Treasures in the fog
If you haven’t, read part 1 to discover the mood I was in at the start of part 2.
Leaving 국기봉 behind, lost in the clouds, I dived into the ridge forest path. I have taken that path dozens of times already but never in these conditions. Usually the pleasure of hiking here is from trying to find a hole in the vegetation from which you can see the city, or climbing over a boulder and go off track for a while, or simply listening to nature’s symphony. However, this time, it was quiet. Well, the wind was blowing so not that quiet of course, but no animal sound, only the sound of my poncho and my boots scratching the wet dirt. City noise was simply absent and that is something I hike for. Also I was alone. In a city of 11 million people being able to be alone is beyond priceless.
There is one more thing that made the experience special. Though it was still bright that early in the day the fog turned every corner of the path into a mystery quest. I rediscovered rocks, trees, simple S shaped turns that I had already seen and forgotten long ago as if they were new. It felt almost as if the mountain were being laid as I progressed through it. And so, the way a hunter’s senses are enhanced to over sensibility, my wonderment was simply leading my whole body forward, kept my eyes open for a photogenic curve in the path, for a flower on the side, for a rock with interesting surroundings.
And in the fog I found a few treasures.
If you have hiked anywhere in Korea you have come across those pines, perched at impossible places and seemingly defying physics and apparent common sense. Gwanaksan has its fair share of them too, though this trail isn’t quite famous for them. Regardless, I always see those trees as a metaphor of endurance, they choose to settle somewhere that was not necessarily meant for them, and yet dug the rock to fit their roots, find their food and thrive. As a foreigner in this land I do feel somewhat close to the struggle those trees face to get their spot in the sun, and I take them as examples of success.
They aren’t the only ones though:
Speaking of resilience, here is a graceful sample! Can you imagine being that tiny in an immobile world of tough giants? And still muster the strength to send upward your one shot at life, brave the elements and thousands if not millions of hikers to try and expand, season after season? This guy did it! As it is literally in the middle of the path I really hope no-one pulls it off its rock… it is indeed so fragile looking… but aren’t we all at the beginning of every path we take? Every journey we embark on? Every relationship we start? It went up, right and then left again: it tells me that as long as you stand tall you grow.
Here are others who found their way for a longer time already:
We are now approaching the end of our trip, the sun would soon set… well, somewhere beyond the clouds it will anyway! What that means is that light was fading quickly and that, just that, transported the place into the realm of the mystical.
Of course as a photographer that is the kind of even light I’m looking for, so I can later on shape my landscapes at will. But I would argue that the grey blue tones the darker fog threw on everything simply added a dimension that anyone would absolutely feel inspiration from.
The following pictures do not show any extraordinary feature of terrain or flora, they simply show the trail countless people have taken, it is not even a special path in any way. And yet. It looked like no other, far apart from the world we see everyday.
That fog enticed my imagination to summon twinkling fairies or swarms of fireflies waiting to take me to Neverland behind every turn. Simple views at the end of a straight patch turned into a magical mystery waiting to be discovered.
Take a deep breath, calm your mind and dive into the quietness of a foggy trail…
So ends this story, I hope you enjoyed reading it and that it made you feel the different world I was in that day.
If you want to hike that trail visit my alltrails page and enjoy the beautiful view of the city it offers on a regular day!
Thank you for reading so far. As blogging is a new thing for me, if you have any ideas on how I can improve my story telling do not hesitate leaving me a comment. Also, if there are places you want me to visit and tell you about let me know^^
See you in another story!
