The story's not actually over. I have one more thing I need to do, and I'll do it tomorrow morning. That said, I made it to Andong proper just fine, first arriving at the barrage or sluice gate that you might think is the dam (but it's not), then arriving at the Andong Dam Certification Center, then finally arriving at the dam itself. What a walk today was—an adventure for sure.
Before we get into all that, though, my final stats: 35.2 km, 45,370 steps, 482 minutes, 4.4 kph. Again with the exaggeration of the distance walked—by 26% this time (Naver said today's walk, including doubling back from the dam, totaled 28K).
The initial jaunt back to the bike trail from my motel, this morning, took some time. While the walk was generally a happy and cheerful one, it was also something of a cavalcade of death: I walked past three dead mice in a row and several splattered, exploded snakes. Just a reminder of how life and death are intimately linked.
I also passed several distance markers that were utterly untrustworthy. One marker said the dam was 7.8 km away, then the next marker said it was 10 km. Measuring distance is apparently a very subjective thing. I can't trust Naver, or my pedometer, or the local distance markers. All I can say for sure is that it was a tiring trek.
Plenty of farmland and riverside scrub along the way, plus the usual barking dogs. I passed through apple-orchard country and ate a fallen apple after removing a large, brown spot that ended up running surprisingly deep into the fruit. There were plenty of flowers and quite a few pumpkins; one section of my walk was lined on both sides with cosmos flowers.
There was one weird section involving an old man in an electric scooter. The guy followed me like a stalker for well over a kilometer, coughing and grunting the entire time. He finally pulled ahead of me and took a side road, much to my relief. It could be that I was simply walking the same route that he was riding along, but the net effect was that I felt as if I were being slowly pursued by a phlegm zombie. Part of me tried to remember that, God willing, I too will one day be that old, but another part of me wanted the guy gone pronto. It's sad to be truly old, even sadder to be old and unwanted.
There was a section I passed through called Danho which, when pronounced the Korean way, sounds like the name of that famous Hawaiian singer Don Ho. So I walked through Don Ho's district and crossed over Don Ho's bridge.
Speaking of singers: toward the end of my walk, I passed a crowd that was listening to a woman sing, and damn, was she terrible. I recorded a few seconds just so you can hear for yourself how off key she was.
The weather got warm and sunny at times, and my forearms did end up getting a bit burned, but if there's one place on the body where sunburn isn't a huge issue, it's the forearms. For all of my walk, the weather today was awesome... but the moment I reached the dam and sat down to rest, it started raining. Just my luck. I don't recall seeing rain in the forecast, either.
If the Pungcheon-myeon part of Andong had a chill vibe, so did the more central part of Andong where I found myself today. I am currently in the Star Motel, a mu-in (person-free) facility with a check-in machine that worked in an easy, straightforward manner. At W50,000 a night, the place is a tiny bit expensive, but it's well maintained and not lacking in facilities.
I'd mentioned in an earlier post that Andong struck me as a place of living history, not a land of monuments. Well, the day ended with a park full of monuments, many of which are dedicated to things like the March First independence movement and the beginning of the Korean War. The dam is a focal point for history and tourism, but one thing I noticed was that people liked congregating in the park, but few people walked to the dam itself; the ones who did go that way did so by driving. Of course, everyone fled the moment it started to rain.
So the one thing I have left to do (aside from eat an Andong specialty) is to climb the dam and see Andong Lake (안동호, Andong-ho). Since I have to check out by 11 a.m., I think the strategy will be to be out the door for a walk up the dam (via some stairs at a park next to the dam) by 7:30. I'll fart around and take some final pictures, go back to my motel, take a shower, dress in non-smelly clothes, check out by 11, and quietly enjoy a local specialty before taking the bus across town to Andong's rail station or bus terminal. From there, it's back to Seoul.
This means I won't follow my usual routine, which involves an evening shower and change of toe bandages. That'll all happen in the morning. I'm looking forward to a good climb, tomorrow, followed by a decent meal. There's a gan-godeungeo/간 고등어 restaurant just a couple buildings over from where I am. They refused to serve me this evening, but I bet they'll serve me lunch tomorrow.
Actually, that's one disturbing thing that happened this evening: I went to two different restos and got rejected by both. The first restaurant said it was turning off its lights and closing down for the evening even though it wasn't yet 7 p.m. The second restaurant (the one I'll try again tomorrow) was friendlier, but the girl at the front counter said the restaurant had run out of ingredients for the evening, so it wasn't accepting any more customers. Seeing as I'm a Seoulite, this sort of thing is unheard of to me. You don't close your restaurant at dinnertime, and you always plan ahead to be able to accommodate customer traffic. Running out of ingredients? That's pretty unprofessional. But the resto is right next to me, so I'll try it again tomorrow.
Despite all of the day's animal deaths and personal difficulties, I had a blast. This was a great way to finish the Andong path, which I'd been wanting to do for a while. I'm left with the bittersweet feeling of accomplishment that comes at the end of every such walk, and l look forward to doing the Four Rivers path again next year—first time since 2020.
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot: Day 4 was the day the Andong path decided to get funky with the terrain. I encountered two hills today; the first was a challenge, but it was only a warmup for the second hill, which was far meaner and nastier. Still, even the second hill wasn't quite as bad as some of the worst hills on the Four Rivers trail—which also lie along the Nakdong River.
So I guess there's one more entry after this, then I'll write my comprehensive wrap-up entry, in which I'll have plenty to say about both the Jeju and the Andong hikes.
Meanwhile, enjoy the following pictures.
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leaving my motel |
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the hornèd moon |
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first of several crushed snakes |
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Ha-ri Bridge |
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end of the Four Rivers in Busan = 326.6 km |
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finally picking up the riverside path |
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lunch discount special on Pungsan sashimi |
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arfer |
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and friends, with one pup showing what he'll do to me |
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pumpkin on an incline |
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bikers |
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cooking and camping prohibited |
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a building devoted to prehistory, I think |
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those fall colors |
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the Danho-gyo (Don Ho's bridge) |
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river sandbar |
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pure life of the Nakdong is our pure future |
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God is telling me to turn left |
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myo |
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what one type of porta-potty looks like |
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first dead mouse, maybe killed by the cold |
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Number Two |
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and at last, Number Three |
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snake—alive, for once |
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Nakdong River Jongju Bike Route |
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another turnoff |
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froggie looks poisonous |
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froggie looks military |
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flailing balloon guards apple trees |
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apples |
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that fallen apple |
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squirting water |
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mmm |
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Don Ho, First Village |
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giddy kittie |
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looks at me when I pssst to it |
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cowz |
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that first hill |
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withered chili peppers |
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more flailing |
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7% grade |
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up and up we go |
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dramatically splayed frog carcass |
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looking down at the Nakdong |
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seen while descending |
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Goha Bridge |
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another smooshed snake |
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bridge in the distance |
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another smashed snake |
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placed at intervals are these sandbags |
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I swear I'm not placing these snakes here. |
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this is the West Andong Bridge (not crossed) |
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Mo-un Temple (pronounce it "moh-oon," not rhyming with "town") |
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Geomam Bridge |
Right about here is where that old man started following me on his electric scooter.
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algae follows me from Jeju |
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God tells me to go right. |
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Hay says hey. |
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The old man scooted ahead of me but fell behind soon after. God, the coughing and grunting. |
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cluster of asters |
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Here is where he pulled ahead and turned onto a side street. Bye! |
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Geomam Center for the Elderly |
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up a hill |
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This is the hill that turned out to be a bastard. |
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up and up we go... again |
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It just never stops. And the sun decided to shine hard. |
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overgrown shwimteo |
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many myo |
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approaching the top |
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yeah! |
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I scratched my own memento. "Kim Kevin, 2022" |
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the top |
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7% grade going down |
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This sign says this route is a detour. |
Sand Plant, with dirt-related machinery
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very chill dawg, silently watching |
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place for sorting trash |
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I liked the rose/garbage contrast. |
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more sorted garbage |
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I didn't like all the flies, though. |
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more serpentine tragedy |
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train tunnel |
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dog off leash and barking = not good |
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almost as dramatic as a snake |
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Does this really say "laxative"? |
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lots of open parkland coming |
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Jesus Christ: the biggest hornets' nest I've ever seen up close—easily two feet tall |
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good God |
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Apartments in the distance herald a city. |
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I rested here a while to let my phone battery recharge. |
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back on the bike path after some time on the walking path |
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weir to help aerate the river water |
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afternoon sun; shadow points east |
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What's that about love? |
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fascinating masks |
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Would've been better to have water pouring out of their mouths. |
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Danger Man reappears |
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People know when they're being watched. |
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This turns out to be a favorite spot for jet-skiiers and speedboaters. |
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pergola in use |
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차선준수 (chaseon junsu) = keep in your lane 보행자전용 (bohaengja jeonyong) = pedestrian use |
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Someone knows a Romance language? |
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It came from another galaxy. |
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mini speedboat |
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and another |
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dam, 9 km |
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right next to the previous sign: dam, 8K |
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tent under bridge |
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about to cross the first of two footbridges |
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great view of the river from the footbridge |
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ducks |
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Dongcheon Dam/Weir |
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approaching a horrible music festival |
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about to cross the second footbridge |
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now starting the final few kilometers to the end |
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cert center, 2.5K |
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the barrage you think is the dam, but no |
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cert center, 1.5K |
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the walkable top of the barrage |
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the backside of the whole thing |
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bridge under construction |
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I assume they'll build a tunnel or something. |
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1K to the cert center |
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spider eats dragonfly—yeah! |
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These are boats with tiny outboard motors. |
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All sorts of fun boat rides on this part of the river. |
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Resto serving gan godeungeo, an Andong specialty (mackerel) that Charles mentioned in a comment. |
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heading into town |
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a popular riverside area |
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where those boats launch |
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Read right to left: Weolyeong-gyo, or (roughly) Moonlight Bridge |
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Weolyeong-gyo, but top to bottom now |
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Andong Water Cultural Center |
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that familiar little booth |
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cert center at last |
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stamp |
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Moonlight Park (vaguely looks like a Jeju stone grandfather) |
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Andong March 1st Memorial |
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for Korean War vets |
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finally, a dragonfly |
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and another! |
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fall colors |
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Dafuq is this?? |
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leafy leaves |
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the actual Andong Dam |
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Waterfall Park, 850 m |
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Christ, more walking |
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note the lighting—crass commodification of nature |
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'brary in the middle of the woods |
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I think this is part of the dam. Turbine driven by water flow? |
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hydroelectric power |
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can't climb these stairs |
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but a man can dream |
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the stairs I'll take in the morning |
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my motel for tonight, Room 207 |
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hilarious: a sign saying "fridge vending machine" free: water, drinks (just remove and consume) pay: beer, adult products (pay W10,000)
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So they keep their adult products in the fridge, eh? Whatever's in there had better be alive, in that case. If I'm stuffing anything up my ass, it had better struggle.
That's the photo tour for the last official day of the walk. Except for going atop the dam, Jeju and Andong are now done. I need to go back, fill in captions, enlarge the pictures, and write a wrap-up post. All of that will take a few days. But first, tomorrow is sort of an unofficial Day 26. Expect photos and a small writeup of how the morning goes.
Last thing—some videos from today.
Flappin':
More flappin':
Mini speedboats whoosh by:
Really bad singing:
Me walking:
3 comments:
Looks to have been a dam fine last day, despite the ups and downs.
Enjoyed the scenery, as always, and the added adventure of being stalked by the old man. I really thought those scooters moved a lot quicker than walking pace; maybe he just liked looking at your ass.
Those early morning shots had a "last man on earth" feel about them, but things livened up by the afternoon with all the Sunday lake-goers. And yes, that singing was awful--she'd fit right in at the videoke parlors here in the PI.
Holy mackerel--turned away by hotels and now restuarants--maybe you have an "air" about you?
Good luck on the climb today, and enjoy the after-shower meal. You earned it!
Kevin, have you thought about using an app that uses satellite data to calculate distance during your hikes? I use All Trails, and have cross checked it with a car odometer and it is quite accurate. Granted, it does not count steps, but does give elevation change, distance splits and a calorie counter (which I do think it not very accurate). Brian
Brian,
No, but I'll check it out. Thanks.
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