Songnisan

---

The weekend before mom and Shan came to Korea, Jonathan and I went to Songnisan National Park with his two co-teachers. We partook in a 6 hour hike. It was pretty serious. After 3 hours we finally managed to reach the top. There was an extra 200 meter hike to a higher outlook. I thought, hey, I made it this far and now we only have to go down, of course I should run up there. Glad I did; it was a lovely view. Although it was a perfectly clear day the visibility was a little poor. We were told that it was yellow dust. Sand blows off the Gobi desert and ends up in Korea. It's called yellow dust season here. We were for warned of the horror stories of yellow dust season. Other English teachers told me that our apartment would be covered in a yellow film but that day at Songnisan was our only real exposure to it. The word is that this year has been pretty tame compared to previous years. I think it was over-hyped because we both felt a little screwed out of the experience. Although I am just fine that our apartment stayed clean.

After we reached the very top and took a rest, we headed down...and then up....and then down again.....and then UP AGAIN!! Turns out that we had to walk in a bunch of valleys before making the descent. Sorta wish I had saved my energy. I sure felt the burn that day and the next.

All in all it was a good time. I am loving the national parks here...and everywhere.

---

Photos

Who's the creeper in the back?
Apparently that was his intention