here we go again

Unless something has come up, and I've forgotten to take this post down, the Hairy Chasms are going back on autopilot again—nothing but scheduled posts until December 10, starting today. Why? Because I'm busing back down to Daegu today, back to the Hong-C Motel, to resume the route I'd left off. It's basically the beginning of winter now, and while I won't be camping, I'll be walking during morning and afternoon conditions that are much colder than in the late fall. Assuming I'm starting at 4:30 or 5:00 a.m. every morning, I can trust that temps will be freezing for the first several hours of each segment. Being away from the waste heat of big cities means that temperatures, even down south as I move away from Daegu, will be harsh, including when morning gives way to afternoon.

I've decided to keep walking with my modest-sized backpack instead of with the old, faithful Gregory Baltoro 85. It is, frankly, too big of a pack for the type of walking I'm doing. I'll be carrying winter gear like gloves, extra socks, long-sleeve undershirts, a thick winter vest (gift from the boss some years back), a winter coat, a ski mask, a regular face mask (just to keep my breath close to my face), and maybe some ice cleats just in case I run into a snow/ice problem toward the end of the trek. Daegu is famous for its warmer-than-average temperatures compared to the rest of the country, so things shouldn't be too bad when I start out, but as I keep moving north and east, and as time rolls on, I can expect the conditions to change pretty substantially over eleven days. While I don't look forward to walking in heavy snow, the thing that really worries me is heavy rain. If I'm wearing winter gear when the rains come down, that could mean being soaked (note to self: keep that poncho). I may have to do some quick changes of clothing if a rain front ambushes me.

Otherwise, I'm prepping like an old man who doesn't want to endure unnecessary hardship. I haven't decided whether I'll be taking along my wide-brimmed hat; that's more a thing I need in the fall, when the sun shines more harshly. (Update: I've got the hat.) But bright winter sunshine is also a possibility, so this might become a better-safe-than-sorry sort of decision. Anyway, the hat, when rolled up, doesn't take up much room in the pack, so the more I think about it, the more likely it seems that I'll be taking it along.

I'll also be stocked up with first-aid kits; whenever I've used first-aid material, it's almost always been because of foot issues, so my kit is biased toward that. If the recently healed skin on my right foot reopens during this walk, I'll just keep on trucking until the very end, even if it means limping the entire day. It's an eleven-day calendar but only eight days of walking: I still have three planned rest days. Before the walk, I'll be sure to tape up my feet as well as possible, with a good bit of gauze secured to the tender parts of my soles.

You may recall this November 4 post over at the walk blog; that calendar hasn't changed. The itinerary is also a click away on the walk blog's right-hand sidebar. While I'm away, this blog will be back on a 3-post-a-day footing. There may be some exceptions here and there, but I think you'll get used to it. Of course, when you schedule posts, it's always a bit awkward if you happen to die along the way: the scheduled posts will keep on publishing until they run out, and it might feel as if the blog is being run by a ghost for a while. If I remember to, I'll give crucial information to friends and relatives to allow them to announce my death on my blog and maybe to stop all the scheduled posts. My current uploaded graphics since around mid-2016 have been stored on Google, and I've been paying for storage space, so I expect that subscription (among others) to shut down in the event of my demise.

Thoughts of possible death aside, I hope this turns out to be a better eleven days than the first eight days were. I've got better shoes, and I'm hoping there's less chance of rain. And while snow wouldn't exactly be welcome, I'll likely have my ice cleats along so I can keep my footing. There may be fewer pictures given the battery-power-sucking nature of cold, but as before, you'll see only ten pics per day during the actual walk, then I'll slap up the rest along with captions and commentary once I'm back, hopefully all before the end of the year.

This will have been a unique trans-Korea walk—the first ever to be broken up by injury. But you knew I couldn't just give up: how would I live with myself?

Righto... I'm leaving for Daegu right after work and starting my eleven days tomorrow.

Wish me luck.