Mudeungsan Hike

Hi everyone, this is Carrie.  We have been busy!  Last weekend we had quite an adventure.  Our city, Gwangju, is very close to a mountain, Mudeungsan.  We have hiked on trails there before, but last weekend we had our longest and most difficult hike yet!  We decided to meet up with some other foreign teachers at 3 AM to hike to the summit of the mountain, in order to see the sunrise.  We were nervous at first for several reasons: one, the buses aren't running at that time, so we would have to call a cab and request one in Korean!  Also, previous experience told us that this wouldn't be easy, and we would be hiking in the dark.  However, we decided that it would be worth it, and we were right!  We left our apartment around 2:30 AM, (after I had taken some Nyquil and zonked out at 8 the evening before), and before we even took out our phones to call, we found a cab that just happened to be driving down our street (sweet!!!) So we headed over to the base of the mountain to meet our friends (14 other teachers came).  We had heavy clothes on, (it is getting cold here! And was even colder at the top) lots of water, and flashlights.  The hike took us about 3 hours to get to the top.  Along the way, it was so dark and the stars were gorgeous.  We stopped and rested  at several points, and at about 4 in the morning we heard the sounds of a Buddhist monk somewhere in the forest, hitting an instrument I have seen them use often, though I don't know the name.  It is wooden and hollow, and it is hit with a small wooden mallet.  The trail is near a Buddhist temple, and the sound carried across the mountain and valley.  It was so beautiful and haunting to hear in the dark of the night.  Our whole group sat in silence and listened for several minutes.  We continued on, with Bradley and myself in the rear. :) When we finally reached the top, Bradley and I were exhausted and tired, but it was SO worth it.  We got some beautiful pictures and we both felt so proud that we had made it.  It was definitely a memory I won't forget!!!

Waiting for the rest of the group to arrive; it's 3 am but we are ready!!

Some city lights far below and darkness all around

It is starting to get lighter as we reach the top

70 million year old rock formations towards the top of the mountain!

Beautiful!!!

Here comes the sun!!

It looks like an ocean below us but we are above the clouds.

Some of our group

We made it!

A bit higher in the sky . . 

Below us, the city of Gwangju, but a little hard to see through the morning haze.  The tall buildings are apartment complexes.

The rock formations in the daylight

Heading back down

Bradley's fancy color setting on the camera, highlighting only reds and yellows

What an amazing day!!!!