Late Friday night around 10:30pm we were loaded and ready to hit the road. On the way out of town we hit up the local Family Mart for a beverage and snack before heading to Gangwando.
Just about to leave my neighborhood with Korea's road atlas in hand.....
On the way to Inje, in Gangwando we stopped for a snack and to buy some H2O...
The rain is still coming down, getting excited in hopes of kayaking Zinbu in the morning!
We made it to Inje, around 1:00am and found a motel. Motels are easily found around Korea. This one was traditional Korea style, meaning no bed. Worked out perfectly for our sleeping bags and mats. Not bad for $30.
Luca, still crashed out in the early a.m....
Morning's breakfast consisting of coffee, baguette, jam, and nutella.
The view from the room, this is where the Naerincheon "river" meets the Soyangho Reservoir.
The rain has eased and not too sure if Zinbu creek will be running, lets cross our fingers!
Clouded Valley...
Back to Breakfast....
And we're off to check out a new creek! Luca is excited about his new kayak....the Orange one on the roof is a Bliss-Stick Mystic...cool looking creeker :)
Driving up into the mountains...
Spring is in full swing and the colors are amazing...
Not sure what this cow is all about, but he looks happy!
This would be the take-out of Zinbu...unfortunately it didn't rain enough, but cool to check out this area, we'll definitely be back to run it, hopefully sooner than later.
Pension (place to stay) at the Takeout of Zinbu.
a bunch of carved spirit figures....
OK...before I show you a few rapids on Zinbu Creek, this barbed-wire gate closes off a cool looking creek with two visible drops from the road....I think we need to get past this gate and at least run these waterfalls and maybe what else lies up stream! And the sign just means "Fire Danger" since this is Forest Fire season...
Doesn't that look sweet!
Even better, there's another one just upstream. :) makes you wonder what else is up there?!?
OK....this is Zinbu and one for the rapids. From a kayaker named "Pulp" there are about 3 significant drops/rapids on this run. it's probably about 3-5km long. and roadside although the road is pretty far above the creek bed.
This drop looks great.....beautiful creek bed...oh....I can't wait to get on this creek!!!
The above drop from a distance....
An uncommon site in S.Korea....scouting a creek!!
due to Zinbu not high enough to run, we headed through Seoraksan National Park to the East Sea. Very beautiful drive and some impressive looking rivers/creeks within the park. Unfortunately you cannot kayak in the park....bummer! Maybe we can play the "unaware foreigners :) " In the photo above....we made a pit-stop at a scenic overlook in the clouds.
Mirrored image....
we had a couple Heine's and some Gangwando famous potatoes and Hotak, a pancake like snack.
An outside squid and snack vendor up in the clouds....
Hotak and Potatoes...
what more can you ask for....?!?
Looking down at the scenic view....I'm sure with blue skies it's more breath-taking.
On our way to the East Sea, we talked with a Korean Kayaker and he mentioned to check out a beach named Hajodae. And from out of now where was this giant mushroom in a town called Yang-Yang. Could they be famous for their mushrooms?!?
Well..we made it to Hajodae..The weather was kinda nasty and the waves were kicking, perfect weather for some kayak surfing. Since we got shut out at Zinbu, time to surf the East Sea for the first time! YAHOO!
This place wasn't looking too great to us, so we decided to check out some other beaches south of here...Beautiful area, for sure!
And then a Carlsberg appeared out of nowhere. Wow!
ahhh! Nothing like a tasty Carlsberg!
Well...we discovered a great protected place called Ingu Beach to surf, suited up and took to it!
Here I am above catching a wave...
I decided to cut out of this one....it was hard to get some good surfing shot..something to work on for next time...we thought one of us could get out and use my Nikon D80 and 18-200 lens, but then neither of us wanted to stop having fun! In addition, it was late so we had to use our daylight to surf it up!!!
Luca smiling ear to ear! I can hear him say..."did you see the size of that one..." man, that was a good ride! We did have some fun rides where we surfed the same wave and cut past each other...also caught a few big ones where both of said we could see from the break!
When we ended the session, Luca decided to give the board a try.... This picture reminds me of Point Break with Patrick Swayze...
Looking back to the beach...check out the mist from the wave...
There's a nice one!
After the session we headed north about 30km to Sokcho, a port city east of Seoraksan National Park. Fishing is the main industry here. We found another $30 motel and then hit the town for some food and nightlife.
We managed to have a tasty meal and then asked where the Sokcho hot spot was, and we found it....a club named Arabian Nights. well...it wasn't too happening, but worth checking out. Terrible club music and an interesting atmosphere. Maybe it's more exciting in the summer time.
DAY 2: Morning came and time to make some coffee and have some bread with Jam and Nutella.
Perfect coffee maker for road trips...I think I may invest in one to even use at home.
Road trippin' Italian Coffee machine....
Is that the Italian or Korean phone your checking?
Emergency pasta...just in case!
Outside the Sokcho motel.....
Downtown Sokcho.....nice mountains in the background :)
Heading out to check the morning surf! Unfortunately, the rain has passed and it's sunny, therefore the rivers are not rising.
the night club "Arabian Night" during the day!
Interesting hotel, wait are we in Russia?!? Nope....just Korea's themed motels.
Maybe this would of been a good choice....Hotel Good Morning..!
Looking west towards Seoraksan National Park.
Looks like they are heading out for some fun...ahhh....I miss my bike!
Wow....the sea looks a bit rough today!
the mushroom turned....it's facing the other direction...hmmm?
Hang loose bro!
The surf is looking a bit messy today! Not to sure what kinda signal Luca is giving...
Well....we passed on surfing this morning due to a struggle to get out past the break, could of been fun to get a beat down. Oh well, we had a relaxing morning hanging out by the beach.
Look at the break wall....Big swells today, the website in which we check the sea charts we correct, good to know for future surfing! :D
The Volvo's looking good!
Yahoo, I'm definitely enjoying life in Korea, especially on days/trips like this.
Exploring around Ingu beach...above some drying fish.
Check out that SQUID!
Capturing something....
Maybe this....
Little village near the beach....
There was even a Buddhist temple to visit...Gotta say, the Buddhist's know where to have temples....many around Korea are in some of the most beautiful places.
the Exploding Sea...
some of the messy waves....
Buddhist shrine...
Temple near coast at Ingu Beach....
One of my favorites...Pagoda
Close up of the temple....
Maybe the Buddha of Surf ;)
Nice one!
Time for a light lunch, farmers cheese straight from Italy, some bread, and a Tiger!
Chillin' at Ingu! I think we'll be back to this place!
Windmills on the hillside....
quite a few tunnels in South Korea...
Interesting way to prop up a cement stairway...
Since South Korea missed out to Vancouver 2010 and Russia 2014 for the Winter Olympics, they are going for 2018! I could believe the amount of advertising around this area of the Gangwando province. Good Luck, I think the committee will announce the lucky country in 2011.
Still showing the 2014 billboard...
Odaecheon River area near the southern part of Gangwando. We headed out here in hopes of some water, but ended up scouting a few new creeks and enjoying some country driving. We laughed and started calling South Korea the land of the dry river/creek beds. Hard to understand all these big riverbeds and no water. I have looked back on the river web page and noticed back in 2004 there was some water.....LETS HOPE FOR A INCREDIBLE RAINY SEASON, better than last year. South Korea definitely has the potential....
Well...we left the Odaecheon and heading north to Misan, which seems always to have some water. It was my turn to drive. Enjoyed some winding mountain roads in the Volvo. We arrived around 500pm and suited up for what will be Luca's virgin run in the Bliss-Stick Mystic...
Ahh..it's nice to be getting in the rio!
Luca doing his own Peroni (Italian beer) ceremony for the maiden voyage!
Not a bad level....it was higher than the last time we were here at the end of March.
At the take out...getting ready to stash the kayaks and hitch a ride....
Well....we got lucky....A Seoul taxi was far from home in the Misan Valley. The driver must have had the weekend off. It was kinda cool riding in a taxi, still wet in our paddling gear.....
Loaded up and ready to drive 5km down the river to get some Korea BBQ before setting up camp.
Little Korean boy have some BBQ...
ready to grill....
so tasty after some fun on the river...Luca even brought a bottle of Italian wine....perfect compliment to the BBQ....
DAY 3: Misty Mountain Top....
Once again, it's morning...kinda cold out, just above freezing. A decent campsite at one of the put-in bridges.
Out comes sleeping bag man!! A good morning laugh....OK...it's actually me not wanting to get out of my bag just yet.
ahh...good time at the river...
Slowly getting ready, the sun is just coming over the mountain.....
What is called 1st falls on Misan....having a good line on the upper drop!
the bottom hole....boofing to a soft landing...
Luca coming into the Piton rapid...
Doing a little surfing in S Turn....
Luca nearby the Toilet Bowl....enjoying his new boat!
Luca heading into Triple Drop....
part of Triple Drop.....
I wanted to check out Luca's new ride....felt good to have a creek boat on my shoulder...walking up to run Triple Drop....
have to say, the Mystic is smooth....
After the run we scouted a side creek that flows into Misan...last year it was flowing during the rainy season...this year we want to make it a first descent. :D
Checking out the put-in area.....just add water :D
this has some potential...not sure what's in between here and the confluence of Misan. We do know from last year what lies above the confluence by a few 100meters, as we hiked up and it's action packed..... :D
Chillin' on a bridge after another day on the rio!
Well...it's time to head back to Seoul....3 nights and 3 days have come to an end....until next time!
Take care and Have FUN!
On the way to Inje, in Gangwando we stopped for a snack and to buy some H2O...
The rain is still coming down, getting excited in hopes of kayaking Zinbu in the morning!
We made it to Inje, around 1:00am and found a motel. Motels are easily found around Korea. This one was traditional Korea style, meaning no bed. Worked out perfectly for our sleeping bags and mats. Not bad for $30.
Luca, still crashed out in the early a.m....
Morning's breakfast consisting of coffee, baguette, jam, and nutella.
The view from the room, this is where the Naerincheon "river" meets the Soyangho Reservoir.
The rain has eased and not too sure if Zinbu creek will be running, lets cross our fingers!
Clouded Valley...
Back to Breakfast....
And we're off to check out a new creek! Luca is excited about his new kayak....the Orange one on the roof is a Bliss-Stick Mystic...cool looking creeker :)
Driving up into the mountains...
Spring is in full swing and the colors are amazing...
Not sure what this cow is all about, but he looks happy!
This would be the take-out of Zinbu...unfortunately it didn't rain enough, but cool to check out this area, we'll definitely be back to run it, hopefully sooner than later.
Pension (place to stay) at the Takeout of Zinbu.
a bunch of carved spirit figures....
OK...before I show you a few rapids on Zinbu Creek, this barbed-wire gate closes off a cool looking creek with two visible drops from the road....I think we need to get past this gate and at least run these waterfalls and maybe what else lies up stream! And the sign just means "Fire Danger" since this is Forest Fire season...
Doesn't that look sweet!
Even better, there's another one just upstream. :) makes you wonder what else is up there?!?
OK....this is Zinbu and one for the rapids. From a kayaker named "Pulp" there are about 3 significant drops/rapids on this run. it's probably about 3-5km long. and roadside although the road is pretty far above the creek bed.
This drop looks great.....beautiful creek bed...oh....I can't wait to get on this creek!!!
The above drop from a distance....
An uncommon site in S.Korea....scouting a creek!!
due to Zinbu not high enough to run, we headed through Seoraksan National Park to the East Sea. Very beautiful drive and some impressive looking rivers/creeks within the park. Unfortunately you cannot kayak in the park....bummer! Maybe we can play the "unaware foreigners :) " In the photo above....we made a pit-stop at a scenic overlook in the clouds.
Mirrored image....
we had a couple Heine's and some Gangwando famous potatoes and Hotak, a pancake like snack.
An outside squid and snack vendor up in the clouds....
Hotak and Potatoes...
what more can you ask for....?!?
Looking down at the scenic view....I'm sure with blue skies it's more breath-taking.
On our way to the East Sea, we talked with a Korean Kayaker and he mentioned to check out a beach named Hajodae. And from out of now where was this giant mushroom in a town called Yang-Yang. Could they be famous for their mushrooms?!?
Well..we made it to Hajodae..The weather was kinda nasty and the waves were kicking, perfect weather for some kayak surfing. Since we got shut out at Zinbu, time to surf the East Sea for the first time! YAHOO!
This place wasn't looking too great to us, so we decided to check out some other beaches south of here...Beautiful area, for sure!
And then a Carlsberg appeared out of nowhere. Wow!
ahhh! Nothing like a tasty Carlsberg!
Well...we discovered a great protected place called Ingu Beach to surf, suited up and took to it!
Here I am above catching a wave...
I decided to cut out of this one....it was hard to get some good surfing shot..something to work on for next time...we thought one of us could get out and use my Nikon D80 and 18-200 lens, but then neither of us wanted to stop having fun! In addition, it was late so we had to use our daylight to surf it up!!!
Luca smiling ear to ear! I can hear him say..."did you see the size of that one..." man, that was a good ride! We did have some fun rides where we surfed the same wave and cut past each other...also caught a few big ones where both of said we could see from the break!
When we ended the session, Luca decided to give the board a try.... This picture reminds me of Point Break with Patrick Swayze...
Looking back to the beach...check out the mist from the wave...
There's a nice one!
After the session we headed north about 30km to Sokcho, a port city east of Seoraksan National Park. Fishing is the main industry here. We found another $30 motel and then hit the town for some food and nightlife.
We managed to have a tasty meal and then asked where the Sokcho hot spot was, and we found it....a club named Arabian Nights. well...it wasn't too happening, but worth checking out. Terrible club music and an interesting atmosphere. Maybe it's more exciting in the summer time.
DAY 2: Morning came and time to make some coffee and have some bread with Jam and Nutella.
Perfect coffee maker for road trips...I think I may invest in one to even use at home.
Road trippin' Italian Coffee machine....
Is that the Italian or Korean phone your checking?
Emergency pasta...just in case!
Outside the Sokcho motel.....
Downtown Sokcho.....nice mountains in the background :)
Heading out to check the morning surf! Unfortunately, the rain has passed and it's sunny, therefore the rivers are not rising.
the night club "Arabian Night" during the day!
Interesting hotel, wait are we in Russia?!? Nope....just Korea's themed motels.
Maybe this would of been a good choice....Hotel Good Morning..!
Looking west towards Seoraksan National Park.
Looks like they are heading out for some fun...ahhh....I miss my bike!
Wow....the sea looks a bit rough today!
the mushroom turned....it's facing the other direction...hmmm?
Hang loose bro!
The surf is looking a bit messy today! Not to sure what kinda signal Luca is giving...
Well....we passed on surfing this morning due to a struggle to get out past the break, could of been fun to get a beat down. Oh well, we had a relaxing morning hanging out by the beach.
Look at the break wall....Big swells today, the website in which we check the sea charts we correct, good to know for future surfing! :D
The Volvo's looking good!
Yahoo, I'm definitely enjoying life in Korea, especially on days/trips like this.
Exploring around Ingu beach...above some drying fish.
Check out that SQUID!
Capturing something....
Maybe this....
Little village near the beach....
There was even a Buddhist temple to visit...Gotta say, the Buddhist's know where to have temples....many around Korea are in some of the most beautiful places.
the Exploding Sea...
some of the messy waves....
Buddhist shrine...
Temple near coast at Ingu Beach....
One of my favorites...Pagoda
Close up of the temple....
Maybe the Buddha of Surf ;)
Nice one!
Time for a light lunch, farmers cheese straight from Italy, some bread, and a Tiger!
Chillin' at Ingu! I think we'll be back to this place!
Windmills on the hillside....
quite a few tunnels in South Korea...
Interesting way to prop up a cement stairway...
Since South Korea missed out to Vancouver 2010 and Russia 2014 for the Winter Olympics, they are going for 2018! I could believe the amount of advertising around this area of the Gangwando province. Good Luck, I think the committee will announce the lucky country in 2011.
Still showing the 2014 billboard...
Odaecheon River area near the southern part of Gangwando. We headed out here in hopes of some water, but ended up scouting a few new creeks and enjoying some country driving. We laughed and started calling South Korea the land of the dry river/creek beds. Hard to understand all these big riverbeds and no water. I have looked back on the river web page and noticed back in 2004 there was some water.....LETS HOPE FOR A INCREDIBLE RAINY SEASON, better than last year. South Korea definitely has the potential....
Well...we left the Odaecheon and heading north to Misan, which seems always to have some water. It was my turn to drive. Enjoyed some winding mountain roads in the Volvo. We arrived around 500pm and suited up for what will be Luca's virgin run in the Bliss-Stick Mystic...
Ahh..it's nice to be getting in the rio!
Luca doing his own Peroni (Italian beer) ceremony for the maiden voyage!
Not a bad level....it was higher than the last time we were here at the end of March.
At the take out...getting ready to stash the kayaks and hitch a ride....
Well....we got lucky....A Seoul taxi was far from home in the Misan Valley. The driver must have had the weekend off. It was kinda cool riding in a taxi, still wet in our paddling gear.....
Loaded up and ready to drive 5km down the river to get some Korea BBQ before setting up camp.
Little Korean boy have some BBQ...
ready to grill....
so tasty after some fun on the river...Luca even brought a bottle of Italian wine....perfect compliment to the BBQ....
DAY 3: Misty Mountain Top....
Once again, it's morning...kinda cold out, just above freezing. A decent campsite at one of the put-in bridges.
Out comes sleeping bag man!! A good morning laugh....OK...it's actually me not wanting to get out of my bag just yet.
ahh...good time at the river...
Slowly getting ready, the sun is just coming over the mountain.....
What is called 1st falls on Misan....having a good line on the upper drop!
the bottom hole....boofing to a soft landing...
Luca coming into the Piton rapid...
Doing a little surfing in S Turn....
Luca nearby the Toilet Bowl....enjoying his new boat!
Luca heading into Triple Drop....
part of Triple Drop.....
I wanted to check out Luca's new ride....felt good to have a creek boat on my shoulder...walking up to run Triple Drop....
have to say, the Mystic is smooth....
After the run we scouted a side creek that flows into Misan...last year it was flowing during the rainy season...this year we want to make it a first descent. :D
Checking out the put-in area.....just add water :D
this has some potential...not sure what's in between here and the confluence of Misan. We do know from last year what lies above the confluence by a few 100meters, as we hiked up and it's action packed..... :D
Chillin' on a bridge after another day on the rio!
Well...it's time to head back to Seoul....3 nights and 3 days have come to an end....until next time!
Take care and Have FUN!
