Day 23, in Jibo

Stats: 32.9 km, 42,235 steps, 443 minutes, 4.5 kph. The route described by Naver was supposed to be 25K, and it may have been, but my pedometer says it was nearly 33K. Frankly, it felt like over 30K today, but I've also long suspected that my pedometer exaggerates distances. I trust it for step count (I've tested it multiple times), and I trust it for minutes walked, but I've never trusted it for calculating distance. If today really was only 25K, then 32.9 ÷ 25 = 1.316, meaning that my pedometer is exaggerating distances by an uncomfortable 32%. And yet, today's walk took a long time, even when we factor in my post-stroke speed and my frequent stopping to take photos. Subjectively, today felt like more than 30K. Naver Map, too, can be untrustworthy when it comes to distance. I've measured the same route two different times and gotten two different results before. This has happened more than once. So I guess, Dear Reader, the best we can do is to treat these figures as ballpark numbers, not as scientifically accurate measurements. So maybe I walked only 25K, but it felt like over 30K.

Today was Day 2 of the Andong Dam walk, but it was my first real day out on the trail in the daytime. Most of the walk kept me within sight of the Nakdong River, but there was one stretch that took an inland shortcut. I passed through lots of serene farmland and saw plenty of evidence that the mainland's harvest is in full swing.

This stuff might be boring for you, with all my endless photos of crops and fields, but it's utterly beautiful and fascinating to me. I've gained a real appreciation for Korean agriculture, as well as a better understanding of the utter necessity of farming for the continued survival of a nation. Farmers everywhere work their asses off, and to no fanfare. They are, instead, the butt of jokes (I'm guilty of making such jokes myself; I really need to stop because these good folks don't deserve the ribbing), and they're stereotyped as stupid and simple. But farm work requires an understanding of the ancient rhythms of the earth and sky and living things, not to mention a modern understanding of chemicals and technology. I would challenge any smug, know-it-all, college-educated, Starbucks-swilling idiot to get his sorry ass out to a farm and do the labor that farmers do for several months. Pace rich morons like Michael Bloomberg, farming requires brains and talent to do well. How many people who ridicule farmers know how to drive a tractor, seed a field, or apply the principles of irrigation and drainage to a patch of ground?

The walk also took me past many burial mounds (myo), and I saw all the usual tropes that I've come to know and love: spiders, random insects, abandoned gloves, beautiful flowers, and all the rest. The Andong region is said to be Korea's most conservative and traditional; the farms, small villages, and burial mounds would all seem to attest to a deep sense of history. But it's a living history, not a history for show: I didn't pass many monuments or other dedicated displays.

Weather today was about as perfect as a Kevin could want: cool, cloudy, with only a little sun peeking through the clouds now and then. The morning was cool enough that I needed to wear my jacket for the first hour or so of walking, but once the sun began to warm the sky, I stowed the jacket in my backpack. 

There were very few bikers on the path, which was quiet except for the periodic vehicles that would use the path illegally as an access road (see pics below). When I was resting at a shwimteo, I watched a German couple (they were calling out to each other in German) bike right past the turn they needed to make. They realized their mistake, doubled back, and biked right past me. I smiled and pointed down the path they needed to follow, confirming they were now going in the right direction. 

While there were a couple stretches of road with almost no safe shoulder to walk on, traffic in this part of the country is pretty sparse. Thus far, I've felt little to no danger.

But this is the sort of walk I'd have liked to do in Jeju. Don't get me wrong: Jeju was beautiful and had its own unique features, but it was also draining and stressful thanks to the terrain and inconstant weather.  This Andong path, which is part of what's called the Nakdong-gang Jongju (Nakdong River end-to-end path), is utterly consistent with the spirit of the Four Rivers path, which remains my favorite. It's quiet, simple, and straightforward, and even after having done only one full day of it, I'm already sure I'll be doing this path again soon.

I'm now in the Daeseon Motel, in the small town of Jibo, which lies a bit away from the river. It's a simple room I have at W35,000 a night, with WiFi that's too slow for my purposes, meaning I've had to break out the portable WiFi hotspot to be able to upload my mess of pics at a respectable speed. The Daeseon bills itself as a motel, but once you step inside, there are signs calling the place a yeogwan, and frankly, that's more what this place is. It's one of those old-school places with random screws jutting out of the walls for you to be able to hang your clothes here and there. I love that shit. It was a relief for me to be able to take a shower and work on my right big toe, which can get stinky. I cleaned the toe out with a double whammy of alcohol and hydrogen peroxide, but what I really need to do is cut away all the callus and let the toe's wound breathe. Can't do that until this walk is over in a couple days, though. Patience.

Righto—here are today's photos, all 424 of them. Apologies in advance for blurred and fuzzy images.

The moment I opened my door at 6 a.m. this morning, the new occupant stepped right in. Tiny little fellow.

He climbed the wall, allowing me this closeup.

the moon, still high in the sky

I suddenly realized I knew this place. Every trek I've done along the Four Rivers path has led me through this area. The only difference, this time, was that I was approaching it from the opposite direction. At this intersection, if you were to turn right, you'd go up a little hill and end up in a park with cairns and a sculpture garden of huge, wooden pieces. Look at my previous walk blogs from 2017, 2019, and 2020, and you'll see pictures of this garden. Today's route, alas, bypassed the garden completely, but it retraced my previous steps up to the Sangpoong Bridge. 

ad for a huge walkers' event

Do you see the massive cobwebs?

I've done this path three times before, but in the other direction.

evidence of fall

Persimmon trees would prove to be a recurrent motif today.

weird to be walking downhill to this deck

The long straightaway begins.

The Nakdong is great for fishing.

Someone had a sense of humor.

more campers/fishermen

arfer from afar, once again reacting to me too late

sun behind clouds

This says Gukto Jongju, a reminder that I'm on the Four Rivers path. 

Note how the animal asshole's pawprints go in opposite directions. I suspect this was a cat that crossed the wet concrete twice. Fucking asshole.

prints go one way

then another

water-resource protected area

fellow traveler

I'll be taking the right turn to the Andong Dam.

Sangpoong Bridge coming up

The bridge is 612 m long.

narrow shoulders, but little traffic

Sangpoong Bridge

the Nakdong in all its glory

bridge troll

Having crossed the Sangpoong Bridge, I was now in utterly new territory. Everything beyond this point would be novel to me as this was now the Nakdong-gang Jongju, not the Four Rivers path.

sashimi place: Riverside Garden

Riverside Garden again

first illegal vehicle of the day

Andong Dam, 71 km; end of Four Rivers, 314 km

more illegal vehicles (this was getting obnoxious)

struck and knocked off the road

You're looking at a neoguri (pronounce that "naw-goo-ree," with a Spanish "r"), which is a raccoon-dog in English. These creatures like living next to rivers and creeks. They make creepy growling noises at night.

This was my first-ever chance to examine one up close.

You guys can all go to hell.

One of the friendliest signs I've ever seen in these paths. "Sansujeong Restaurant! Place for delicious meals. Varied menu. Minbak." A minbak is a place where you can stay overnight for cheap. I really wanted to leave the path and visit this place. But it was too early in the day (8:44 a.m.) for a meal.

I took a rest here and Skype-texted with my buddy Mike.

I hate it when people fail to put their trash in the trash receptacle.

Park golf. Unbelievable. Park golf is golf for old people. It uses a huge golf ball and seems almost like croquet. It requires a lot of ground to play on. I find it annoying.

faces

more faces

What's drying on this flatbed?

flowers?

The aliens were too drunk to make proper crop circles.

Parkland to the left, farmland to the right.

This shit is relentless. (The vehicles, I mean.)

I mean, fuck.

I believe we're looking at rice in sheaves.

It just never stops. Christ.

A comment about the above grasshopper pic: while I was in Jeju, I'd wanted to get pictures of grasshoppers, but they were all too skittish. The reason why I was so keen to photograph these little fuckers was that it was obviously mating season, and they were all over the place. So the above is really meant to apply retroactively to my time in Jeju. The reason why I could photograph the above hopper is that the cool temperature made the insect sluggish.

This spider was actually pretty tiny.

no swimming

another story ended

missing three legs

pupa

The border of Mungyeong City, which I cross through while on the Four Rivers path.

note the fall coloration

lots of straightaways this trip

What's drying here?

no idea

and here?

beans in pods?

another hopper

chili peppers

a little gate to control irrigation

forklift with pallets

prints of a heavy animal, maybe a raccoon-dog (asshole)

tiny jumping spider

aqueduct-thingy

one of many myo

more myo

Even the deer are assholes.

some sort of squash

and another

9 Dragons Bridge

barely qualifies as a bridge

Didn't we just see a 9 Dragons Bridge?

At one point, I found a persimmon tree with a single lorn persimmon hanging off it. This was a risk because, in the past, I've illicitly appropriated persimmons before, only to discover they were unripe. An unripe persimmon is horrible. But today, luck was with me, and the fruit I ate was plenty ripe. Victory! And yes, I guess I'm a thief.

I rested a while here and let my phone battery recharge. This is where the German couple rode past, then rode past again. I was kind of a smug jerk about it. 

tiny Don King caterpillar rearing up like a kitten trying to be threatening

The shwimteo turned out to be swarming with caterpillars.

yet another

fat, skinny—it's all about the angles

I tried to pluck this one off my shoe gently, but I accidentally killed it.

elder-care center

a grave, but not a myo

Is that a tiny male spider?

Christian grave

thought this was a downed kite at first

It's one of those farmers' tools that act like a scarecrow to keep avian pests away.

a rare biker sighting

And we're back by the river again.

one of my favorite shots

also one of my favorite shots

The parade of assholes never ends.

more neoguri-asshole tracks?

looks mean

56K to the dam, according to this

Close to the end, I had to cross a bridge.

One of my major regrets was that I didn't take a closeup photo of this gentleman you see in the distance. We spoke briefly, and he was very nice, asking me about where I lived and what my walk was about. He was also a very dignified-looking chap, gray and grandfatherly. I really regret not getting his photo.

looking down from the bridge

other side

next bridge over (for cars)

Is there wood in the structure of this bridge?

This was the point where I and the Nakdong-gang Jongju parted ways. The bike path went right, but I had to go straight ahead to the town of Jibo to reach my motel.

Mijeon Bridge Number 3

Andong Jibo

going left

a pretty dramatically exploded snake

about to walk into town

Welcome! says the stone wheel

yet another disembodied limb

The last two Chinese characters say seong dang (holy hall), so I knew this was a cathedral.

must be October

tried to catch this guy as he whirred past

dilapidation in front, my motel in back

Thus ended Day 2 of the Andong Dam walk.