back at my apartment

Day 1: Incheon to Gayang (western Seoul)

Day 2: Gayang to my apartment

Day 2 of the Four Rivers walk sees me back at my place for a night. Today was cloudy until about noon, so it was much cooler, and I think I walked a lot faster. At a guess, the majority of my speed problem comes down to things like ambient temperature and humidity.

Before I get into how today went, though, I want to mention some things I forgot to include in yesterday's entry because I was so damn tired. 

Worm drama. Earthworm carcasses littered the ground for kilometers during yesterday's walk, probably because of the recent rain, which must have driven the little guys out of the soil and onto the asphalt. Then, as the day heated up, the earthworms that were too dumb to figure out how to cross the path dried up and got cooked. Note: Korean earthworms are huge and muscular. I admit I want to know what they taste like, and I might just harvest some for myself. I haven't cut open an earthworm since high-school biology class. Korean earthworms are so muscular, in fact, that some are considered able to "jump" when you try to pick them up (see some smaller Asian jumping worms here). As I passed carcass after carcass, I began wondering how much all of this annelid biomass weighed. Pounds? Tons?

Obnoxious cyclists. I took some pictures of these uncouth people (you'll see them when I publish the full photo essay), but the pics I took account for only a tenth of what was happening: there were so many cyclists straying into the pedestrian lane, moving back into the proper cycling lane only at the last second after seeing me. I kept entertaining fantasies of what I'd do if I were telekinetic. Imagine a bike path littered with the corpses of people with crushed brains, exploded skulls, and third-degree burns all over their bodies. Or cyclists dropped from great heights or plunged into the nearby Ara Canal. About 15% of the local cycling population would have died by my hand yesterday.

Foot pain. My feet were killing me at the end of yesterday's walk. I took an ibuprofen, which helped, and I examined my feet, which looked fine on the outside. After a good night's sleep, I woke up today and was able to walk pretty fast for the first couple of hours without any hitches. I was slower by the end of the day, but the real pain didn't start until I was at my place and no longer walking.

MapMyWalk. After yesterday's test of the app, I know that I won't be using MapMyWalk on the long trans-Korea trek. It consumes a ton of battery power thanks to the real-time GPS mapping. For short walks, it's fine, but for walks that last over five hours, forget it. I had to pull out my portable charger and waste time recharging the phone while I was out on the trail. I also messed up the app's calculation of my time and distance because I forgot to hit "pause workout" when I went on the subway from Geomam Station to Cheongna International City Station (just 1 stop, but about 8 km distant). I didn't realize this until I was a couple hours into yesterday's walk.

Today's 29K walk, with the weather being cloudy and cool all morning, went much faster, and there wasn't any pain until the very end, which is when I stopped at my place and took off my shoes and socks. My right sole was painfully achy and sensitive at the pads of my rightmost toes—the pinky toe and the so-called "fore toe." As was true yesterday, the toes look fine, but they obviously need some rest. I'm not planning on staying on my feet much longer, so here's hoping the toes get a long night's rest. I took more ibuprofen this afternoon, and the foot has stopped screaming.

Both yesterday and today, I've also been hampered by lower-back pain. Having watched many videos on the subject, I'm guessing the major culprit tends to be a weak core. Since I haven't done much in the way of core work, that's going to have to change. I don't like moving around like an invalid. Along with planks, there are core exercises that can be done while standing, so I need to start doing those.

Today's walk was simple and straightforward; there was nothing to "pre-walk." The weather was fantastic. Not a bad way to celebrate Chuseok. Again, Happy Chuseok!

Righto—here are ten pics from the 178 photos (+ 1 video) I took today. Sorry—the video isn't part of today's uploads, but it'll be out later. If you stick around.

Rosy-fingered dawn.

This construction was here three years ago. Nothing's changed.

Rose of Sharon, South Korea's national flower

South Korea's version of the Capitol Building: the Gukhoe Euisadang/국회의사당, or National Assembly Hall

I finally got up close and touched this sculpture. Turns out the fur is rubber.

As I've said before, I will always love these dramatic cartoons.

A dying spotted lanternfly, native to China and considered invasive elsewhere.

This praying mantis was determined to make it all the way across the path.

It's rare for me to capture the recumbent bikes.

Back at my place. Up the street is my apartment building.

Sadly, my route through Yeouido didn't take me past the famous Goemul sculpture. I've photographed it before (see here in 2020). Was the sculpture perhaps moved? Maybe: I saw some new works of art along the Yeouido portion of the walk today, including a giant replica of the sinister robotic girl from "Squid Game." (The photo will appear in the full photo essay.)

And now: a shower, then bed. Night!

PHOTO ESSAY 

leaving the motel and heading out to the main street

Fat or pregnant? Better not ask.

Gayang Station, down the street from Gayang Bridge.

Quiet neighborhood next to the freeway that parallels the river.

Some old people were out. They probably jumped into the foliage when I appeared.

accessing the tunnel to reach the riverside path

almost there

and here we are

Keep the river on your left. Easy enough. And the sun is coming up.

Dawn.

"No Fishing"—as if you couldn't tell by the image

This has been here for years.

No shortage of parks on the south bank of the Han. The north is... decidedly less pleasant.

old-school shwimteo

Mrs. Doubtfire, I think

Sir Charles of the Chaplin

Something a little bit Deco about this kind of rounded architecture. It doesn't age well.

mugunghwa (Rose of Sharon)

how to use the water taxi (which I've never even seen)

going right... I always forget this part and have to consult Naver

the National Assembly Building

Hello, ma'am.

A few years back, this cert center was on the eastern side of Yeouido. Now, it's on the western side.

What evil shall we plot today?

water-rescue team

This part of the walk is quite pleasant.

This is where the dwarf kaiju portals in from another galaxy.

equipment for a night market: the Han River Moonlight (Night?) Market

Look way over to the left, and you'll see a gray plastic chair trying to blend in with the silver ones. Clever girl.

I think this is a pangolin sculpture.

Hangang just means "Han River."

I wonder whether this sculpture is a haven for insects.

right before he(?) was eaten

Homelessness is a problem in Seoul.

But some of these guys have bikes.

Professor Bird of Prey takes a selfie. Mr. Dodo is unaware, as usual.

There's no sense of scale, but this was a huge mushroom. Maybe a foot (≈30 cm) long.

It's quiet when it's early morning.

The Yuksam (Six Three) Building looms ahead. It's been years since I've been in there.

Dead boat gets its own shade.

Oho! An old friend appears.

It was finally time to solve the mystery of what this sculpture is made of. From a distance, I'd guess paper.

Nope. I reached out and felt it. It's heavy-duty rubber.

The tongue is a tire tread. Awesome.

This one is titled, Dare I Suck?

I have not mastered the art of writing on the phone's screen with my fingertip.

Recycling gets dumped here. Where it goes next, I have no clue.

The green sign says this is Wonhyo Bridge. Wonhyo's the monk who drank from a skull in a famous story.

Looks to be another homeless-person kit.

the glamour shot of the Yuksam Building

Fall, baby! Fall! (The sign says "Danger!")

Those abdomens are big, delicate, and vulnerable. Ask me how I know.

Quite possibly my favorite of the "danger" cartoons... the guy is falling so fluidly.

I took this shot and still have no idea what this is.

We're about to enter the under-the-bridge portion of the walk. It's not all gloom and doom, though.

We do pop out from under the bridges on occasion.

dying lanternfly

"For hate's sake... I spit... my last breath... at thee...."

Seating under the bridge is very dusty.

I stalk the couple ahead for several photos.

weird concrete "boulders"

Eventually, I passed the couple.

Another sign cautioning about wild animals, this one featuring a neoguri (raccoon-dog).

a black-eyed Susan?

one of the stranger shwimteo out there (and this was only half of the whole)

garbage rickshaw?

whale doing core work as girls look on admiringly

If you've watched "Squid Game," you've seen this girl before.

I swear—the Korean love of abstract sculpture. It knows no bounds.

Up ahead, you see that my path turns into dark asphalt. That's new. Used to be a dirt/gravel path.

The way this path is now paved is freaking me out a bit. The dirt on the side is reminiscent of the old path.

The elleh-clee... the elec-luh... the I-don't-know-how-to-pronounce-that.

Took a break for a bit and sat here.

a nicely overgrown pergola

still paved, still freaky

Above is a vid of the praying mantis you see in the photo below.

ho ho ho

As a kid, I heard that, in Virginia, killing praying mantises was illegal. I later found out that other kids in other states learned the same thing. But it's utter bullshit.

So kill away!

I was so happy to get this shot. These recumbent bikes pass me on the Han all the time.

that cathedral-like feeling as you stand under awesome engineering

Hanam city border: 17.5 km. Tan Creek confluence (where I turn inland): 3.7 km.

Lotte World Tower in the distance

squashed alien face

Tan Creek confluence—I'm about to turn right and inland

Someone graffiti'ed over that graffito.

Moving toward the Tan Creek now. My place is an hour distant.

Tan Creek to the left. I'm about to take a pit stop at a public restroom.

Back on the path.

two buddies just a-chillin'

fish

MOAR PHISH!

The Yangjae/Tan confluence, with the Yangjae Creek off to my right.

Yangjae Creek as seen from a small, low bridge, looking toward Seocho and, ultimately, Gwacheon.

Soon, there will be a ramp that leads up to the final stretch before my neighborhood.

We're up the ramp and heading along that final stretch.

The local guardian has only six legs. Insect.

the footbridge to my neighborhood

my apartment building in the distance

After two days out in the sun:

Several days later, and I'm a peeling mess.

It was after I got to my apartment that my right foot decided to start screaming. I was more or less fine during the walk itself. When I took off my shoes and socks and looked at my foot, I saw the incipient blistering and felt the bone-deep sensitivity, but nothing looked severely injured. For the moment, my theory is that the new Skechers might be good for occasional long walks of the 33K sort, but walking in them for two days in a row, at an average of more than 30K per day, is asking too much. It could also be that I'm still a bit deconditioned after nearly a year off my feet as I dealt with my toe ulcer. This leaves the upcoming walk in some doubt, but as long as I can rest and pop my ibuprofen, I ought to survive the trek. We'll see how things pan out.