Well....just finished with a nice work week, and ready for a fun-filled weekend. This pic is in my place....I just bought an Olympus waterproof digital camera and was taking a few shots before meeting some friends for a late dinner.
One of the restaurants in our neighborhood, first time there, and I'll definitely be going back. Some tasty Korean-style BBQ!
I was picked up at 530am and here we are meeting the others. 9 total in the crew for the weekend. Just finished loading the gear.
Other outdoor enthusiasts in the parking lot. Go MTB!
Heading down the highway....Koreans are big into their navigational systems. So, here we are watching a kayak movie on the GPS system. Good entertainment for the 4 hour drive.
Cool looking statue in the background....
Time for breakfast at one of the service stations. I chose the Bi~Bim~Bap. Just about ready to mix it up. I still have a hard time eating Kimchi in the morning.... ;)
This t-shirt says it all!!!!
Along the way we stopped to stretch the legs....notice a small rice field.....everything is super lush right now. And it is Hot n' Humid today....
Getting closer. We are now near Jirisan National Park, driving up a mountain pass....beautiful view, eh? The road cycling or motorcycle touring would be fantastic!
Checking the newly replaced engine, everything seems to be OK... Check out the Gate at the top of the pass in the background.
Mandu checking out the map of the area and where we are heading. Getting excited. So nice to be out of the City! Clean fresh air, not many people, and NATURE!
If you look towards the bottom of the map, just above this writing, you will see a brighter blue flattened circle. That is about where we will be kayaking. The Umchon.....
Let's go!
There are some bigger mountains here. Jirisan (san...meaning mountain) is the second highest in South Korea at 1915 meters.
Just before reaching the river, we stopped off for some lunch....this is the chef about to grab some onions..... :) I think she is thinking, "What are you looking at?"
a locals kind of lunch spot....
my choice....noodles with black sauce....there was one other and it had shellfish....
Lunch-time!
Some newly born pups behind the restaurant....
Small town....
The Umchon, the water looks a bit low, about 1-2km downstream another river will join the flow.....
At last....the put~in.... time to unload and gear up! High-class grave site in the background.
gearing up......Jeong just purchased a new kayak...the Jackson "Hero" (the red one) Looks nice and shiny!
Local fisherman....
Here we go....the view from my deck. Time to check out this new waterproof camera :)
The put~in rapid.....feels good to be back in the kayak again and on a new river. That's me stylin' the line and showing the way..... ;)
That's how you do it...!
Some pretty big boulders in this here river......imagining what we are about to experience....
cool rapid....look at the boulder to the right of the kayaker......there's a doorway in the middle...
The biggest rapid on the run....unfortunately I decided not to run it...mainly for safety reasons, being with a new crew, and not knowing there specific safety techniques, and also the kayak....the small freestyle specific Project 62....BUT....I will be back to style it in the future!! :)
Checking it out from the bottom....this is the beginning of a cataract section....it should be a blast. Everyone portaged this one.....
Butterfly......
The Project 62.....
Another fun rapid...not knowing from above, it was a nice boat scouting rapid....from one eddy to the next I was grinning ear to ear! Above can you spot the upside down kayak?
I wonder what's below? :)
Another nice rapid ending in a sweet boof (def...when you perform a jump in your kayak to avoid something), and a few fisherman...that's quite a long pole!
The sweet boof hidden in the picture, you see the main flow in the middle....looking to the left of that....YAHOO!
The crew below a manky (rocky) rapid.....a few had a problem with this one....
Look at the size of the river bed....imagine more water......
An absolute hoot!
Well 15km later we reached the take out bridge....this is looking back up at the last rapid. By far, my favorite river in Korea....!
View from the take~out....
A Korean way off changing......I still stick with the Colorado way...by stripping down in the open! Some things never change...Although I wonder if they think it's strange....but I don't care....the freedom of being a whitewater kayaker.
7 out of the 9.....
Green peppers.....one of the popular vegi's in Korea......some are hot, some are not...
Loading up and looking forward to dinner and a few beers.....
Ahhh.....Sam-Gep-Sal......BBQ Pork......one of my favorites...
Another pork dish......kinda sweet and spicy....
Started with a few beers....then had one glass of Soju....I try to avoid Soju...I don't really like it, but they insisted and they made it cocktail style with Garlic and Peppers on ice....not bad...but I'll stick to the beer.... :)
Leaving the restaurant and about to head to our campsite...
Time to set-up camp and chill.....
Drinking, eating, telling stories, and just relaxing......
Everyone set up tents. Since it was not going to rain, I decided to sleep out under the stars....well...I didn't see many stars due to the trees above.....the camping sites have wooden platforms to set your tent on....(true car camping)...so I had my own platform...kinda nice...
Ahhh....it was so nice to sleep out, a few mosquito bites, some strange noises, and the best part was falling to sleep while watching fire flies.....
Since we arrived at dark, at first light this was the view from my sleeping bag.... :)
We camped near a creek, so it was also very nice to fall asleep to the sounds of water....
I took a hike up the creek, with more water this would make for a nice creek run in the kayak...some what Colorado style.....
just image more water through this section.....
Nice horizon line...about an 8 footer! Sweet looking boof!!
The Campsite...
natural flower arrangement......
kiddos having fun in the creek!
future kayaker? or outdoor enthusiast? Check out the yellow crocs....
The crew, -1 one whose taking the photo......
Heading to the next river.....had to make a quick ice cream stop......
The Korean Moon bear in the logo.....due to the pattern on the chest...
One of the entrances to the National Park.....
Map of the area......
cool roof top in amongst the trees....
Getting ready for our next adventure....this river....to our knowledge has not been run in a kayak....so we are getting a first descent....I think there are many 1st D's awaiting in South Korea...
This is Big Wave gearing up....
Very low flow, but worthwhile not knowing what's ahead....
Mandu making a move.....
hanging out at a little play spot....
throwin' a few ends...(cartwheels)....
a nice double drop rapid....Tommy a bit sideways.....
Big Wave stylin' the line.....
Mandu enjoying the unknown....
Nice blue skies above and warm water......can you ask for anything else?
Green tea growing on the river bank....
Jong Keun and I enjoying the day.....
Testing my new waterproof camera with an underwater self portrait......cool, eh?
Some cyclists enjoying the smooth roads and low traffic of the countryside..........
persimmon tree.....common around Korea....tasty fruit when ripe!
Check out the Phasmatodea (sometimes called Phasmida) also known as the walking stick insect.......I think it is the first time ever seeing one.....
At the take out, looking back up stream...I am not sure of the name of the river, but I think we paddled about a 5km stretch....definitely would like to come back when the water is higher.....the run has some potential....
Looking downstream from the takeout.....
Loading up to make the long trip (4-5hrs.) home.
Mandu's paddle......
Hey there......
This would be nice....thinking of my Suzuki GSX-R 1000 at my brother-in-laws place in Colorado Springs.....the places I could go....I wonder how much it would cost to crate it over here.....hmmmm......?!?
Dinner time before heading back to Seoul...a special kind of Bi-Bim-Bap....very tasty!
Check out the orchids....
On the way home, we stopped to have the air condition fixed, very hot....it worked in the parking lot, but not for the rest of the trip home...ugh!
Well....that's the end of a fun~filled weekend....Excited for the next!!!
Until then, hope you enjoyed the show....
Good~bye for NOW!
1 comment:
Thanks Karl!!
I downloaded some of your nice pics. ^^
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