I got up early, about 7:15. I swallowed three packets of vitamin C and drank a quart of water. I took a shower and dressed for hiking. I made and ate breakfast. Chris put two bottle of coconut water in his backpack. I threw some seed crackers in mine. I put on a coat because it was cold out. We walked down to Duffy's parking lot. The MWR bus was waiting, and it continued to wait until 10 after 9. The leader of the hike told us that the trip would take two hours and the hike was 2 kilometers. It seemed like a long way to travel for a short hike. Then we were on our way to Jirisan mountain. I ate a few seed crackers at first, but did not feel well. Was it them or the motion of the bus? I was miserable. We stopped after an hour at a rest station. I bought a scarf because it was windy. The lady wrapped it around my neck and arranged it nicely. But later in the bus, I had to take it off because it was too hot. When we got to the mountain area, the bus parked in a lot that had lots of bus parking spots. We followed our leader through a small town, around and through a temple area. We went up lots of steps just to get to the mountain. Then the steps changed from wood to stones. The terrain was uneven, which is good for the brain. I tired quickly, ascending all the steps. Finally we came to a fork in the road. From there, the waterfall was 2.3 kilometers. Really?
The group disappeared as I lagged behind and Chris stayed with me. We spoke to a French group as they went through. We stopped to rest. Finally I convinced Chris to go on ahead, leaving me with the bottles of coconut water. I continued on my own, happy to walk at my own pace. But it occurred to me that on the way back, I would still be slower than the others and the bus would have to wait for me. So at the halfway point, I rested and then turned around. At my age, I have nothing to prove, and I did not want to pay for today's pleasant outing tomorrow. I stopped to stretch as needed. I lingered at photographic sites. I wished for my walking stick as I went down the uneven stone steps. I sat on a rock and meditated. Finally I walked down to the foot of the mountain. I took pics of the temple there and the surroundings. I got worried when no one showed up. I called Chris and he said he was almost back. When I saw him, he told me about the waterfall and how hard the last part of the hike was. Others had lingered behind. In fact, it was so long before the last people showed up, that I figured I could have made it to the waterfall. But then I wouldn't have had the time to see the scenery because walking involved watching the ground closely. Anyway, we hung out in the parking lot until all had returned. We were going to have a late lunch there, but the leader said the menus were slim and expensive.
He thought we should eat at the rest stop. So we got on the bus and headed home. I felt sick to my stomach again and I hadn't eaten anything. I pulled the curtain over the window. I saw that Chris was asleep, so I tapped and fell asleep too. We got caught in traffic. I kind of woke up but kept my eyes shut and tried to go back to sleep 'cause my stomach did not mind being asleep. Because of the traffic, the leader recommended skipping the rest stop and just going home. So no bathroom break and no supper. We got back around 7. Scott and Myra drove us home. We had a bite to eat. I came across an article in e-mail about stopping runs in pantyhose so I went looking for ways to stop holes in socks. I did not find any. Then we watched two episodes of House. One episode had Ashley Parker in it. She looked familiar so I looked her up on IMDB, but did not recognize any of the shows. I saw that Myra and Kim had posted pics from the hike. Facebook said I was tagged, but I only saw one pic with me in it and no one was tagged. I cleared a few e-mails and decided it was time to blog and go to bed.
* See the uneven terrain we walked on? *
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