End of March, Kayaking in S.Korea '08

My first kayak adventure in South Korea. Inje, which is 2.5 hrs. Northeast of Seoul. Mountainous River area. Saturday morning, 50 min. subway ride into Seoul to a bus station, then a bus to Inje...about 2.5 hrs. As you know, a car is a must for kayaking, but I was able to use the public transportation system. A cold rainy spring day.....



Road sign to Inje....almost there. Getting excited to see what the kayak scene is like....



Countryside farmland.....



Part of a lake....water is soon on the way, still early, but I was told
this fills up before summertime.



Some major road work on the bus ride to Inje. Check out those bridge, overpass pillars.



I made it....this is the only kayak shop in the valley. The Songkang Canoe School & Outdoor Family. www.paddler.co.kr
Not a bad set-up. Right on the river. They have rooms for rent, kayaking, inflatable kayaks, and rafting. Almost ready to kayak........



Looking out from the back of the shop and the room I stayed in.....not a bad view...



An early season lesson. A bunch of their raft guides brushing up on their kayak skills. Clear water..you can even see the ripples in the sandy bottom. cool, eh!



Misty, cold morning.....Kinda like the Smokey Mountains.....low water. The rivers name is Naerincheon, it's class II to class IV+, and when it rains it can be raging. However, the Government and Police close the river when it gets high...maybe I'll be able to sneak on for some high water runs... :)



One of the owners and kayakers, Yung. Ready to head up river! Nice shuttle rig....




The group....5 of us....ready to go.....looks low, low water....we are paddling a 16km section, class II - IV. Should be fun....in a small playboat....WAVESPORT Project 52. All borrowed and rented gear. Funny thing....first time I had to pay/rent kayak and gear.....hmmm.....I guess I am in another country and I do get to kayak.... YAHOO!



Small Playspot....really the only action shot taken....nothing spectacular. Hopefully in the future I will be kayaking again. Better pics and maybe...just maybe some creekin'......!!!.....
It was cold.....very cold...low 30's F



Day 1 kayaking in Korea....made it....Good Times!!!



Time to eat...whole chicken soup, sticky rice, and Kimchi.....pretty tasty.



Ready to chow down.....Eating with the Outdoor Family.....



Second course. Pigs feet pieces of pork wrapped in lettuce, with some red pepper paste, and Kimchi.....of course...the Kimchi......and Soju.....plenty of Soju.....the choice alcoholic Korean drink.....



Sunday morning....The take out photo.....right next to the Kayak shop....the rain let up, not enough to bring the river up....still cold!

Day 2 on the river.....same run, just 9km today.



Put in photo. the kayak lesson continues and the 3 of us down river to our put-in. We are on the far left.



Take out pic....Today I used the WAVESPORT EZG 60....much more comfortable. But still tight feeling....need to practice Yoga more for the next kayak adventure. All this MTB riding is making me tight. None-the-less....it was fun. Sorry no more action shots...hopefully next time.



The owners chillin' out Sunday afternoon, just before I head back to the big city. The clean crisp mountain air was very nice. I hope to return soon. Great people...Good times!!





Nice Kayak shuttle at the bus station in Inje...I could find the driver...but that is one old fiberglass boat on the top.....



Another bridge in the making....over the dry, soon to be filled lake.....



Near sunset.....on the bus and on the way back to the BIG city....and Work!

Until next time......Hope you enjoyed the adventure! Hoping to capture some more pictures next time.....