Adventures were prolific this weekend as Marybeth, Ashleigh, Lo, Danielle, Dan and myself headed down to a little island off the southern coast of Korea for some serious hiking action.

And I do mean serious. This island was a deathtrap in most every sense of the word. But if 60 year old ajjumas (grandmothers) want to shove us out of the way because we’re not going fast enough, then by Zeus, we can do this too.

The brochures estimated the hike at 4 hours, which we did in a little over 5. I didn’t take too many pictures (surprise!), but I did get a couple of the more daunting moments. Amazingly, no one got hurt, no one got left behind, and no one wimped out. This hike was one that truly made you feel accomplished afterwards. Chariots of Fire and all that.

Up ahead you see a roughly 45° incline with ropes along it to help people climb.

A steep decline this time. You can a few ajjumas here, utterly unafraid. Also a few blossoms. For the most part, the island was still dead from winter, even in April. The cold is just clinging this year.

Here’s a shot from the highest point on the island, roughly 400m. We started at sea level. The day was hazy and visibility pretty poor, but otherwise the weather was perfect.

Sadly, I didn’t get a shot of the acrophobic stairwell. It extended out over a sheer cliff and looked like it just ended. When you got to the edge, you could see that it basically turned into a ladder at that point. Add some severe winds and, well, it was intense.

After this magnificent meatgrinder, we headed to the pensions (Korean-style hotels) for a night brimming with pork, apple pie, and soju. Considering the efforts of the day, everyone was asleep before midnight. Oh, and I also met a British guy who laughed pretty hard when I told him my name.  :(

On the morrow, we bussed over to the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival, the largest in the country. We only had 2 hours there, but that was enough. The flowers are still mostly hiding, but I kind of like the look of the trees when they’re in half-bloom. Lots of little pink buds along the branches with intermittent bursts of open petals. Next weekend should be glorious..

After that, it was just a 6 hour bus ride and what was supposed to be an uneventful subway trip home, but fate had other things in mind. After all that, surviving the most arduous hike ever, a simple street curb does me in. I hopped off the bus and twisted my right ankle worse than I have in… maybe forever. Off to the hospital instead! Ugh. No breaks, though, just a really bad sprain. Hopefully I can walk again soon. Here’s a comparative shot of the swelling! Rawr!

But I can’t complain. It was worth it. A weekend of hanging out with good people, meeting more good people, and having a sweet adventure. This is what life’s about.