Day 19, Leg 16

I'm at the If Hotel (W50,000 a night, but it's a huge, clean room... and technically a motel given the facilities) after a bright and happy—albeit long—33K walk today. 

The very beginning of the walk took me along a different route from the usual: normally, I leave the motel, cross the Chilgok Dam, walk a ways, cross back over the river, and continue on to Daegu. Today, Naver didn't bother taking me across the river: I simply stayed on the east bank almost the whole way down. This made a difference mostly at the very beginning. 

There was, however, another change in my routing at the very end of the walk because I'd chosen to stay at a different motel: the new route took me a bit into town past Keimyung University (계명대학교), but I ended up in a district that felt very familiar, as if I were only one block or one street over from the old Boom Motel where I used to stay. In fact, I walked once around a city block because I was convinced I might stumble upon the Boom, but nope—it's either in a different neighborhood or defunct. I think the latter. Still, this neighborhood does feel uncannily familiar. 

Also, as I was walking the final few hundred meters to my motel, I knew I'd pass some sports shops. There was a North Face store, and I stopped in to buy a new pair of gloves. That set me back W25,000, and I'm not even sure I'm going to need them because every morning since I veered south has been over 7°C (45°F)—too warm for gloves. This morning, I didn't even bother with my ski mask, and the next few mornings promise to be even warmer still. So, I've got new gloves, but I might not even need them.

The walk today wasn't particularly hilly, but there were a couple minor slopes—nothing challenging. About 12K from the end of my day, a biker pulled up to me, got off his bike, and walked with me for close to 2 kilometers. We talked a bit; he asked a lot of questions about my trek; I did my best to understand his impenetrable southern accent, and after that, we parted ways. I did ask permission to snap a picture of his cheerful self before he departed, and he said yes. So I got his picture, and you'll see that he does exist. 

I still need to think about how I'm going to handle Saturday, the second camping day. This motel room was made for gamers, so it has two computers in it. I'll use one to check Naver Map on a big screen and see about places to stay along my route. Right now, my thinking is that it'd be good to find a place either a few kilometers into the Saturday walk or a few kilometers after that day's campsite destination. If a motel comes up early, I can stay there instead of camping and walk just a little extra to Namji (where I have another scheduled break anyway). If I find a motel just after the campsite, then I'll walk a little extra to that motel, and that much less the following day when I go to Namji.

The forecast for Saturday looks worse than before, so I'm almost definitely not camping that day. Worst-case scenario: I simply walk 44K on Saturday, straight to Namji, and stay put for three nights instead of two. Three nights is a bit decadent, but if I've just walked 44K, I'm rewarding myself, dammit.

There was a point in the walk where, once again, a series of bikers chose to ride in my pedestrian lane. When a particular group of guys rode toward me, I angrily gestured them all over to the proper bike lane. They all moved over, but one guy made some sort of gesture at me as he passed. I barely saw it out of the corner of my eye, so I'm not sure what it was exactly, but I think he was mockingly imitating my own gesture. Fucker.

Not much else to report for today. I kept any pain at bay with the judicious use of ibuprofen. Otherwise, I enjoyed the sights (including one hilarious map), and I look forward to resting tonight and tackling  some distance tomorrow. 

Info and images:

today's route along the east, then north, side of the river

Veering into Daegu means leaving the Four Rivers path, which actually goes over the local dam (Gangjeon Goryeong Dam/강정고령보) and doesn't dip into municipal Daegu at all. I'll pick up the path again tomorrow.

550 min = 9.2 hours; 33K in 9.2 hours = 3.6 kph

the moon and Jupiter

this was creepy to see at night

I wonder what they were really trying to say. (칠곡보 = Chilgok Dam; 종합안내 = comprehensive info)

flower from an angle (sorry for the blur—I suck at this)

spooky, willowish tree

park golf at fucking 6 a.m. because old people can't sleep

straightaway

the moon, looking for all the world like the Death Star

One of these spiders, dead on her web.

My 2K travel companion. Never learned his name.

I must add that I ate at one of the best Korean-style Chinese places I've ever been to: An Shi Seong (안시성: "peaceful city fortress" based on the hanja?). It's right across from the motel. I ordered gganpoonggi, basically a spicy General Tso's without the broccoli, and it was crunchy and excellent, without the annoyingly unnecessary oversaucing that happens at so many Chinese places. I got a plate of fried mandu alongside that, and the dumplings were also top quality—crunchy, and without too much filling inside. I would recommend this place to anyone passing through western Daegu, and I myself will definitely come back here again. This was a definite cut above the regular crap I eat at most Chinese restaurants. I'm curious to try their other menu items.

Captain's Log, supplemental: while working on the computer in my motel room, I discovered that another yeogwan I used to go to is no longer on the map: tomorrow's yeogwan, Gangbyeon-jang (강변장 여관; gangbyeon = riverside). Good thing I checked. So I've plotted a new course to Cello Motel, a 25K walk, according to Naver. The day after that is supposed to be a 39K walk to Jeokgyo-jang Motel if I follow the bike route, but it's only a 25K walk if I follow the walking route (which goes inland). I'm going to cheat and do that, which makes my total distance for the trek less than 633 km, but I have no idea what awaits me in terms of hills. This could be better or worse. I'm wondering whether I might be avoiding a particular hill and maybe substituting a different one (or more) for it. We'll see. Also: this rearrangement of my schedule means I'll finish one day earlier. Here's the revised schedule:

11/2 (R): If Motel to Cello Motel, 25K
11/3 (F): Cello Motel to Jeokgyo-jang Motel, 25K (cheat via walking route)
11/4 (Sa): Jeokgyo-jang to CF Motel (Namji-eup), 33K
11/5 (Su): fourth rest day
11/6 (M): CF Motel to Haegeum-jang Yeogwan, 30K
11/7 (T): Haegeum-jang to Nakdong-jang Yeogwan, 19K
11/8 (W): Nakdong-jang to Bliss Motel (Yangsan City), 20K
11/9 (R): fifth and final rest day
11/10 (F): Bliss Motel to Nakdong River Estuary Barrage, 30K

I could, in truth, eliminate the rest day on 11/9 and finish the walk on 11/9 instead. But resting a day before the final push has become a tradition.

The above formulation eliminates the need to camp this coming Saturday, and I'm fine walking in the rain, seeing as I've already done that three times so far this trip. If I combine the above changes with the change I'd mentioned in a previous post (staying at a pension near Sangpoong Bridge), I can eliminate camping entirely without severely damaging my route. The 11/3 walk is a cheat, of course, and I'll be undeniably off the official trail, but while this yearly project started as a more or less orthodox attempt to follow the Four Rivers trail, this walk is less about that, now, and more about just peacefully wending my way to Busan. The new route comes to only 615 kilometers, by the way, so I've shaved off 18K. I'll be curious to try this route again, with these new revisions, in the coming years.

PHOTO ESSAY

leaving the Lee Motel

the dam's admin building and convenience store, closed at this hour

the moon and Jupiter

the observatory I'd visited, all lit up

Gukto Jongju (even people who don't know Korean ought to know these syllables by now)

왜관철교/Waegwan Rail Bridge coming up

왜관교/Waegwan Bridge

the double sign: Four Rivers + Nakdong River path

I've always enjoyed this peaceful stretch along the Nakdong. Apartments to the left, the river to the right.

228 km to the final goal

poncho + windbreaker make me look almost bulky

cosmos in the dark

flowers have a name: 피라칸타/Pyracantha

227 km to the goal; 158 km back to Andong Dam

Danger Man among the waves! Deep water: no swimming, fishing, or skating (winter ice skating?).

Just what is the "stank district"?

possibly a sulfur cosmos

This is the 제2왜관교/Waegwan Bridge Number 2.

creepy willow?

Gukto Jongju

passing a park-golf course

Waegwan Park Golf Association

Old folks, bundled up and ready for some 6 a.m. golf.

morning light

Gukto Jongju

Gangjeong Goryeong Dam, 28.8 km

more Gukto Jongju reminders

223 km to the final goal, 162 km back to Andong Dam

a fallen sign for a kalguksu ("knife noodles") restaurant: hand-cut noods in hearty broth

Imagine that it's very cool right now.

next dam, 26.5 km

I'd be too heavy for that ladder.

about to enter a small bamboo grove

Evergreen or not? (Probably not given the brown bits.)

I'm guessing that's a ggachi (magpie) nest.

yet another drain gate

next dam, 24.6 km

beautiful scenery

I stopped to rest here.

moon in sky

Death Star moon

multicolored

about to enter the region of Dalseong-gun

4% grade, rising path

Gukto Jongju

216 km to final goal

next dam, 20 km

animal assholes

Peace Art Village

under 200 km to get to the final goal (which feels like a large and sudden jump, frankly)

상주대교/Sangju Bridge, with construction signs

looking back at Sangju Bridge

overgrown pallets

And we're back above 200K again: 214 km to final goal. Never trust the markers.

more park golf

none too pleased

basketball hoops, all lined up

211 km to final goal

Gukto Jongju! Dalseong Dam, 34.4 km; Gangjeong Goryeong Dam, 10 km.

a closer look

dead spider

...hanging awkwardly off her own web; I think I'd like to die at home.

Mr. Unidentified Temporary Travel Companion

lots of solar panels

gravesite, zoomed in

zoomed out

roses

persimmons

Porta-John

walking by the solar panels

Song Ha Farm

marigolds

undersides of the solar panels

a slight uphill

Bateau Fluir sounds almost French, but what does fluir mean? Is this Korench? Or Frorean?

Technically, a minbak is a lodging in which you stay in a home's bedroom. But a lot of minbaks are their own thing.

incongruous harubang (stone grandfathers from Jeju)

approaching metro Daegu

River Cultural Center: The Ark (UFO-looking structure), seen from a distance via digital zoom

These might be dogwood berries. Or Cornelian cherries. Either way, I'm not eating them.

Maegok Water Intake Station

"Watch out for slippage" and "7% grade for 100 m."

fat grub

It's rolled over now.

Watch for bikes.

WARNING: this is a water-quality preservation zone; the dumping of pollutants is prohibited.

You see how effective that sign is. If I had a superpower, I'd be cleaning all of this up.

Oof... the nerdiest poster. "Together with bikes, a romantic date..."

For 80 m, a 4% grade.

The fencing next to the big fish is new.

강정고령보/Gangjeong-Goryeong Dam

The concrete wall next to the fish has been there since forever, but the fence atop the wall is new.

I'm crashing in Daegu proper this evening, so I have to divert from the path.

If I were collecting stamps for the route, I'd get one at this certification center for Gangjeong Goryeong Dam.

2012-era dedication stone from President Lee Myeong-bak for the Nakdong River Bike Route.

The sign says Mannam-ae gwangjang, or Meeting Plaza. Good landmark.

The convenience store I hit every time I come this way. No handmade gimbap this time, alas.

Gangjeong Goryeong Dam from a distance

sign and symbol for a pedestrian lane

River Cultural Center: The Ark

struttin'

geometric stag

brave critter, ready to fight me

yet another mysterious chair

I'm diverting away from the Nakdong and into town. This new river I'm following is the Geumho.

area with steep slope—no biking (I'm sure this gets ignored)

A 20% descent sounds scary.

But it turns out to be really short.

bamboo grove of mystery... I won't be going in there

On November 12 (Sunday), there'll be a marathon, so bikes shouldn't be on this part of the path, 7 a.m. to noon.

This is the 강창교/Gangchang Bridge over the 금호강/Geumho River.

I'd be afraid of being crushed by a semi if I owned one of those.

Gangchang Bridge

Geumho River as seen while crossing the bridge.

looking right toward the Nakdong

Pureun Chojang Church, Miracle Complex

ginkgo trees

Gangchang Station, Daegu proper

Keimyung University, Dongsan Hospital

This is a part of the city I've never been to before.

Keimyung U.'s front gate

I pop into my bank's local branch to grab some cash from an ATM.

Somewhere around here, I stop in and buy a new pair of gloves.

spelling

Hotel If, not the Château d'If

There's no "f" in Korean, so "If" is rendered as "ee-peu."

The large font says "If," and above it: "Boutique Hotel" (boo-dee-keu)

Chinese restaurant whose characters say An Shi Seong, which sounds like Peaceful City Fortress.

The red stamp simply says An Shi Seong in Korean.

The fried mandu were awesome.

This gganpoonggi chicken was so good that I dreamed about it afterward.

For whatever reason, I exited out the front, having come in through the back (I know what you're thinking—stop). The yellow signs, L to R, are advertising gochu-ganjjajang (peppery jjajang-myeon, I guess), yaki-udong (yaki, grilled/fried, is a Japanese word) thick Japanese noodles, naeng jjambong (cold spicy soup that I've never seen before), and chapssal tangsuyuk (rice-flour batter sweet-sour pork).

I like the brush art.

new gloves

fuckin' grammar

luxurious for the price of staying here...but I never use this

I'm belatedly realizing I never took a picture of the actual sleep area. Or a view out the window. I'll get those shots the next time I'm in this area.