"Mountain Hiking" or "The Day I Got Showed Up by a Bunch of Korean Senior Citizens"

Mountain hiking is a big deal in Korea.    Especially here in Daejeon, which is literally surrounded by mountains. I mean, a REALLY big deal.  As in,

"What are you doing this weekend?"

"Going to the mountains.  What are you doing?"

"Going to the mountains.  Didn't you do that last week?"

"Of course, same as you.  Would you like to go together?"

"Already going with someone else, but I'm going again next week, wanna go then?"

"Sure!

Apparently, Koreans don't do anything half-way.  This means that, in addition to frequenting the national parks religiously on a week-to-week basis, they all have their state-of-the-art, top-of-the-line, brightly-colored hiking gear.  This is a given, there is no getting around this requirement.  It's keeping up with the Joneses to the extreme.

So, as you can imagine, when I found myself at the base of Gyeryong mountain in Gyeryongsan National Park wearing only a pair of workout pants, running shoes, and a sweatshirt, I felt a tad underdressed for the occasion.  Thankfully, as a foreigner in Korea you quickly grow immune to the curious or bewildered stares you receive on a daily basis, so unacceptable wardrobe was the least of my worries.

Starting out, I was very confident in my climbing endurance.  After all, I had done plenty of hiking back home in the States.  The air was cool and crisp, and we were off at what I thought was a vigorous pace.  Just a little ways up the path, we came upon a group of Buddhist Temples, maintained exclusively by female monks.

They were beautiful works of architecture, filled with lanterns and and small crystals sponsored by well-meaning people in honor of loved ones who have passed on.

I also noticed a rather large number of cats wondering around the complex, but I did not find any reason for them.

After that bit of sight-seeing, it was time to continue up the trail.  It wasn't long before it started to get rather steep and rocky.  It was a challenge to navigate among the crevices and small boulders.  I felt my heart beating faster and faster, until it felt like it might beat out of my chest.  Still, our group leader, a middle-aged Korean woman, showed no signs of slowing down in the near future.  I was determined to keep up.  I started panting a little, and prayed that we would take a break soon.  That's when I was passed on the left side by two ajummas old enough to be my grandmothers brandishing hiking poles and heavy-duty boots.  After this happened a few more times, I finally accepted the fact that I was completely out of my league on this one.  Inspirational or humiliating?  You decide.