Baekdu Daegan // epilogue // Jinburyeong

It has now almost become a habit to rise up at the crack of dawn on the trail, so it is no surprise that I wake up by myself early in the morning this day as well. Since I am finished with the hike, it feels extra good to be able to just close my eyes again and continue sleeping. My body is light of expectation when I finally rises up from the bed, to a day without hiking. Outside, there is a thin haze being illuminated by the sun. I eat breakfast, bibimbap, in one of the restaurants below the pension, morning rice and morning haze.

Jinburyeong, upon arrival from Baekdudaegan (picture taken the day before).

Jinburyeong.

There is not much left to do here, but I have one thing I would like to do before I leave Jinburyeong and Baekdudaegan for now. With my backpack packed and ready, I walk down to the small area with the stele; I want to do another small celebration. There it is teeming with people now, a bus stands parked nearby and a large group is embarking on a large-scale preparation of food and drinks. They seems to be hikers that have finished their hike on the Baekdudaegan, they have probably hiked it in stages as most Koreans do.

At the finishing line by the stele in Jinburyeong. A hard and beautiful walk through South-Korea on the mighty Baekdudaegan is at its end.

I have made my own homemade hiking ribbon that I hang up among the other ribbons where the trail ends. At the same time, a new group of hikers are coming down from the ridge, where each hiker receives a flower and are being escorted down to the stele going through a gauntlet of cheering Koreans. For fun, I get in line after the arrived hikers and walk down myself; I also receive a flower and is being cheered at. It feels like a more worthy and deserved ending of the hike than the quiet arrival yesterday.

A group gives me a flower and are cheering at me at the end of the trail.

Then it is time for departure. After having walked and looked at the East Sea from the ridge for a long time, I have only one specific wish, and that is to get down to see the ocean. I have therefore decided that I will go to Sokcho, where I afterwards will travel to Gimcheon to visit Mr. Cho Byeongsam and his wife. The bus arrives, I take a last look up towards the ridge that I have come down from, before I enter the bus. It is with a strange feeling that I drive with the bus down from the ridge that I have spent the last 45 days on. It has been an adventure of the rare, a hard adventure, but one I certainly would not have missed. With me, I carry a part of the lifeforce that flows down from the spiritual backbone of South-Korea.

The little area that marks the end of the trail. A group are celebrating their finishing of the trail. By the banner, it looks like they started their hike on the 7th. April 2013.

In Sokcho, I go straight down to the sea and sit down to just look out towards the horizon, while the waves slowly rolls towards the beach.

<- Jinburyeong