I wake up at two o'clock in the night by the unmistakable sound of raindrops on the tent, and they are heavy. When it is time to wake up, the weather is raving outside like a possessed being. I decide to wait it out and see if it will be lifting after a while, for then to eventually start walking towards Jochimryeong. If it turns out to be too late to reach the pass before it gets dark, I will find a place to camp. However, I have no reason to believe it will do so.
A very wet morning at Guryongryeong, but I kept myself dry inside my tent.
Outside, I can hear Mr. Sang-Su Nam unlock the door to the closed hyugeso; I take that as a sign that it is time to get out of my sleeping bag. I am allowed to sit inside together with him and prepare and eat my breakfast. He tells me that it is a long time since the place operated as a hyugeso, now Korea Forest Service uses it as a learning place. Outside the nine dragons pass is weighed down by the downpour, everything that can be done to quench the dragon fire is being done. I capitulate, or chickening out if you like, not motivated for another day walking in a cloudburst. My third rest day on the walk is a fact.
Mr. Sang-Su Nam inside the disused hyugeso, which now are being used as a learning place by the Korea Forest Service.
While I am going out to pack down my tent, Mr. Sang-Su Nam is making some calls to arrange a place in a nearby minbak for me. He at first rejects a place, which he thinks is too expensive, being Norwegian the price was not so bad (60 000won, about 50$). The hostess at the minbak is driving up to the pass and picking me up.
Alongside the walls inside the hyugeso / learning place, there was arrayed samples of the different species of trees that exists in Korea.
The minbak is located in a small village called Myeonggaeri, but first the hostess drives me to a store nearby. I like to use the possibility to eat more than I usually are able to when I can. My body definitely could need more meat on the bones, the 39 days on the walk so far has made their marks. The standard at the minbak, fittingly named Healing House, is at least very good.
A rest day is a perfect opportunity to have things you have to do on a long walk done, like looking over your gear and fix things if something is not in order. In addition, I also washes my clothes; the remaining washing water can with certainty be classified as biohazard.
The river running through Myeonggaeri.
During the day, I also take a small walk around the little place. Since the weather is not at its best and it really is a small place, it becomes a short walk. The village feels nice. Standing at the bridge going over the river that runs through the village, I am looking up towards the mountains that has disappeared in the rainy weather. A thought is playing ironically around in my mind that each time I have a need for drinking water; the weather gods are answering me with rainwater. I feel that it is not just the Koreans that I have communication problems with, the weather gods here also does not understand what I am asking about (the Koreans are far better at it).
Myeonggaeri. Healing House, the minbak I am staying at to the right in the picture. Dark clouds hides the mountains above.
The host at the minbak, Mr. Jong-Am Park, is paying me a visit in the afternoon to check if everything is fine; he works at the Hankyoung National University, which is quite the distance from here.
My tent hanging out to dry outside the minbak, it got dry during the evening.
Of the three rest days I have had so far, this is probably the one that I have being doing the least on. Outside the tent is hanging to dry, and is dry again when a rest day becomes a rest night.
<- GuryongryeongJochimryeong ->
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