Sunday, May 14, 2017

Walk Thoughts #217: Day 23, Leg 19 assessment

Some pedometer stats:

568 minutes walked
53,214 steps
24.78 miles
4119 calories burned (3100 net)

Today felt like a day to walk, and I walked more energetically and enthusiastically than I have on any other day. Weather makes all the difference, I suppose. The miles rolled by quickly; there were no challenging hills. When I stopped at the dam, I went up to the admin building's rooftop observation level and just chilled for a bit. This was one of the most relaxing dams I had been to.

Nothing to report but lots of sun and wind. It's still windy as I'm typing this, but not as blustery as it had been earlier today.

I remembered to withdraw cash while I was in Namji-eup; this allowed me to buy drinks and snacks at a local cash-only store today. The store owner wished me luck on my trip, reminding me that I had only 70 kilometers to go to the end. I had guessed that the campground would be at the 65-km mark; as you could see from the photos, I was off by 2 km.

When I got to the campground, I tromped over to what I thought was the empty admin office and waited for someone to come by so I could pay for a space. No one came. An old man floated close, collecting litter from the ground. I walked around the campground, wondering whether this was the right office. When I wandered back to the office, someone was there: the garbage-collecting old man. He closed up the office and waddled over to his flatbed truck; I waved him down before he could get away, and I asked him about paying for a spot for the night.

"You can't," he said flatly. "It's past time. But there are two more campgrounds up the hill, that way," he gestured. He drove off, and I sighed and started up the hill. I saw an office, and the ajeossi there smiled and greeted me. I explained my situation, and he got furtive.

"What time would you be leaving in the morning?" he asked slyly.

"About five or six if I wake up very early," I said.

"In that case, just take spot 163."

"How much do I owe you?"

"Normally, it's W20,000 by wire transfer, but you just go to the spot and don't say anything."

I thanked the man after ascertaining that "spot 163" was a spot on the Mirpia Campground, which meant that the second office I had found had in fact been the main office I should have found to begin with. (In other words, I never made it to the other campgrounds indicated by the old man.)

I'm feeling good. I'm ready for tomorrow, which is my fourth and final dragon: the longest walk of this entire project. I plan to take my sweet time, given that I'll be spending two nights in a motel once I reach town. That leaves only one more day of walking, and that's going to be a relatively easy day. Unless something horrific happens between now and Wednesday, this adventure ought to end fairly smoothly.

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