Climb Every Mountain

Last month, I spent a day in the mountains with some friends. We started out early in the morning, took a bus to the base of the hills and set out. The weather was clear and a bit chilly. The first part of our hike was through a cemetery, large tombs with food and incense sticks set out at the entrance. Some of the oranges had been peeled and partially eaten. Someone was taking advantage of other's beliefs. After an hour or so, the trail ended at a farm. It looked abandoned except for evidence of animals. We trespassed in the hopes of finding a path or someone to help us find it. Sure enough, squatting outside her door peeling onions, was a snaggle-tooth elderly lady. She was surprised to see so many foreigners but was quick to offer us a drink or something to eat. She let us take pictures with her and we chatted brokenly. She doesn't travel to the city, too difficult. We gave her some of our snacks we had with us and some fruit. The custom is to refuse several times which she did but you could see in her eyes how much she wanted them and we carried out the custom by pushing it at her until she accepted. She was kind enough to point us in the right direction. Past the farm, the trail took an upward turn and suddenly, we came across two women with horses. They gave us pieces of root that tasted much like radish. We haggled over prices to rent the horses since the path had become very steep. They gave us a reasonable price and two people mounted up. We were passed by another group of riders in suits and ties. It was Christmas day and they were going to the top to sing. I had never seen so many well dressed people in the middle of nowhere.
After a while, we shifted riders and suddenly the price went up! Doubled because now someone else was on the horses. What? They told us we couldn't change riders again but we did it anyway and halfway up they said we had reached to top and should dismount and pay. We gave them the original agreed upon price and struggled up the rest of the way on our own. We stopped for lunch outside a small village. Since I had not thought to bring lunch, I followed an old lady who said she had a restaurant nearby. Nearby was a relative term but the food was delicious, rice with potatoes in it, kung pao chicken and pickled cucumbers. I carried it back to the group and we ate seated on the ground near a newly plowed field, enjoyed singing and took a nap. Reluctantly, we decided it was time to get moving since we hadn't yet reached the top. We soon realized though, that we did not know where we were going. Our paths became dead ends and brambles. Each person we met sent us in a different direction. Before we knew it, we were following three teenagers over rocks and cliffs. They were in heels and suits. The view at the top, while not providing us with a way home, was stunning! Another visitor sent us over more cliffs in search of the illusury "path". We reached the pagoda we had seen from the other peak and again the landscape was worth the work, but we still were not headed downhill. We spent all day on that mountain and just before it became dusk, we came upon a paved road. I would not need the emergency thermal blanket I had in my bag or my pocket knife after all. The road took us to a park where knowledgeable visitors started and finished their hike. Bathrooms, stores and a bus home. Who knew? Not us! Despite my active imaginary plan to sleep on the mountain, build a fire, hunt for food and make sure our group survived the night, we made it home without serious incident and feasted family style on Korean food at a local restaurant. It was a wonderful day. I am grateful to my parents for taking us hiking and camping so often growing up. It often comes in handy here and makes situations that would unnerve many others, quite enjoyable.

Mandy

"Hiking through the mountains is easy, except for the hiking part"

-me