Jirisian Weekend Hiking Trip

I can officially say that I have spent a month in Korea as of this date! I had an eventful weekend as I joined a meetup group and took the initiative to meet some new people while participating in an activity that I love. Jirisian Mountain is located in the Southern part of Korea so ten of us drove down to the park friday night, and slept at the bottom of the mountain. We awoke early Sat, and began our trek up the 1, 915 meter mountain (the second highest in Korea). The trail was difficult from the beginning, but lazy rests by various waterfalls and the sensation of accomplishing such a difficult feat gave me the motivation to keep persevering. The climb consisted of staircase rocks, ropes attached to rops to help pull yourself up the mountain, some patches or rain and dirt to wander through, and finally parts of the mountain that felt more like mountain climbing then hiking I am generally used to. There were times during the hike when I felt like my legs just wouldn't move anymore, but alas I made it to the first shelter! Upon first glance of the shelter, I saw some of my fellow comrades (the expert hikers in the group, haha) who had already changed their clothes and were chilling with the koreans. We made some
Ramen noodles right away using a little burner and I can honestly say that Ramen never tasted so good to me. There was a mist in the air that turned a purplish color as nightfall approached. As I looked around, I noticed that many Koreans were indeed having a "feast" at the top of the mountain complete with grilled pork, kimchi, and also neverending bottles of the ever popular soju. I was surprised at how cold and windy it became at the top as the nighttime started approaching especially as it has been really really humid at my apartmet in Uijeongbu. We finally made our way to our sleeping quarters for the night which my space consisted of just enough room to roll out my sleeping mat and sleeping bag. Directly to my right and left, two other sleeping bags were rolled out similar to my own. The lights went out, and I fell into a deep slumber. I awoke the next morning to a Korean man blasting K-Pop on his ipod and noticed that my group was one of the last ones still sleeping. We got dressed, had some Ramen for breakfast and began our trek down the mountain. I thought that going down would be easier, however we were hit with a downpour of rain and were soaked when we reached the bottom. Not to mention, my knee began giving me trouble 1/3 down the mountain, so it was a challenge to reach the bottom. Alas, when I finally made it, it was such a relief to sit down, have some snacks including the ever popular bibimbop dish. I went to take a cold shower...when upon opening my backpack, I just found a pile of my once clean, dry clothes soaked to the limit! So, I opted out of the shower and just dried off in the sun and joined in on eating some more food and enjoying some dong dong (haha, it's a drink in Korea, special kind of makli). An enjoyable hiking trip, and pleased to have met some really cool people who I hope to see again soon.