(Not So) Casual Hike With The School

As I said recently, I had an unusual Halloween this year.  Just like last year, I dressed up as a witch during school and gave out candy to my students, but I didn't do a Halloween themed lesson. Unlike last year, I had decided they wanted to go on a hike. But this hike was unlike any other hike I have been on.

Now I've been on "hikes" that were just walking around a path, and I've been on hikes that were going up a mountain, with a small climbing section.

I have never been on a "hike" like this.

This was not a hike. This was a climb.

I was told beforehand that we were going to the most famous (i.e. tallest) mountain in Hwacheon and to wear comfortable clothes and hiking boots. I was thinking, cool, this is an excuse to wear a sweatshirt and leggings. Which I did. And looking back, I am so thankful that I did because if I had worn jeans like I was originally planning, I would have been in trouble.

Literally, the beginning of this hike was knees-to-chest level hiking. There were stairs and at some points these orange bars that were fixed into the stone as a literal ladder up the mountain.

Now I am not the most athletic, and with a bad ankle, I knew I wasn't going to last too long, but I didn't want to give up. I ended up at the back of the pack, but I was going to keep going. Slow and steady right?

Well...I tried.

I will admit, I didn't make it all the way to the top. There were three summits, I was told afterward, and I did make it to the first one. It was actually a really nice view, but it would have been better if the air quality was better.  I think if I had a few hours and as many breaks, as I wanted, I could have made it all the way to the top, but I was with the school and felt like I should just move down the mountain before everyone else came back down and caught up with me.

After the hike, we drove to a quaint little restaurant that just barely fit all the staff members in it and ate. I was so tired and sore that night...

I'm glad I went, but I was not prepared for that. It will definitely be a memory that I have for a long time.