Day 3, Leg 3

About 90K out of 633K done, or roughly 14.2% of the route. Naver Map is telling me today's segment was only 24K in length; I guess that's because the Baro Hotel in Hanam City is closer than Starfield Department Store, my usual in-Hanam destination when I do this walk outside of the context of a trans-Korea trek.

I can feel the difference carrying an 11.5-kg backpack as opposed to the lighter and smaller 5- or 6-kg pack. Today's jaunt was a bit tiring, a bit harder on the feet, and I'm regretting not having trained more for this walk in general. I was lazy, and I could be paying the price for that laziness. Luckily, the walk itself will serve to train me up somewhat, so all is not lost.

Today was bright and sunny. My wide-brimmed hat and my backpack don't get along very well: the hat's brim keeps bumping and digging into the Gregory. I figured out a solution, but it's not a perfect one. A friend once suggested getting one of those hats with the cut-off brim in the back, made specially for backpacks. My problem with that is that you lose any nape-protection the moment you take off your backpack. 

The feet, already damaged, seem more or less fine if, by fine, we mean "about the same as yesterday." I took two half-doses of ibuprofen to get me through about two-thirds of the walk; I took a full dose toward the end. As I said, the heavier backpack makes a difference. 

Somewhere after Jamshil Bridge, I had an unpleasant encounter with some woman who thought she had more authority than she did. I was taking pictures of flowers and such as I advanced; she was using an orange-tipped baton to wave people along past some minor construction going on next to the bike path. I saw the construction and, fascinated, snapped a couple of shots. As I passed the woman, she demanded, "Why did you take photos?" And I responded, "Am I not allowed to?" Her clever rejoinder was little more than a, "Well, no, but..." as I moved past her, laughing openly. Give some people power, and they turn into little martinets, full of themselves. Bitch.

Aside from that, it was a pretty normal walking day. Some bikers nodded or bowed when I nodded at them; others just stared stupidly or looked at the ground while they huffed and puffed. A lot of people were out; with today being Monday, most of the people were retired seniors, but some weren't, and I wondered what sort of jobs they had. The most people came at the end, during the last few kilometers where pedestrians walk along a packed-earth dirt path. One side of the path is being tilled to make it sandy, allowing people the luxury of walking barefoot in the sand. So there were a lot of barefoot walkers mixed among the gaggles of regular walkers. 

Beyond Hanam, things are going to get quieter and more rural until I hit Daegu in a couple of weeks. Bikers away from big cities tend to be friendlier, more apt to shout or wave or otherwise greet you or respond to greetings. In and around Seoul, Busan, and Daegu, though, people are frostier to strangers. 

I'll be very interested to see how far the harvest has come along. This walk's schedule is phase-shifted forward three weeks from my usual time frame, so I'm expecting many rice paddies to be bare and dead, but we'll see. Maybe they won't be. 

Righto—time for a map, some stats, and some pictures. Again, the full complement of images will appear sometime after I'm back from the trek, so don't just leave and forget about this walk just yet.

See? 24 km.

Today feels puny compared to the previous two days.

Images:

not your average bicycle on the trail

Jamshil Bridge in the daytime for once

the pic that seemingly got me in trouble

Here's the caterpillar I was talking about yesterday. Hairy bastard.

mantis

Ye Olde Straightawaye

barefoot walkers: just a sample

I'm not a fan of Corgis, but these seemed cute enough.

a very mathematical-looking bridge

This last shot is from close to my hotel:

I've said it many times: the Korean love of abstract sculpture knows no bounds.

I'm in the Baro Hotel, my old go-to whenever I'm in Hanam City. As soon as I left Seoul, the price-gouging stopped: the Baro charged me only W50,000 for the night—no early-arrival bullshit fees, nothing. That's a relief. We'll see soon enough how the rest of the trip goes. Fingers and tentacles crossed.

PHOTO ESSAY

We start the day off with blood blisters. Here's the left toe.

...and the bottom of the left foot.

The resto's name says, "Country Cheongguk-jang," a pungent-but-beloved stew.

Leaving my neighborhood, moving toward the footbridge and Tan Creek beyond.

God is watching.

the confluence of the Yangjae Creek and the Tan Creek (that's the Yangjae flowing under me)

a look back toward Daechi-dong

construction continues on what is now obviously some kind of off-ramp

one of many, many rent-a-scooters (always called "kickboards" here)

I'm not looking forward to this ramp's completion, and all the traffic noise that will follow.

I've crossed the Tan because, when I reach the Han, I'll be turning right and east.

Tan/Han confluence

one last bit of aeration as the Tan flows into the Han

A rare tractor... you don't usually see these downtown.

Jamshil Bridge, with its shallow weir

taking a break after 7K from my apartment

a dilapidated go board (the game is called baduk/바둑 in Korea)

Peloton... some sort of team out for a group ride. Koreans love doing things together. Hive mind.

a barefooter in front of me, feeling the dirt path and loving it

The sign reassures me that I'm on track. Then again, how do you get lost next to a river?

I think this is the Olympic Bridge, with its Olympic flame. Always looks Soviet to me.

Yep—the blue sign confirms this is the Olympic Bridge.

"Danger: baseballs!" With danger man to show you what can happen.

Mugunghwa Park. (mugunghwa = Rose of Sharon, the national flower)

a Rose of Sharon, up close

park golf in full swing (cough)

If you've followed these long treks, you know how much I hate park golf. But it gets the old people out.

Gwangjin Bridge

passing the BMX course, with its little-but-sudden hills

Hanam city limits: 7.25 km
Gangdong Bridge: 4.95 k
Four Rivers National Trail toward South Han River Bike Path
Paldang Bridge: 15.7 km

UFO-like shwimteo

Right around here, I encountered the unpleasant woman.

But hairy caterpillars don't give a crap about unpleasant women.

hill coming up—the only hill-like feature on today's route

Up we go.

Bunker. On a hill. Bunker Hill.

a beautiful-looking span

still going up

Here, the hill levels off and makes you think you might be done. Ha!

Danger!
In times of snow/rain
Watch for slipperiness
SLOW DOWN
Danger
—dramatically falling danger guy

The summit is finally up ahead.

As I look off to the left: looks like a good place to practice rappelling.

almost... almost...

Another 150-200 steps, and we're at the top of this rise.

Boom! Going back down. Today's lone hill is done.

What's under construction here?

Danger of accidents: slowly.

A rare recumbent bike. Trike, really, but that sounds childish.

I like this peaceful stretch.

First real glimpse of Hanam City, the first city just to the east of Seoul.

Technically, we walkers are supposed to take the left fork down. But I dislike that path, so I risk the bikes.

Mantis looks meaningfully up at me.

The technical boundary of Hanam City.

And for those who are leaving...

Hanam to the left, Seoul (formally "Seoul Special City") to the right.

Left post: "Eco-city Hanam"
Center/Cross post: "Hanam, the city where I want to live"
Right post: "Migratory-bird destination, Hanam"

only seven legs

another spider: only seven legs

cosmos

"Frequent-accident region: reduce your bike's speed"

If you have a heart attack (or get mugged) right here, you can give EMS/cops your exact location.

another dead mama (see the eggs coming out of the abdomen)

Paldang Bridge, 6.9 km

The right turn where I go up to the raised dirt path and have an awesome view for a few kilometers.

up top, looking down

It's a nice stretch, even with people on it.

Across the river is Guri City, where Professor Jeff Hodges lives. I have relatives there somewhere.

Note the sandy path off to the right. This will become important momentarily.

See how the sandy part s being tilled. This is for barefoot walkers.

He's starin' me down.

Non-barefoot people walk the sandy part as well. Why? Sand gets everywhere. Ask Anakin.

I saw a print vaguely like this in Busan years ago, and I regret not taking a pic of that print.

The sign says pets aren't allowed on the sandy path (where they'll be tempted to see it as a litter box.)

metal mushrooms

We're getting close to where the Han River splits into the North Han and the South Han.

So officially, the packed-earth path is being called the moraet-gil (sandy path), and the side path for barefoot walkers is being called the masato-gil (decomposed granite-soil path... that's a mouthful).

I was extra careful to crop out any human faces to concentrate on the Corgis.

spiders in community

Once you're caught, you're caught.

A rock commemorating Dangjeong Island.

위치/wichi = location; Dangjeong Island is visible in the center.

유래/yurae = origin, origination, pedigree (the title for the explanation that follows)

A flock? Or a strobe-sculpture of a single bird in flight?

I still have not wandered through that park. It looks nice.

The fountain where I always stop, reload my water bottles, and drink deep before moving on.

The end of the packed-earth path, and the edge of the city proper.

I'll cross this creek, then head up that barely visible ramp.

4 Rivers National Path
toward the South Han River Bike Path

I'm stopping in Hanam City for the evening, so I won't be following the Four Rivers path any farther today. I'll be turning right instead of left.

crossing the creek

fish ladder

the ramp I'll be going up

Deokpoong-cheon/Virtue Wind Creek (I think)

We're in the city now. Welcome to Hanam!

a bridge I look across but never cross

downtown

another of those beloved abstract sculptures (many more to come)

right big toe's toenail, after a year, decided the time had finally come to say goodbye

The toenail underneath the just-jettisoned toenail doesn't look particularly healthy.