Welcome to my shortest walk ever, and my tenth "long" walk ever (this doesn't really qualify as long). This walk is also my second walk done in the Korean spring: My first-ever such walk was my very first trans-Korea walk, way back in 2017, nine years ago—an April-May walk. The remaining walks that I've done up to now have all been in the fall and/or the very early winter. I'm following the Geumgang (Geum River, but geumgang also coincidentally means "diamond") Path, which is officially 146 km. For the most part, it's a straightforward walk from Daejeon to the coastal city of Gunsan; I'll be starting at the Daecheong Dam and ending at the Geumgang Estuary Barrage, itself a damlike structure. And there will be dams along the way—five total if we count the estuary barrage at the end. This direction was suggested to me by my biker acquaintance Paul, who says the path goes downhill to the coast, which makes sense given the direction of flow of the Geum River. This path is, if I'm not mistaken, part of the Grand Slam of bike paths for bikers looking to rack up certain routes. Periodically, as with many routes and trails throughout the world, there are phone-booth-like "certification centers" where you stop, stamp your official passbook, then continue. You rack up stamps along the way, and if you do all of the routes in the "Grand Slam," you get a special certificate. I've never had an official passbook, and the first time I do a trail is the only time I collect stamps in my Moleskine notebook.
I have about two weeks to go before I depart on the 15th of this month—the Ides of March but also two days before Saint Patrick's Day for whoever's counting. I don't know whether mid-March is going to be rainy; I hope not, but if it is, I'll be prepared. I also have to camp one day—the fourth day of the five days I'll be walking. Because this schedule is so short (140 km for me since I have to leave the route every afternoon to hit my lodging), I'm not including any rest days, which means this walk will be brief but brutal. My itinerary is linked on the sidebar (or just click here), but I'll spell it out for you below anyway:
- Day 0 (3/15): Train to 신탄진역 (대전), walk to motel.
- Day 1 (3/16): Cab the next morning to 금강자전거길 기점 (대청댐 인근).
- Day 1 (3/16): Walk to 세종보 인증센터, 37 km.
- Day 1 (3/16): Walk to & stay at 커플링 모텔, 2.8 km.
- Day 2 (3/17): Walk from 커플링 모텔 to 공주보 인증센터, 21 km.
- Day 2 (3/17): Walk to & stay at 금강온천 모텔, 1.6 km.
- Day 3 (3/18): Walk to 백제보 인증센터, 25 km.
- Day 3 (3/18): Walk to 부여전통한옥 펜션, 2.5 km.
- Day 4 (3/19): Walk to 익산성당포구 인증센터, 34 km.
- Day 4 (3/19): Camp at the campground, open or not.
- Day 5 (3/20): Walk to 금강하굿둑 인증센터, 24 km.
- Day 5 (3/20): END. Take train from 군산역 to Seoul.
- Day 0 (3/15): Train to Shintanjin Station (Daejeon), walk to motel.
- Day 1 (3/16): Cab next morning to Geumgang Path Start Point (near Daecheong Dam).
- Day 1 (3/16): Walk to Sejong Dam Certification Center, 37 km.
- Day 1 (3/16): Walk to & stay at Coupling Motel, 2.8 km. (sic)
- Day 2 (3/17): Walk from Coupling Motel to Gongju Dam Cert Center, 21 km.
- Day 2 (3/17): Walk to & stay at Geumgang Hot Springs Motel, 1.6 km.
- Day 3 (3/18): Walk to Baekche Dam Certification Center, 25 km.
- Day 3 (3/18): Walk to Buyeo Traditional Hanok Pension, 2.5 km.
- Day 4 (3/19): Walk to Iksan Seongdanpogu Certification Center, 34 km.
- Day 4 (3/19): Camp at the campground, open or not.
- Day 5 (3/20): Walk to Geumgang Estuary Barrage Certification Center, 24 km.
- Day 5 (3/20): END. Take train from Gunsan Station to Seoul.
To sum up my distances—
Day 1 = 40 km
Day 2 = 22.6 km
Day 3 = 27.5 km
Day 4 = 34 km
Day 5 = 24 km
The plan is to go down to Daejeon on March 15, then cab out in the early morning to the Day 1 walk site and just start walking.
I'm glad that Day 5 ends as easily as it does. Days 1 and 4 will be ass-kickers. Days 2 and 3 look to be nice as well, but you never know: there are a lot of subjective factors when one does a long walk, and what should ideally be a short, easy day can turn into a nightmare. Especially if it rains along the segment. Ask my poor feet.
From what I've seen of the starting point and endpoint, though, I might want to try doing this route from Gunsan to Daejeon one day: the Daecheong Dam looks to be a much cooler, more dramatic place to end a trek—a lot like ending at Andong (see last year's walk). But we'll see: When I see the Geumgang Estuary Barrage up close on this walk, in all its hypothetical glory, I might change my mind.
Since I'm camping one night this time, I have to bring along camping equipment, including a means to boil water so I can eat one of my dehydrated meals. This means a slightly heavier pack than I'm used to, but a kilogram or two of difference is no big deal; a person can get used to almost anything, and as I drink water and eat snacks, the weight I carry on my back fluctuates over the course of the day.
Righto—and thus ends the very first post of this newest walk blog.
Wish me luck.
