at 8:30 p.m., I'm out

Forecast for tonight: all clear, with temps in the 70s (23º-ish C) dropping down to the mid-60s (18º-ish C)—a very pleasant night for a walk. I won't even need a jacket.

As mentioned before, the route will go from Yangpyeong to Yeoju. This being a night walk, I have to be mindful of the state of my bowels because, at night, many of the usual facilities won't be open. I want to avoid the situation of having to dig a cathole, although I'll bring along some tissue... just in case. While I might bring a little snack of trail mix and jerky along with me, I'm not eating anything before the walk.

I've never walked this portion of the Four Rivers trail at night; it ought to be interesting. Night walking definitely has a different feel to it. There's less of a view, but the all-encompassing quiet lends such walks a very peaceful, calming ambience.

So the plan is to leave my place at 8:30 p.m. and train out to Yangpyeong Station, then start walking from there. It's 30K to Yeoju, and I pass two major dams along the way: the Ipo Dam and the Yeoju Dam. If I can, I'll try to take some pics of the walk, but it'll be dark (except wherever there's electric lighting), so no promises.

At 30K, the walk will technically take six hours (5 kph) assuming a constant speed and no breaks. More realistically, I'll be stopping for breaks and slowing way down by the end, so I'd put my time at closer to eight hours. If I take the train at 8:30 p.m. tonight, I'll arrive in Yangpyeong about two hours later, so that's a 10:30 p.m. start—let's say 11:00 p.m. at the latest. Assuming an eight-hour walk, I'll be walking until well past sunrise and arriving at the Yeoju Bus Terminal by 7-ish. I won't be in any hurry, and the station has ticket machines allowing you to purchase a bus ticket for whenever you want to leave for Seoul. No stress, no rush. Then it's a nice bus ride back to Seoul followed by a cab ride to my apartment.

Side note: my buddy JW texted me for the first time in a few months. We seem to be pretending that the luncheon incident from May (where JW arrived drunk) never happened. JW very kindly invited me to a soccer event tomorrow—VIP seating in a special room with a view of the game, with constantly catered food. I was sad to turn him down on that score, given my busy weekend, but he and I will be doing a walk this coming Monday morning, hopefully finishing before the day gets too hot.

Today, I'm running behind as usual. I don't think I'll be making all the pension reservations today, but as long as I get a few done, that'll be good. I also need to do that pie filling; I was supposed to do it last night, but binge-watching eight episodes of "Primal" put me behind schedule. (It's a ten-episode season, with two more episodes coming—one today and one next week.) Not a big deal; it's vacation, and I'm in no rush. Easy does it.

I might blog some random crap before I head out tonight, or I might not. Stay tuned.