Today, I accidentally woke up around 6:15 am and couldn’t fall back asleep. My roommate Susu was planning to go on an optional hike coordinated by one of our group members and two former Pitt students now living in Korea. When I noticed Susu wasn’t getting up, I woke her and asked if she still planned on going. I really wanted to go too, but second-guessed myself since I hadn’t been feeling well. At the last minute, I decided to join Susu and some other friends on this very early hike.

To get to the trail at Bukhansan Mountain, we had to take three buses. Two were pretty short, but one was about an hour long. Most of us dozed off during the longer ride—myself included.

After a long hour and a half journey, we met the former Pitt students halfway there. The bus didn’t drop us off at the national park entrance, so we had a 30-minute “warm-up” walk just to reach the start of the trail. We immediately got a preview of what was ahead: tons of stairs and steep inclines. I overheard someone say that the trail was rated 4.8/5 in difficulty on AllTrails. I was nervous but also excited to challenge myself and see the view at the top.

The hike itself was intense—it was rocky, steep, and even slippery in spots. My friend Sarah and I decided to stick together at a slower pace than the rest of the group so we wouldn’t burn out or lose our footing. The stair sections weren’t terrible, but they definitely got our legs burning.

One thing I found interesting was that not many other hikers smiled or said hi as we passed them. Compared to American hikers who usually make small talk or at least smile, the vibe was definitely more quiet and reserved. Maybe everyone was just exhausted from all the stairs…

Finally, we made it to the top. The view was absolutely stunning—it felt like we could see all of Seoul from up there. The climb was totally worth it.

The way down was quicker but still required a lot of focus. We wrapped up the hike by 12:00 pm. Final stats: about 2 miles up, almost 20,000 steps, and the equivalent of 185 flights of stairs!

Once we were done, we made our way back to the hotel. All of us were desperate to eat and shower. After the long trip back, I grabbed some ramen from a convenience store for lunch and took a quick shower.

Then, we had to head to the other side of the river by subway to get to our cooking class. The rest of the group had already made their way over after visiting Seoul Tower. The subway ride took around 50 minutes—I slept for part of it.

At the cooking class, we got a quick overview of what we’d be making: Bibimbap, which is a traditional Korean dish that includes rice topped with sautéed vegetables, gochujang (Korean chili paste), and sometimes meat or egg. I partnered up with my friend Gabby, and we had a lot of fun preparing everything and actually cooking it. I really liked how our Bibimbap turned out, though I wasn’t a fan of the fake soy meat—it just had a weird texture.

After the class, we headed back to the hotel. Now we have some free time, and I am so ready for bed after grabbing a sweet treat. Tomorrow, we’re visiting Camp Casey and doing a short, easy hike.