Sokcho: The Hiker and the Old Man and the lack of a sea

I set 2 alarms and woke up before either of them.  I was ready to climb the Mountain.  I was just starting my breakfast when Yoda walked in with a look that was more negative than positive.  He was sick--with fever.  So I have to climb the mountain on my own, which means I can't do anything stupid or not pay attention to the Korean signs in hopes that the other person is.  No problem, right. 
I got my bus ticket but had no idea what gate number to go to.  All in Korean and I didn't see the name of my destination anywhere (because its not a main stop).  So I asked someone and they pointed me to gate 6.  I stood there for a while and nothing.  Then it was past the time the bus was supposed to leave at, so I went and asked someone else--they said gate 1 and that the bus already left.  Nice.  The next bus was in 30 minutes though, so I could just wait.   I met a guy, named Choi there who was waiting for a bus to Seoul .  He was trying to be real helpful but couldn't exactly explain how to tell from my ticket which gate number my bus would be at.  We exchanged phone numbers though--in case I ran into problems--which was super nice.  10 Minutes later a bus drive comes up to me and says "Osaek".  I follow him and I get on a bus, more confused than a parrot in zero gravity.  Choi began texting me quite frequently to make sure I was "OK".  I told him there were other hikers on the bus so I figured it was all right--and if not, I was just going to follow them anyway and hike where they are, because they were really decked out like hiking knights.

Turns out all was good.  The bus dropped me off at Osaek and I followed the signs (and hikers) to the trailhead.  There was a ranger at the trailhead who's job was to warn travelers of the dangers ahead.  It was all "listen all ye who enter", but in Korean.  The trail was only 5km in length, but it gained 1300 meters in elevation.  There were no flat parts--everything was steep.  I met an older gentleman on the trail who said he hikes this 5 times a year.  He was 73.  Paint me impressed.  I hiked with him for about an hour.   He shared food, wisdom, and stories of his adventures.  He was the Korean Odysseus.

I made the summit of the trail in about  2 hours and 45 minutes, which was pretty good (the guide books say 4 hours), but I was beat.  It was really cool up there.  Beautiful views--I think it was worth the exhaustion--yea, probably.

   It took me about the same time to get down the mountain as it did to get up--that's how tired I was.   I made a slow motion bee-line for the closest restaurant once I got down and asked for Bi Bim Bop.  I was promptly seated, but began to immediately wonder if I should have asked for 2 Bi Bim Bops.

 After getting back to Sokcho I checked in on the ailing Yoda.  It seems the force was not very strong within him this day.   I found Olive in the lobby of the Hostel so we went out for coffee.  Again--crappy coffee.  I've never thought I would be craving Starbucks so much.   I got hungry again and Olive suggested this chicken place that is kinda trendy, or popular, or something.  It was in market area of town.  Upon initial inspection it didn't look exactly sanitary--most of the equipment was outside in front of the shop, including pallets of vacuum packed chickens, but nothing smelled  wrong.  Although I am not exactly known for my olfactory prowess.  Regardless, we ordered one (i think they only have one option for food).  It was just like the dry fried Chicken from San Tung in San Francisco.  The fact that is wasn't seafood was enough for me to want it though.