oh, by the way

I'm hiking to Incheon, starting tomorrow morning. This hike will take me along the Han River trail, westward to the Ara Trail, which will eventually lead me to the ocean—what Koreans call Seohae, i.e., the West Sea. The total distance from my apartment to the Ara Seohae Gapmun Injeung Senteo—the Ara West Sea Lock Registration Center—is about 55 kilometers. That's a two-day walk, broken up into roughly 28-kilometer segments. I've looked at the map, and the halfway point is a bridge called the Gayang Daegyo, which sits almost exactly at the 28-kilometer mark. From the bridge, it's about a 1.5-kilometer walk into town, where there's a neighborhood that's chock-full of motels. I'll crash in a motel for the night, then walk almost the same distance the following day. In theory, I'll get another stamp in my Moleskine for my collection, then I'll likely take a cab back to either Incheon Station or to Incheon International Airport. If I go to the station, I'll take the subway back into Seoul; if I go to the airport, I'll catch a limousine bus back to my neighborhood (the 6600 bus goes to Gaepo-dong, which is right where I live). Most likely, I'll be opting for the bus: it's a nicer ride.

There's little to pack aside from a ton of water, light packaged meals that can be eaten along the way, a toiletry kit for when I'm in the motel, and maybe some extra clothing to wear while my hand-washed things are drying. My pack will be fairly light as a result: the heaviest thing will be the water, and I'll be slurping that greedily along the way. Since I was a dope and left my smaller backpack at the office when I recently carried over a bunch of food, I have no choice but to reenlist my battered Gregory, with its massive hole in the bottom.

Part of me thinks this hike might be the quick road to heatstroke, given that it's going to be extremely humid and about 97ºF on both days of the walk, but I'm thinking that this will be survivable. I learned a lot about enduring sunlight during the big walk from Seoul to Busan, and I still have my toshi (sleevelets, manchettes) and my wide-brimmed hat. I'll also have my trusty trekking pole. What could go wrong, right?

Anyway, wish me luck. I'll be happy to be back out on the trail, even if only for a weekend.