Monday, September 10, 2007

Goat Trail Re-visited.

So this weekend we decided to climb the "Goat-Trail" on Wolchulsan again. This is definitely one of the hardest trails up the mountain, and I have a suspicion half of it was suppose to be closed at the moment, as the track virtually dissapeared in some parts, much the same as when I first climbed it with Max over a year ago.

This time we started out with 12 people and reached the top with 10 people about 3.5 hours later. A very good effort I thought. Don't worry, the other two just decided to take it easy and head back down on their own. We didn't drop them off one of the numerous cliffs up there.
:P

Here are some photos of the climb.


Maria and Nate having a rest part way up. We stopped often going up this track, but still seemed to make good time.



Jong Won in a tight spot.



Alex and Krista go climbing.



Me taking a rest.



The group. L to R: Ian, Krista, Jong Won, Alex, Virginia, Maria, Stacy, Sarah, Nate.



Virginia climbing the hard way.



Krista checking out some boulders.



Sarah contemplates doing some boulder jumping.



Ready....



Jump!




One of the harder parts. While helping Virginia down here, I got a heart-attack when two of the girls started sliding down a very steep part and didn't look like stopping.



Taking a short-cut across the rocks.



The girls decided to do some exploring.



Me on another cliff.
(Check out the view in the background!)



The vertical stairs on the way down.



And here they are... The Wolchulsan Mountain Goats! Made it to the top along the "Goat-Trail" and survived to tell the tale.

Thanks to all who came along. It was a great day.
Billie's Bush Bash.

Here are some photos of my ride along the coast from Wando to Yeosu. I took two days to ride across to Yeosu and only 2 hours to ride back. That's how windy the coast of South Korea is!




This is Billie after she went through some mud and a bit of a crash. Poor old girl really had her "on-OFF-road" ability tested on this trip.





My boots and pants got a bit muddy too.





Billie in walkabout mode.




This was a path about 2km's long which lead across some mudflats to an island. I'm not sure, but I'd say the tide often rises above this path.




A beautiful little village with a small port.




Here's a back street of one of the villages I passed through.




A random little beach along the coast.




Billie finally getting a rest at my camp site.




My camp for the night.




The beach where I camped.




One of the strangest tourist attractions I've ever seen.


It was a very fun trip, but I think next time I might try to go when it's a bit cooler. Riding in full padded gear in 35+ degree heat isn't always the most comfortable.