4 hours. 20 lbs. backpack. 1 liter of water consumed. With Eric.
Tried out 500 ml of water that was flowing across the trail. Water tasted sweet! 약수물~!
Update: I realized in the US you aren’t supposed to be drinking from natural sources. My childhood experience of drinking water from local mountain has me unafraid to drink mountain water.
May 27, 2021
8 miles, 20 lbs. backpack, relatively flat trail
May 20, 2021, Thursday
4.5 miles, 3,593 ft
I had been hiking every Saturday with my buddy Eric, and I had been wanting to a longer hike on La Luz. Typically, we’d do about an hour of hiking, and then come back down. Eric usually has his Saturdays scheduled to do some chores at the house. So, after taking an annual leave from work, I started to prepare for La Luz immediately after the morning service (6:30 am) on Thursday. My (Korean) church has a daily early morning worship that starts at 6 am. And thank heavens for online worship since the pandemic had started. I no longer feel guilty about not having to drive all the way there.
I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, but after some reading and watching of a show where bunch of guys were doing Three Peaks challenge in Korea, I learned of the importance of taking enough electrolyte and water. That’s exactly what I did, along with two oranges and two nutbars. Being a novice hiker, I didn’t have any trekking poles, or anything else that one’s supposed to take on a difficult hiking trip. I wasn’t expecting difficulties. I just wanted to do it longer than a couple of hours.
While on the first part of La Luz, I became curious about the trail ahead of me, so I downloaded an app called AllTrails, and, I immediately became aware all of the trails around me. I later found out the Chimney Canyon Trail wasn’t even on the official map, but AllTrails showed it. The starting point was close ahead of me, so I decided to take it on a whim. Mostly because all of the hikers seemed to be on La Luz, probably all the way to the top of Sandia, perhaps, to the Sandia Crest, and this new trail I was about to take on seemed to lead straight to the top without too many switchbacks. Again, being a noob, I didn’t know better. I just dove in. It forked to the left, and I found that the starting point was practically hidden from the main trail. The starting steps of Chimney was very steep. It was like a hidden ladder from the main trail. My knees don’t usually feel strong, due to some injuries from Taekwondo in my childhood, and many years of kendo practice, but I went ahead one step at a time anyway. As usual, I started to breathe hard, and even though I didn’t feel tired, my body wasn’t moving as fast as I wanted, but I kept on moving. The trail was mostly steep, but you did have a little switchbacks or flat trails along the way. I considered them as a small period of relief, and I appreciated them much more than I did on regular trails. Soon, I instinctively felt the need for trekking pole. I started by grabbing one dry tree branch nearby, and as the incline became even more steeper, I felt the need for another one.
Thankfully, most of the trail was visible, but probably due to the smaller number of people who’ve hiked on the trail, I could see how one could easily get lost. I could feel a rush of adrenaline at the possibility of reaching the top, and I was vigilant about which track I’m supposed to be on. There were at least three or four places, where you’re simply climbing over a narrow field of naturally strewn rocks. And then about the middle of Chimney, I found myself climbing an extremely steep wall of rocks. I went on for a good twenty minutes or so only to realize I was on a wrong path, because I didn’t see an end in sight, and I was pretty high up in a canyon of rocks. I felt I was off-trail, and probably because I was so high up in the area, my phone had a data connection, and I was able to see where I was on the map. At this point, I ate an orange I had brought along, and put all of the skin inside a Ziplock bag and put it in my bag. It indicated I had gone off-trail to north. So, I slowly climbed down, using the same posture I used to climb up, because it was so steep. I threw down two sticks I was using as poles, and was on all four climbing down carefully. I got back on the trail. The last part of Chimney seemed to follow along a rocky ridge on the left side, and then swing around to left and meet a fork.
That turn to left seemed to be the most difficult one. Again, it was mostly rocks in the first part, and then slippery ground due to a good amount rain that came down several days ago. I was able to see the fresh pole marks left by an earlier hiker. Seeing that there were only one set of pole marks, I was guessing that there was just one other person who had done the trail that day earlier. Anyway, I physically couldn’t move more than 3 or 4 steps at a time. I had set my watch on a timer for every 20 minutes for a water break, and was relatively consistent with that. My innards were crying out aloud, but I knew I couldn’t stop. I simply had to keep going. Having had no food that morning other than one nutbar, I was doing pretty good. I wasn’t feeling hungry at all. I wasn’t feeling fatigued, probably due to the adrenaline rush, but I guess it’s more of a dull ache mostly with my legs.
I don’t remember how long it took me to finish that last part, but I looked up and I could see that there was some type of plateau, and on my right, I could see the antennae. I was very close to the top!!
Looking down on my most difficult passage, I took a quick video. It really doesn’t capture much, but the canyon which I had come through felt like some mysterious rite of passage. I felt a great sense of accomplishment at this point.
I was somewhat excited that I would be at the Sandia Crest soon, but I realized this particular trail led around to get there, and I didn’t know how long I was in for more hiking. At the top of this passage, was a long birch tree that was cut down as if someone had laid it down as a resting spot across the visible trail. It was inviting for me to take a seat and rest for a while. I sat down, drank some water, and checked everything. I had felt somewhat dizzy climbing up, and I was breathing very hard, so I rested until my body felt calm. I restarted again by standing up and taking more steps. With the Sandia Crest right side of me, I seemed to be going the opposite way around a large bedrock on the right. I knew I was on the other side of the Sandia mountains, because I was able to see the town of Edgewood, the east side of the mountain.
Not too long after this, this particular trail met North Crest Trail.
The trail seemed familiar. It’s the trail along the top of the mountain that led to Sandia Crest. I had never been on this one, but having seen it on the map, added with anticipation, it felt like the homebound trail. After some coverage, it led to a path right along the fenced area for antennae on the right side, and then finally onto the parking of Sandia Crest. I think I may have spent around 5 hours climbing. Then two more hours waiting for my family to arrive to pick me up.
눈물 젖은 빵을 먹어보지 않은 그대여
우리는 단기간 동안 이 세상을 지나가고 있는 체류객일뿐
이 땅에서 우리는 너무 쉽게 안주하게되고 나태해지며
창조주보다 이 세상의 것들에 더 의존하게 되므로
그러한 모든 것을 덫으로 볼 수 있다
사람의 마음은 만족이라는 것을 잃어버리는 습관이 있고
자신의 마음의 흡족함만을 추구하면 기쁨없는 쾌락의 미끄럼틀만 반복적으로 타게 되있으므로
자신을 나태하게 만드는 모든 것에서부터 깨져야 한다
여인 한명이 값비싼 향유 옥합을 깨뜨려 예수님의 머리에 부은 것 처럼
우리의 삶 또한 계속해서 깨뜨려져야 하는 것
우리가 소중히 여기는 것을 부서버리고 깨뜨린다는 것은 결코 쉬운 일이 아닌 것
자신의 것이 무너지게 되있고 쌓은 것들이 없어지게 된다
그러나 깨짐으로서 새로운 것이 나오는 것이고
부서짐으로서 경신하게 되는 것이다
인간 쓰래기가 되고 싶지 않으면
스스로를 깨뜨리는 연습을 하라
매일
모든 면에서
그의 말씀 앞에서
Almost everyone around the world have been quarantined at home, and it’s a perfect time to brush up your skillsets. Let’s take a look at this word, 硏磨 (to grind, study, or research). 硏 refers to an inkstone, which is a flat stone. What do you normally do with an inkstone? It’s used to grind ink. Once ink is ground and contained, you would write with it. Writing is associated with studying and researching, therefore you have a process from grinding of ink to writing, where you would be studying or researching, so we have all of these meanings associated with this character 硏.
With 磨 (to grind or rub), we have a compound of 麻 (hemp) and 石 (stone). So, the character was for an act of using a stone-based tool to soften or decorticate hemp stalks. It was done by either grinding or crushing the stalks, so we have both of these meanings associated with this character. When an object is either grinded or pounded, it wears out and it can even disappear eventually. So, 磨 can also mean suffering, being worn down, or disappearing after being worn down.
Combining above meanings we can think of the meaning of 硏磨 as an act of studying and researching until the subject (who would be studying and researching) would disappear from being worn down so much. We can associate a degree of pain with such an act, and there is a sense of constant repetition. Therefore, there can’t be 硏磨 without difficulties and repetition. Such process is needed in order to improve our skills and talents.
Even in English, the informal use of the word grind is associated with working or studying laboriously. So, it’s interesting to see that we have such commonalities both in the East and the West.
Source: https://www.donga.com/news/List/Series_70070000000757/article/all/20060104/8262972/1
Update and English translation by Michael Han (https://michaelhan.net)
Many people set New Year’s resolutions, but it isn’t easy to follow them through ’til the end of the year. Why is that? It’s because people aren’t determined enough to put that much effort into it. Why do so many find it difficult to put that effort in? It’s because they are anxious to reach it quickly. When we set out to achieve something in the future, it’s important to be diligent and persistent in order to reach a completion.
There’s a phrase 行百里者半九十. 行 originally meant an intersection, or a junction of two roads. This is where we get the meanings such as procession, or degree of relationship, as in 行列. There were many merchants at such junctions, so we also have words like market, or merchant. 銀行 (bank) consists of the word 銀 (silver), so it originally meant a place where you bought and sold silver. In the past, silver was used as a form of common currency. 洋行 means a Western-style store, or a new type of merchant. Many people walk about a junction on a road, so we also have meaning of going or moving around. In 行百里者半九十, 行 means going. Therefore 行百里者 means a person going one hundred ri.
半 originally meant half, but here it means considering as half. We just have number 九十 for a numeric value of ninety, but because of the word 百里 (hundred ri), we can assume the unit of ri here as in ninety ri. So, 半九十 would mean consider as ninety ri as half.
Synthesizing these together, we have, “a person set out to travel one hundred ri goes ninety ri and considers it a half of his journey.” With such attitude, the person will continue on with persistence, and will not be so anxious to get to the destination quickly.
A turtle has short legs, so it can only travel at a very slow pace, but don’t forget that it can also travel 1,000 ri.
Note: ri is roughly about an one-third of an English mile.
Original: https://www.donga.com/news/Culture/article/all/20040104/8017106/1
English translation by Michael Han (https://michaelhan.net)
출처:
안 규호, 2009. 일제시대(日帝時代)를 왜정시대(倭政時代). 시사포커스. Available at: http://www.sisafocus.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=37645 [Accessed March 29, 2021].
사실 대한민국이 그동안 친일파를 청산하지 못해 여러 가지 문제점이 노출됐다. 논란의 여지가 있을 수는 있겠지만 대체적으로 부인을 할 수 없는 사실이다.
많은 사람들에게 존경을 받던 여성박사 1호인 김활란, 시인 모윤숙과 서정주 애국가 작곡가인 홍난파 등은 친일 행각이 알려지면서 많은 국민들이 적지 않은 놀라움과 불쾌감을 가졌던 기억도 있다.
대한민국도 해방 이후에 친일파 청산의 노력을 하지 않았던 것은 아니다. 1948년 ‘반민족행위처벌법’을 제정해서 의욕적으로 친일파청산을 하려는 노력을 보이기도 했다. 그러나 그것이 흐지부지 되면서 친일부역자가 단죄는커녕 정치권력 뿐 아니라 사회 각계에서 영향력을 행사하는 기행적인 역사를 연출한 것이 우리의 역사였다.
세월의 흐름만큼 많은 국민들이 친일파에 대한 기억을 점점 잃어가고 있다. ‘글로벌시대’ ‘지구촌은 한 가족’이라는 구호가 나오고 있는 요즘 친일문제는 ‘구태의연’하게 들릴 수도 있을 것이다. 그러나 여기서 국민들이 간과해서는 안 되는 중요한 것 중의 하나가 바로 친일파 청산 없이는 우리의 역사가 한 발짝도 앞으로 나갈 수 없다는 것이다.
개인적으로 친일청산의 한 방법을 제안하고자 한다.우리나라의 많은 초·중·고등학교 교과서 심지어는 대학서적에서도 일제시대라는 표현을 쓴다. 이는 정말 잘못된 표현이다. 일제시대(日帝時代)라는 말을 풀이해 보면 한자 뜻 그대로 일본제국주의시대라는 이야기인데 이는 일본의 제국주의 부활을 꿈꾸는 이들이나 부를법한 이야기이다. 치욕의 역사인 왜정시대(倭政時代)를 일제시대(日帝時代)라고 표기를 하고 부르는 것은 적당히 않다.
일제 침략기에 고생을 했던 많은 어르신들은 아직도 왜정시대(倭政時代)라는 표현을 쓴다. 왜정시대倭政時代) 즉 우리나라를 침략했던 왜나라 오랑캐들이 정치를 하던 시대라는 뜻이다.
이젠 마무리 정리하자.
전국민이 이번 기회에 사소한 것처럼 보이지만 가장 중요한 문제인 일제시대(日帝時代)를 왜정시대(倭政時代)로 바꾸는 운동에 적극적으로 동참했으면 한다.
내년 광복절에는 모든 항일순국선열들에게 떳떳한 날이 되었으면 하는 큰 소망을 해본다.
原: 秋水/2 中 + 後漢書, 馬援傳, 等等
井蛙不可以語於海者，拘於虛也
同: 井蛙, 井底蛙, 埳井之蛙
井中之蛙 (정중지와, jǐngzhōng zhī wā, かんせいのあ) well / in / [of] / frog
A frog in a well. Referring to someone with a very narrow view of things due to ignorance. It comes from the saying, “a frog in a well doesn’t know about the great sea (井中之蛙 不知大海).”
This was near the end of Sin dynasty (新) which appeared after the end of Western Han dynasty (前漢). Wehyo (隗囂) of Nong-seo (隴西) maintained his relationship with King Gwangmu (光武帝) as an ally, but as King Gwangmu became more powerful he felt uneasy, and tried to form an alliance with Gongsonsul (公孫述) of Chok (蜀). Around that time, Gongsonsul had founded a country called Seong (成), and was calling himself an emperor (皇帝). The land of Chok was rich in natural resources, and the terrain made it a natural stronghold, so it was perfect to build up his power.
Wehyo decided to send Mawon (馬援) to Chok in order to find more about Gongsonsul. Mawon was born in Mureung (武陵) and he had moved to Nong-seo to avoid troubles after Wangmang (王莽) had died. After the move, he had accepted the request to become an advisor to Wehyo. Mawon was also a childhood friend of Gongsonsul.
Mawon eagerly looked forward to being received with a warm welcome by Gongsonsul, but he was met with a cold reception. Gongsonsul had been a king for four years, and he assumed a haughty attitude at the top of the stairs, and tried to give Mawon a government position. Of course, Mawon quickly made an exit and returned.
“The supremacy under heaven is yet to be decided, but instead of showing utmost courtesy to a capable person for advice on running a country, he only shows his haughtiness. One cannot discuss affairs of this world with such a person. He is a prideful frog inside of a well. It’s better to look to the East for going forward,” said Mawon to his entourage.
Mawon also said the same thing to Wehyo, and added, “He is merely a frog inside a well. You do not need to deal with him. I think it will be better to be more expectant from Han (漢).” With this, Wehyo gave up trying to form an alliance with Gongsonsul, and instead formed an amiable relationship with King Gwangmu, who would be the progenitor of the Eastern Han (aka Later Han.)
The expression “a frog in a well” was already widely in use before Mawon had used it. There is this narrative in Jang-ja (莊子): “A frog in a well can’t talk about the sea because it is inherently limited by the place (墟) it lives in. A summer bug wouldn’t be able to talk about ice because it only knows about the season of summer. You can’t talk about the Way (道) with someone who only knows about one thing because he is restricted by the limitation of his own learning.
原: 則陽/4 中
「有國於蝸之左角者曰觸氏，有國於蝸之右角者曰蠻氏，時相與爭地而戰，伏尸數萬，逐北旬有五日而後反。」
蝸牛角上爭 (와우각상쟁, wōniú jiǎo shàng zhēng, 蝸牛角上の争い (かぎゅうかくじょうのあらそい)) snail / horn / above / fight
A fight of snail horns. A useless fight or strife in a small world.
During the Warring States period, feudal lords battled each other year after year for hegemony. The story comes out during such tumultuous time.
King Hye (惠王) of Wi (魏) formed an alliance with King Wi (威王) of Je (齊), but later, King Wi broke this agreement. King Hye was outraged over this, and wanted to send an assassin to kill King Wi. The ministers of the court considered it cowardly to send an assassin, so some suggested to wage war instead, and some suggested against it. In midst of this, Hwa-ja (華子) suggested just the thought of waging war itself is wrong.
Hwa-ja came forward to the King and spoke, “All these suggestions are not good. Anyone who points to people discussing these matters and regards them as people who are putting the country into a turmoil, are themselves people who are throwing the country into confusion.”
King felt frustrated and asked, “What do you suggest that we do, then?”
“We have to put aside quarrelsome arguments (是非) and stand on the side of the Way (道).”
The King drew a blank stare, and then the chancellor Hye-ja (惠子) called upon a sagacious person named Dae-jin-in (戴晉人) and had him stand in front of the king. He first asked the king a question.
“Do you know what a snail is?”
“Yes, I do.”
“On its left horn is a country of Chok (觸氏; “pierce”) and, on its right is a country of Man (蠻氏; “barbaric”), and they were fighting each other to expand their territory. There were several tens of thousands of people dying. There were times when it took 15 days to just pursue fleeing enemies.”
The king was dumbfounded at this story, and Dae-jin-in asked another question.
“Do you think there’s an end to this world?” The king shook his head. Dae-jin-in continued.
“Then to those who ponder on this limitless world, the existence of these countries can only be trivial.”
He was basically saying that whether it’s the country of Wi, or the country of Je, they were both like countries on top of a snail’s horns from the perspective of someone whose mind ponder on great things such as the limitless universe. Dae-jin-in asked this question and left the king.
“What difference are there between you, who is wondering whether or not to wage war against Je, and Chok and Man on the top of the snail horns?”
原: 莊子, 秋水/1 中
望洋之歎 (망양지탄, wàng yáng zhī tàn, ぼうよう－したん), look / sea / [then] / sigh
Sighing after looking at a great sea. Admiring another’s greatness, and feeling shame over one’s shortcomings.
Long time ago, at a place called Maeng-jin (孟津) on the midstream of the Yellow River (黃河) lived a god (河神) named Ha-baek (河伯). He was impressed with the golden gleam of light reflecting from the river, and said, “There is no other body of water like this in this world.”
A voice replied, “No, that’s not true.” Ha-baek turned his face to find an old turtle nearby, and asked.
“Is there a body of water greater than the Yellow River?”
“Yes. Near where the sun rises is the North Sea (北海, now known as 渤海), and it is said that all rivers flow into it. So, the breadth and width of that place is many times greater than the Yellow River.”
Ha-baek shook his head in disbelief. He had never left Maeng-jin, and he couldn’t believe the words of this old turtle.
“How could such a big body of water exist? I can’t believe it unless I see it myself.”
Then autumn came. The Yellow River rose very high due to many days of rain. While watching this, Ha-baek was suddenly reminded of his conversation with the old turtle, and decided to follow the river to see the North Sea himself.
When Ha-baek reached North Sea, a god (海神) of that place named Yak (若) came out to greet him. He raised his hands and cut through the air to calm the waters, and before them was a horizon of water that stretched far beyond what Ha-baek had ever seen before.
Ha-baek was taken aback by the breadth and width of what he was seeing, and his jaw dropped. He was ashamed of his past ignorance and said to Yak, “I heard of the greatness of North Sea, but did not believe it until now. If I did not see this here today, I could not have understood how little I had seen and known in life.”
Yak smiled and said, “You were a frog in a small well, weren’t you? Without coming to know about the great sea (大海) you would’ve been recognized as a god with little knowledge of the world, but now you have managed to get yourself out of such place.”
