So I was on my way out to Yangpyeong this morning, despite the fact that there was a sudden snow shower in progress, spanning the distance from Seoul to Yangpyeong, a good sixty kilometers. Meanwhile, my buddy JW texted to say that something work-related had come up, so he'd have to meet me partway along the path instead of walking the whole 30K with me (a cynical part of my brain thinks that JW has been trying to dodge these 30K walks for a while, now, even though he's ten times more athletic than I'll ever be). I told JW that I'd text him back with an update once I got to Yangpyeong.
When I got to Yangpyeong, the place was covered in snow. The forecast said that temps would rise to warm levels by midafternoon, but when I got off the subway, I could see that, at that moment (it was a bit after 11 a.m.), the sidewalks were slippery and not ideal for distance walking. I wasn't about to walk an hour or so on my own while waiting for the sun to come out and for the snow to melt, so since I was in Yangpyeong, I headed over to my favorite Chinese place to have lunch. JW called me just as I was being seated, and I told him we'd need to cancel the Yangpyeong-Yeoju hike based on what I'd seen. JW, insistent on doing some walking, suggested that we meet in the afternoon, at 3 p.m., to do our usual short walk to Jamshil Bridge and back. I said okay, hung up, ate lunch, and rode another two hours on the subway back to Seoul from Yangpyeong.
I met JW at our usual meeting spot, where the Tan Creek and the Han River meet, and we did our walk to Jamshil Bridge and back. JW said he needed to burn off some extra calories because he'd been partying the night before, so he walked with me up to my apartment building, which is where we parted ways. (He walked the rest of the way back to his place in Samseong-dong, almost literally up the street from where I live.)
It was a weird, tiring day, and it had felt as if Mother Nature had basically declared that no meaningful distance walking would be happening today. Hey, fine with me. February is looking fairly warm, according to Weather.com; I get the feeling that spring is coming early, so JW and I agreed to stay in touch about doing the 30K walk sometime in February.
I'm gonna make myself some dinner now.
Ah, that's disappointing. I was trying to imagine the pain of a 30K walk while I did my usual 8K strolls (I try and do two with a nap in between) yesterday. I admire that level of stamina. I hope you get to help JW lose his virginity soon. Um, I mean break the 30K barrier. Context really is everything!
ReplyDeleteHad a feeling the snow would put a damper on those plans. Didn't get much walking done up here in Uijeongbu either. 30km sounds like an impressive goal for February. How many hours does the trip to Yeoju normally take?
ReplyDeleteDaniel,
ReplyDeleteLast year, with a backpack on, I took over ten hours to walk from Yangpyeong to Yeoju. Yikes. That's a super-slow pace, but it's probably because I took a lot of rest breaks. Unencumbered, I'd expect to take seven or eight hours. (Naver Map assumes a walking speed of 4 kph, so it projects a time of about 7.5 hours.)
Sounds totally doable! Heads up on more snow this Wednesday evening.
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