February Suraksan Hike

Hiker sweeping off the rocks...
The top of the "U" shaped Suraksan Mountain. We climbed from the bottom, to the top right corner, and down and back up to the left side, then back down.
All supported by a "small" rock
We climbed this down on the rock part showing. Not in the tree-line. We used ropes and cables to get down. Pretty fun :)
A little resting spot. Everyone was inside watching the Olympics on the tv's in their cell phones.
This morning, I called into work canceling my day (not that it's a big deal since we all sit at work watching movies all day) and went hiking with Nathan. He's my co-workers' son. He wanted to go hiking, and it's been such beautiful weather here (in the 60's) lately that I couldn't pass up the chance to go.

It was my first hike of the year, and it was going to be a fun hike with a fun guy. Nathan seemed to have a lot in common with me yet still different enough to have lots to talk about. It was so nice to have such long conversations with someone who's American. I've been blessed to have so many people visiting and meeting other people who speak English. I felt like my English battery had run out by the end of last year, and now it's full and overflowing ready for the new year.

I should have realized I was going to be out of shape for the hike we were about to undertake. It was rough!! I hadn't used my hiking muscles in almost 4 months. Thankfully starting taekwando started loosening my muscles up. So we hiked from the south-east corner of the mountain, and hiked up and across the top, then down to the south-west corner. The mountain's a "U" shape, and that was the first time I've conquered it all in one day. I've done half of each side many times, but never it all. It was quite the task, but it was a good one. Getting to the first "top" wasn't too hard, and the view was amazing. The mountain was covered in snow in many parts still, and seeing it was breathtaking. Haha. Little did we realize that we'd be hiking in that minutes later. We had a few short rock faces covered in ice and snow that we had to get down, and thankfully we were two people together instead of being alone. I'd have never been able to do it by myself. I fell a few times so close to the edge. But once we got back up to the normal trails, we'd shimmy down those rock faces with the ropes and steel cables they put up for hikers like us who like to "mountain climb" literally. My hands are so sore from rope and cable burns! But it was well worth it. The mountain is beautiful, and climbing it gives me such a release from stress. Not that I'm stressed now, but it's just comforting to be in a place that's so beautiful. Plus, the adrenaline rush from being so high supported only by how tightly you hold onto ropes is thrilling!! Not something I could do every day, but a fun weekend escape.