Hiking Potential and Preparation

I like hills and mountains.  The Korean word for mountain is "san".  When looking at a map of the Seoul area, the "san" suffix is widespread.  There are mountain names like Dobongsan, Suraksan, and the highest and grandest of them all, Mt. Bukhansan.  Magnificent, panoramic views await and reward the uphill hiker.

With the cool, refreshing air of autumn looming and the constant din of the city grating, the prospect of a good brisk walk on a distant, outlying trail becomes appealing.  But, being a firm believer in the school of thought that true happiness begins just out your backdoor (or at the bottom of the elevator shaft, whatever the case may be), it's probably wise and thrifty to explore potential hikes close to home.

That's not a problem as Seoul has more than thirty mountains largely preserved as parkland within the city proper.  To fellow Wisconsinites, mountains is an apt description.  Some of the summits are bare granite outcroppings with sheer faces.  To Rocky Mountain inhabitants, they would be referred to as molehills.  As I age, the less hill it takes for me to categorize it as a mountain.

There's parkland directly across Wolgye-ro (a busy street directly below us) from our home.  I can see it out our kitchen window.  It doesn't qualify as a mountain even by Seoul standards but it does have a significant rise in elevation from the street and some severely sloped trails that have washed out in places during recent rains.  Walking them is not exactly a stroll in the park.  Some caution is required.  The lower reaches of the park near Wolgye-ro are mowed, manicured, and laced with perfectly safe, smooth walking trails of various surfaces.

Stacey's principal at school, who's been here a couple years, relocated to our apartment building this year.  Shortly after our arrival, we were dining together and I told him of the wonderful park across the street.  Having lived elsewhere in Seoul last year, he was aware of it but had never set foot in it.  Fast forward a couple days and we're out to eat again with assorted faculty members and I notice he's limping.  Strange I hadn't noticed this limp the other day but I didn't mention it thinking perhaps it was a permanent disability I had failed to observe.

During supper, we're seated at the same table and he says he went up in the park last evening.  So proud of having informed him of my park discovery, I piped up cheerfully, "Oh great!  Really nice, isn't it?"  Turns out, his stroll was more like an adventure (which is really a pleasant euphemism for an accident in which no one is maimed or killed).

He had hiked up into the higher reaches of the park.  Some trails even have stairways and handrails easing the ascent.  As he reversed direction to descend, he noticed a path less taken but obviously more direct.  A shortcut.  So down he went and I mean that literally.  He reached a treacherous part of the path and took a tumble.  He maybe has a couple years agewise on me and mountain tumbling at our advanced stage is not good sport.  So, thanks to my recommendation, Stacey's principal ended up with a sprained ankle and a twisted knee.  He maybe tore his pants too.  I don't know.  I tried hard to change the subject before hearing all the gritty, excruciating details.  Off to a good start with Stacey's boss.

To avoid such calamity, I was in need of a sturdy, long walking stick with which to brace myself when headed downhill.  Unfortunately, my trusty old L.L. Bean walnut model was too cumbersome to make the trip overseas.  Time to gear up.  Thank goodness I brought my favorite Keen hikers along as I've been told there's not a size 12 to be found in all of this great land.

We were down in Yongsan on the weekend and, after visiting friends, Stacey and I popped into Emart which is the Korean equivalent of Walmart.  To my understanding, Emart somewhat replaced Walmart when Walmart pulled out some years ago.  I've read that Koreans were displeased with Walmart's level of customer service.  At the time, I thought, "What customer service?  And who needs it anyway?"  You grab a bag of chips and a tube of toothpaste, grumble a bit about having to stand three deep in line, and out the door you go.

I've since discovered what good customer service entails.  At Emart the ratio of employees to customers is roughly 1:1.  It's been said, in Washington D.C., if you want a friend, buy a dog.  In Seoul, if you want a friend, go to Emart.  The face of your new friend may change as you wander from department to department, but, rest assured, you will always have constant companionship.

In need of that new walking stick, I spied the sporting goods department a ways off.  As I passed through menswear to get there, I was greeted by a friendly clerk who escorted me through his department just in case I developed a sudden urge to buy a necktie.  Where menswear ended and sporting goods began, we parted ways, exchanging head bows and handshakes and pictures of our first born.  I forget now, was supper at my place or his next weekend?

Since I already had one dinner engagement lined up, I wasn't really in need of more companionship, so I snuck into sporting goods ducking low behind displays and rows of merchandise.  Peeking around the corner of an aisle, I spied a mannequin decked out in hiking boots, cool eyeshades, and a knockoff of a North Face jacket.  A telescopic walking stick was slung from its plastic wrist.

I swivelled my head furtively.  No clerks in sight.  I tiptoed on over to the mannequin and slipped the pole's wrist strap over the fake hand.  I quickly tested the stick for proper fit.  Perfect.  Got it.  Now, for the getaway.  A mad dash to the checkout was my best hope.

Not so fast.  I wonder if when I removed the wrist strap it set off an alarm somewhere.  Here came customer service patrol.  She wasn't all that scary at first, actually quite dainty and cute.  I held out the stick and tried to communicate effectively to her that I had found exactly what I wanted.  She was free to go wait on another customer who, perhaps but highly unlikely, was truly in need of assistance.

Why is it when I attempt to communicate with a non-English speaker, I raise my voice, enunciate more clearly, and tend to omit pronouns and articles of speech.  Continuing to hold my new find out in front of her, I spoke very clearly and loudly, "Stick good...like stick...want stick...kam...sa...ham...nee...da."  (The ending
meaning "thank you" in Korean, but be careful, if you know a little you're suspected of knowing much more).

Much to my chagrin, she grabbed the stick rather brusquely from my clutches.  I was thinking, "I'm in trouble now."  She's speaking Korean and I think she realizes I don't understand one iota of it, but she prattles on anyway, indicating with body and makeshift sign language that I should follow her.  Away she went with my stick with me trailing behind her.

She led me down an aisle where several clones of my walking stick were dangling, unextended, suspended by the wrist straps from a hook.  Suddenly it came to me.  I was amiss in dismantling the mannequin display without seeking assistance which would have been readily available had I not been sneaking stealthily through the aisles.

I apologized profusely although I don't yet know the Korean term for "sorry".  It's confusing.  I think there's several variations depending on formal or informal, who's sorry, what's sorry, where it is that you're being sorry, and the value of the Korean Won versus the U.S. Dollar.  So, in English, I spoke loudly and clearly, enunciating every syllable, "Sor...ry...Sor...ry."  It was truly heartfelt.  She seemed satisfied.  I plucked a fresh walking stick from the hook as she clung tightly to the one I had so callously stolen from the mannequin.

I thanked her again and turned to head for the safety of the checkout line.  Not so fast.  It was important to her that she demonstrate the functionality and features of my new purchase.  Granted, a telescopic walking stick is somewhat more complicated than a plain, old stick what with three sections and all, but it's not exactly comparable to buying a new Hyundai sedan.  You'd have thought it was as she broke into her sales presentation of an already sold product. 

It was all in Korean so I understood little or none of her spiel but her gesticulating and demonstrating were as plain as English to this foreign language addled American.  Did you know that a walking stick is used when walking?  The tip end is down and the grip end is up?  The wrist strap slips over your wrist.  Here's the tricky part.  To extend the segments, twist counterclockwise to loosen, then extend no further than the bright red "stop" mark, then twist clockwise to tighten.  After a thorough presentation, I was instructed in the use of accompanying accessories.  There's a little plastic sleeve to slip over the all carbide tip when not in use and a baffle to secure at the stick's tip when using in snow.  Marvelous invention, the walking stick.

Thorough preparation is time consuming.  I could use a better backpack but if I head back to Emart to buy one, I may not make it out to Mt. Bukhansan in time for autumn hiking.