tonight is a camping night

If all has gone according to plan, tonight is a camping night. 

[October 26 edit! NB: I just realized that everything you're going to read below is a description of my second night of camping, which happens on November 4, about eight days later. Whoops! Sorry. Tonight's camp is by (well, under) the Sangju Sangpoong Bridge. I will, however, be by the Nakdong River. That part is true for October 27.]

I'm out by the Nakdong River, and in theory, the place is quiet. The spot I traditionally pick is located along a small, short road that veers close to the water. The road has a pull-off spot that can fit a parallel-parked car; that's usually where I set up camp for the night. So, yes: I'll be camping on concrete, but I'll have a foam roll, so it's all good. The scrub vegetation in that area is rough and tough enough to poke holes in my groundsheet, and possibly even in my bivy bag (= bivouac bag, a coffin-shaped mini-tent with no room to stow one's backpack), which is why it's better for me to be on the concrete, which is more or less smooth.

Nighttime brings night sounds, especially the yowl-screeches of the local neoguri, the raccoon-dogs that like to live beside rivers and creeks (Seoul has a ton of these animals along its many creeks). If the neoguri are screeching, this means they aren't hunting, so while the sound of their vocalizations is creepy, there's no reason to think they'll attack. I normally just lie still and let the little fuckers make their noise. Other nighttime sounds might include cars and people who drive up to my spot expecting some privacy. I don't think my presence has ever deterred anyone from stopping where I am, though; I just have to tolerate the muted, garbled sounds of conversation. How well I sleep on these camping days depends on a lot of different factors. I like camping, so the (f)act of camping doesn't make me miserable. But there are times when the humans are talking too long and too loudly, or the neoguri are yowling and screeching a bit too much. In such cases, I'll be lucky to get three hours' sleep.

Ideally, I'll be up early the following day. Then again, striking camp takes me a while when I'm semi-tired; by the time I'm on my way, the sun's brightness is lighting up the sky. Just once, I'd like to wake at 3 and be on my way by 4, while it's still dark. But that's not likely.

The Nakdong is wide but silent. At night, you'd hardly know there was a huge river flowing close by. That's part of the river's charm, though. It's old and quiet.