By Lee Hyon-soo
The Toronto space the place I reside is totally flat, with no mountains in sight. This made me admire the mountains in Korea. Most of them are lovely, simply accessible and never arduous to climb. Every time I sojourn in Korea, I climb mountains with my pals.
Not solely did I climb many mountains within the southern a part of the Korean Peninsula, however I additionally realized my lifetime dream of visiting Mount Geumgang and Mount Baekdu.
For ten years — from 1998 to 2008 — the North Korean authorities allowed South Koreans to go to Mount Geumgang. I joined a bunch who took Hyundai’s Mount Geumgang tour.
We spent two days touring Mount Geumgang. On the primary day, we took the path which stretched uphill by way of a good looking valley. We crossed many antiquated bridges over crystal clear streams. The path ended at Guryong (9 Dragons) Falls which was magnificent. The path that we took on the second day was very steep and we climbed ladder after ladder to succeed in its highest level, from which we loved a panoramic view of the gorgeous rock formations.
The timing of our tour was excellent. Though Mount Geumgang is gorgeous in all seasons, it’s most lovely in autumn. After we visited in late October, Mount Geumgang was ablaze with colour, the leaves turning crimson and yellow in opposition to an exceptionally blue sky. We have been overwhelmed by the breathtakingly lovely surroundings round us.
Throughout our tour of China, my pals and I visited Mount Baekdu, which stands at 2,744 meters above sea stage. We ascended the Chinese language facet of the mountain by jeep many of the means and walked about 100 meters uphill to succeed in the summit. The crater on the summit was a lot larger than I had imagined, and it was crammed with glowing blue water. Certainly, it was a picturesque lake and appeared worthy of its title, Cheonji (Heavenly Lake). In accordance with our tour information, Cheonji is shrouded by heavy fog most of the time, however we have been fortunate to see it on a transparent day.
My best mountaineering achievement was scaling Japan’s highest mountain, Mount Fuji, which rises 3,776 meters above sea stage. Mount Fuji is greater than only a mountain. For hundreds of years, the “peerless treasure” has stood as an object of veneration. It serves not solely as an emblem of Japan’s nationhood however can be seen by the Japanese folks as their mythic protector.
Whereas I had a stint in Tokyo, I got down to climb Mount Fuji with my pals. From its base, we drove about 2,400 meters up the mountain, which was so far as we might go by automobile. From there, we hiked up a steep path resulting in the height.
We began at about 10:00 p.m. and climbed by way of the evening. Because it was chilly and pitch-dark, we have been dressed warmly, and every of us carried a flashlight. We fashioned a part of a strong chain of panting pilgrims zigzagging towards the height. We reached the height earlier than the solar rose. An orange solar slipping above a milky sea of clouds was a spectacular sight to behold.
Why do folks climb mountains? Probably the most well-known reply is just, “As a result of it’s there.” This was famously acknowledged by George Leigh Mallory when requested about his want to ascend Mount Everest. Nevertheless, this reply doesn’t resonate with me, provided that I do not need the identical spirit of journey as he did. I climb mountains just because I need to take my thoughts off the troubles that I’ve in on a regular basis life and take refuge within the serenity of the mountains. The enjoyment of inhaling deeply on the summit after hours of strenuous climbing is the final word reward.
Lee Hyon-soo (tomhslee43@gmail.com) is the creator of the e-book “Ramblings of A Wanderer.”
