to use my poles properly.  One thing to remember is that rhythm is important.  You can achieve this if you put your right-handed pole forward when you step with your left foot, and vice versa.  It was nice to hear the clicking of the poles with my steps; it actually helped me focus on taking good strides and getting the best footing for each step.  With a little practice, this rhythm is easy to establish and will soon become as natural a motion as simply swinging your arms during regular walking.  Another thing to remember is to adjust your poles properly.  Hold the pole upside down, just below the “basket” and place the butt of the handle on the ground.  Make adjustments until your arm is at a 90 degree angle.  The numbers on both of the adjustable sections on each pole must be the same.  For example, the two sections on each of my poles are adjusted to 130 cm.  One final thing that I should make note of is a bit of “hiker’s elbow.”  I think this happened because, as much as I wanted to work my arms too, I may have put too much weight on them, thus creating a bit of a twinge in my right elbow by hike’s end.  This is a good argument for getting used to your equipment well before you head out for weeks on the trail; you certainly don’t want “hiker’s elbow” or a foot arch ailment to hinder you only a few hours in to your epic trek.

 

Due to a scheduling conflict (and the need for money to grow on trees), the Sokcho’s Sorak Mountain expedition in the northeast is on the shelf.  I’m working on finding funding for that trip; writing for a local magazine may be the key.

This past week turned from hot and humid to humid and rainy; a tropical storm moved through in the beginning of last week, sending huge swells up the Suyeong River near our place; also, there were 8 foot waves down at Millak Park, where the waves are usually about a foot at most.  As of now, it looks that the less-than-optimal outside training conditions will improve starting this Thursday; we are still getting sporadic thunderstorms related to the typical summer rainy season.

 

We’ve started to put together our list and check items off for gear.  Just last week, Nic found a pair of boots she needs to break in over the next few weeks.  If they are not suitable for her, she can take them back.  Unfortunately, the department store where we bought them will not take them back if they look as though they’ve been out on the trail.  Nic will have to wear them on the treadmill and/or around the apartment to see if they’ll work.  If we were to purchase these items from REI back in the US, for example, we could try them on the trail and return them with no questions asked if they didn’t suffice. 

 

Footwear is one thing that we do not want to take shortcuts on.  In addition to good, broken-in boots, it is also recommended that you have a few good pairs of breathable but thick socks and liners to keep your feet safe from blisters (Lonely Planet: Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya).  Currently, it is between the two major hiking seasons of spring and fall, so there are some good sales to be had.  I have yet to search for mine, but will be doing that in the near future. 

 

Next week: a big hike with minimal weight–maybe Soraksan in the northeast of the country, or Jirisan to the west-northwest out of Busan.

It’s been so bloody hot and humid here lately that we were lucky to get to the top of Hwangyeongsan (~400m) this past Saturday morning.  The trail was dry, though the air was not.  While both Nic and I are sweaty messes no matter what, I can only imagine how easy these hikes will be when the weather is nicer.

 

Slide 3 shows the mountain range where Eomgwangsan is.  Slide 4 shows the range that leads to and from Silla University (Beakyangsan is a peak Nic and I have yet to conquer together, but it will be done for a longer hike).  Slide 5 shows the big ugly bastard Jangsan in the distance. 

 

In terms of weather, we will have to do a little research for SE Asia in February and March; we will be in Thailand for a month and we plan to keep up a moderate cardio regimen despite all the cheap beers and pad thai that will be consumed.  We are set to arrive in Nepal the last week of March; depending on how the money holds out, we’ve decided to absorb the Annapurna Circuit instead of going crazy getting from Base Camp to the other side of the country—therefore saving a little dough on permits and airfare.  In any case, we’re looking to stay in and near Annapurna for 30 to 42 days.  It’s great to have some things sorted out in this time of seemingly infinite variables.

While Nic and I are still in the planning phases of our post-Korea excursion, we have officially begun our training for trekking in Nepal.  Summer is in full swing and it seems the monsoon spun itself out in the rainy spring.  But it’s so much hotter than last summer; we try to balance healthy drinking habits and frequent beach days with our training.  We also try to balance the hiking with commonsense training: stairs down near the Millak fishing docks, interval training (1 minute walk, 1 minute run, rinse and repeat for 20 or 40 minutes) on flat land, and our continued moderate weight training a few times a week.  In a month or so, we’ll start packing a little weight, increasing these increments until the end of January.  Come the beginning of January, we’ll shift our training to SE Asian jungles and mountains (Northern Thailand, for example).  We currently project mid to late March 2011 to start the culmination of this training: 16-day Everest Base Camp (5340m) and the 3-week Annapurna Circuit, either in its entirety or portions in the national reserve.

 

Weekly, I hope to update our progress.  I promise not to deluge your inbox with notifications, but please check back regularly to see how it’s going.  Updates will be short and sweet.  This entry will serve as an introduction to the main four training routes we’ll use that are short scooter rides away in most cases.

 

June 19. Eomgwangsan (504m).  Hiking has been a favorite passtime in our time together, so why not start where it all began?  One of our first dates back in January 2009 is my favorite in Busan because it’s sparsely populated; also you can see so much of the city, including most of the main port, Gwanganli Bridge and much of my old neighborhood.  Everybody who’s anybody has gone on this hike with me, including Nic’s sister Amber.  Eomgwangsan hike starts in Dong-A University and ends on the other side of the ridge in Dong-eui University.  For training purposes, we may start at lower elevations, but most of the time we start at the back of said universites after a short cab or bus ride.  When last we did this hike, I proposed to Nicole after hiking through the clouds to a partially cloudy summit.

 

July 23.  Hwangyeongsan  (~400m).  This is a sure bet for interval training after we get back to baseline shape (the rainy and busy Spring semester ground our hiking habit and fitness to dust); there are peaks along the main trail that we can hike up and down for a little jolt to the heart rate.  We usually go to the basketball courts in the back of Kyungsung University campus (~150m) and start there.  It is a good hike that takes a touch more than 2 hours up and down.

 

July 29.  Jangsan (634m).  This is the big daddy around these parts.  Though it is not the highest (Geomjeongsan is 801m and will be featured later this month), it is certainly the most famous.  We went the day following a rain storm; this was ill-advised.  Not only were the views obscured by the clouds at the summit, the way down was so slippery and had such poor visibility that we had to go slow and even got lost twice on this fairly familiar route.  It is near our apartment, so the 3-plus hours to go up and back is not preceded or followed by a long journey on the subway.  This route also has options for interval training if you leave from where we did: Dongbeak subway station.

 

August 3.  Beaksan (~200m).  This is a good one hour hike that starts just across the street from our apartment.  The first hill is near Millak’s Me World and I don’t know the name; it’s about 10 minutes to the top.  Then we go down to a road that takes us through a schoolyard, up to and through a Buddhist monastery and past hillside badminton courts.  This will be perfect for workweek morning hikes.

 

Okay.  That’s it for now.

 

 

The streets have hummed recently.  Trucks with loud speakers and flatbeds have blared music and borne people in colorful getups down the avenues.  Koreans—mostly middle-aged women—have been paid to wear bright blue, red, yellow shirts and white gloves; they have danced in unison—like country line-dancers or kindergarten teachers gone mad—singing slogans to the tune of Beethoven’s 9^th Symphony or Jingle Bells or classic Korean warblers.  With the words changed, of course, the songs are praise for Busan mayoral, education minister, district representative, and gubernatorial incumbents and hopefuls of South Gyeongsang Province.

 

In addition to the flatbeds of fury, these groups have also been at major street intersections around the city up until Wednesday afternoon—Election Day.  While I’ve been busy for the last two weeks that this has gone on—preparing students for upcoming final exams—I drove past these public displays on the commute to work.  By the time Wednesday rolled around, I finally had time to snap some photos of this spectacle.  Most people were given the day off to vote; foreigners like myself, took to the beaches and outdoor cafés to absorb the sun on a midweek holiday.

 

Regrettably, I was so busy in the last two weeks that I was unable to get any video of the dancers or their mobile assault on voters’ senses.  However, I took to the roads in my neighborhood to get some pictures of the massive posters.

 

Now, the first four pictures in the photo-spread have little to do with campaigning for office.  However, they do give you the general idea of how advertising is dealt with here: in large scale and often in English.  English here has the sort of appeal that French does in other parts of the world: its utterance and writing have a certain I-don’t-know-what (as the French say).  I don’t know what, in Picture #1, is behind the use of Ché’s likeness and the use of the name “Partisan” to promote a PC room where teens go to play computer games and smoke cigarettes for hours on end.  I don’t know what’s going on in that new club Womb down the street from my apartment, but it sounds like a place I’d like to go back to time and again, or maybe even stay in forever.  I don’t know what’s so great about Guinness’ judgment that Shinsaegae is the World’s Largest Department Store (Picture #3).  Picture #4 lets you know just how much other advertising these candidates have to deal with.  A small picture—or even a large one—will not do the job when competing for the attention of the public.  Hence, the dancing adjumas and the parades of propaganda.   

 

In Picture #5, after you notice the name of the motel is Motel Tomato, you can see the face of a candidate on the side of a nearby high rise; this ad was small compared to others.  A mile away, I could see the gleaming face of a candidate on the side of a building.  Closer by, at that intersection where I stood, the massive posters shrouded the buildings (Pictures 6, 7, 8).  Was it this elephantitis of political marketing that brought to my mind a mural of Mao I once saw in Tiananmen Square?  Or was it the Leninesque action-packed hand gestures that I’ve seen in photos of South Korean dictators of the 1970s and 1980s?  One candidate gives a thumbs up, another pumps his fist in the air, a few look as if they are praying, and yet another looks like he’s posing for a promotional boxing photo.  By this, I do not mean to imply anything about the recent candidates and their political views; I am sure their grand gestures and the largeness of their likenesses speak only to their largesse toward the general welfare of the Korean populace.  

 

Depending on his politics, one may argue with that.  According to polyscientists and armchair presidents, the election results show a continued cooling trend toward the conservative President Ee Myung-Bak and his hardline approach to North Korea in the two years since he took office.  If midterm elections are the barometer for the current president, Mr. Ee must listen to his constituents and soften his position on North Korea.  That, of course, is made all the more difficult because of the March sinking of the Cheonan in the disputed area of the Yellow (West) Sea.  

 

A Korean friend, Heon (age 29), wrote to me that his father had not instilled in him the importance of voting, of democracy.  He says this is typical of his father’s generation: they had no time to consider for whom to vote; they were too busy building up the country into an economic dynamo.  Hence, the dictatorial past.   Heon wrote, “Korea is a young democratic nation relative to the US.”  While this seems obvious and quite true, it still doesn’t explain the certain I-don’t-know-what in Picture #18.  One candidate seems to be running on the platform that he can break large container ships in half.  The other candidate seems to be running on a rainbow, homosexual platform.  Both of these interpretations are unlikely true and rather absurd.  But, even after four years here, the marketing and politics of this culture confound this Westerner.  

After creating a stellar army of Lego mis-mash—Darth Vader never looked so good on a red bicycle; plastic army men never suffered such a severe defeat (whaddya expect: they have no moving parts; you’d be pretty stupid to stand in front of a fixed fixed bayonet)—I packed up my wine and new clothes and headed for Wisconsin.  First time meeting the parents.  Nervousness was not abound: I’d already put in a good show when Amber came out last summer.

 

My PR machine in motion long before this visit, I anticipated a smooth welcome into the Monday/Miller family.  No problem.  But, it had nothing to do with me.  The hospitality flowed in the form of Christmas in February and a stock of choice bourbon (Granddad, Beam) and vodka (Gooooooooooooooose!).  Not to mention, Tom and Patty helping me to feel at home.  And I did.  Kewaskum.  My home away from home.  West Bend.  Where I could live if not quite held at gunpoint.

 

Milwaukee being what I call Chicago Unplugged.  Great downtown with some really great architectural structures that are old warehouses-cum-lofts-and-apartments.  Can’t wait to see the Giants beat up on the Brew Crew at Miller Park someday.  Also, back in Kewaskum, the schedule was packed: dinners with extended family—Nic’s cousins are really cool; her aunts and uncles genuine—, not to mention all the people that Nic wanted to touch base with, all the people outside her own family that have helped to make her the wonderful woman she is.

 

We made dinner a couple times; Tom and Patty made a few good dishes, too.  We ate more Mexican food in Milwaukee than we did in CA (something really wrong with that, right?).  We met up with everyone from Nic’s hairdresser to her former grad-school professors.  And quite honestly Milwaukee has the best brew and the best brew tours around.  There were a couple times that I was able to stay home and, yes, voluntarily, scrape the snow and ice from the drive way and the deck; it was the only exercise I got aside from one run I took in SJ.

 

15 pounds heavier and numerous family members gained, time finally came to shove off one last time from the US to this place called Korea.  We are waiting—still—for spring to spring.  And all the good things that come with it.

Well, the semester has gobbled up six weeks of my life.  Things are busy with curriculum development of new writing classes and, well, who gives a shit?

 

More importantly, there are some new pictures from the second part of the California visit.  Included is a picture of a couple bottles of wine I bought back in Summer 2008 when on a roadtrip with T to Santa Barbara.  T, J, Nic and I enjoyed these bottles together over a dinner Nic and I prepared for the new-parents-again.  Also, you’ll see a photo of Nic trying to show Ella how to suck her thumb.  I wonder if she has since taken to the thumb. 

 

There are a couple photos of Erik and Jaclyn with their little girl, Charlotte.  The five of us went out to dinner at a great tapas place in Mountain View.  I forget the name, but if you want more info, just let me know.  Great, lively atmosphere and some unique fare to go with it.  Charlotte was a champ as the big kids talked and drank.

 

Then there was the obligatory trip to the coast, my favorite beaches and, of course, my favorite restaurant on the planet, Duarte’s.  The day did not disappoint, as we stopped at a number of mostly-sun-drenched beaches as we made our way from Pescadero to Santa Cruz (the necessary stop at the Wednesday farmer’s market for some oysters on the half shell for me).  

 

 A couple days later (I think), Nic and I made a guest appearance in Lars and Pam’s soon-to-be renovated 1970s kitchen (haha).  Nic made homemade crust for kids pizzas (with a little help from Audrey, thank you very much).  T was able to make it over on a rainy night with just Ella and Brita made another trip up and included us on her “to see” list.  So there I was, my two sisters (yeah, I guess that mean T and Brita), Pammy, and the love of my life.  What a great night.  All topped off with pizza, beer, wine, to say nothing of the big bro, my two nieces and my future personal chef, Ian.  Thanks again, WG Holmbergs for all your hospitality.

 

Mom and Dad came over to the Bay Area again (thanks so much for making the trip and taking us out to dinner, you two).  Nic, the WG Holmbergs and myself met up in Monterey for the aquarium, which had some really cool new stuff, including seahorses of all shapes and sizes and big tanks with sharks; these were new to me, since I’d not been there for 15 years, I think.  Nic had never been.  All in all, a great day, finished with dinner at Fandango, where we just happened to sit across the room from my SJSU Steinbeck professor, Susan Shillinglaw.  Very cool, considering I was earlier in the day sharing some of my knowledge about Cannery Row, Doc Rickets and the Palace Flophouse.

 

I’m missing some pictures from other cameras.  Ma, I got yours but didn’t post them here; I’ll try to next time.  Brita and the rest of the LA crew: do you have any photos from the party at WG Holmbergs?  I am curiously shy of pictures of Ian and Audrey with me.  

 

Anyhow, more pics to come soon of the WI stay.