Umyeonsan

Spring is here! Last weekend the temperature hit 12 degrees on Sunday, after a few straight weeks of very cold and windy weather. It was nice to just be able to go outside and walk around without feeling tense, cold and just wishing to go back home for the first time since we were in Malaysia a million years ago.



We decided to go for a hike at Umyeonsan, a small mountain near Nambu Bus Terminal Station. Online research said that it would only be an hour-long hike, which was perfect for us. The entrance to the hiking trail can't be missed, either: it's marked by a giant glass disk attached to a pedestrian bridge.



Usually, spring hikes mean muddy hikes, but somehow, it was only muddy in a few spots. There were a bunch of people on the trail, but it didn't feel crowded. There was even some wildlife to see- anyone know what kind of bird that is in the above picture? It was huge, didn't look like it could fly, was colored like a rooster and had a long tail of feathers. Strangey.



Stopping for a rest on the way up. With the mild weather and the exercise we found ourselves hiking in our t-shirts by the time we were mid-way through the trail.



After about an hour we got to the trail's summit, which is marked by a large pile of rocks next to some benches and a scenic lookout. From here we could see the whole city- from the 63 Building on the west to Olympic Part on the East and Seoul Tower and Bukhansan up North. Seoul is such a big city and you can lose your sense of distance and geography when you're always traveling it on the subway, getting out in random places, so we enjoyed the view.



If you click on the panoramic image above you can see a lot more detail.



Normal viewage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zGtV6Gbmv4

Of course, it wouldn't be a hike in Korea without seeing some funny exercise from our fellow hikers. The guy in the video isn't being too ridiculous, but the woman at the end is pretty awesome. She was killing it earlier, but I was too slow with my camera. Anyway, you get the idea. I love Korean public exercise <3

Not to be outdone, here's an ajumma passed out on a tire, who we spotted on our way back down Umyeonsan.



We enjoyed our hike and had a good workout, but it totally paled in comparison to the exercise we would experience next: we went to Costco. In Korea. On a Sunday. The things a guy does for bulk granola bars...



Here's to spring! Woooo! Annyong, winter!



Previous posts on hiking adventures:

Elephant Mountain- my favorite hike

Bukhansan- our first Korean hike (the one where we got lost and came out 2 towns over, broke)

Monkey Mountain- there were monkeys

Gwanggyo- the one where we almost died in the woods, lost and thirsty