I look back on the year 2016 as one of the most pivotal years in my life. It was during this year when we set the stage for what was to come. But it wasn’t just a set up for future fun: 2016 was also a wonderful, thrilling year that we loved immeasurably while we were living it, too.
Read on to find out what made 2016 our big year!
Top 3 overall highlights of 2016
Climbing every mountain
By September 2016, Kent and I had visited all of Korea’s National Parks. We’d also had adventures in every single provincial park too! This was the year of our original mountain mission – and what a mission it was.
We actually returned to Korea for the third time in late 2015 with this goal in mind. And, once established in our new home base in Suncheon, we wasted no time getting started on it. Our snowy New Year’s Day adventure in Woraksan was actually already our 9th national park outing!
Despite taking rest of the winter off (for reasons outlined in the next section!), we really kicked it into high gear in 2016. As we approached the halfway point of our national parks goal, we decided we’d better check out all the provincial parks too! I’m so glad we did, because as incredible as the national parks are, trekking through all the provincial parks as well added a whole other layer of diversity!
In working on this mission, we got to explore more of South Korea than I’d ever dreamed possible. Every weekend we found ourselves riding the bus through the undulating folds of the landscape and spending the night in some faraway city or cozy village. Just like on our bicycle travels, we learned as we went: how to read place names on maps and identify veggie dishes on menus, how to count in order to pay taxi drivers and motel managers, and the way to pronounce the names of summits and landmarks so we could converse with other hikers. We might never studied the language formally – but the Korean we do know, we came by honestly!
Our mountain mission was the most iconic feature of the year and the sole biggest factor making it awesome. Additionally, this year-long adventure paved the way for 2018’s mountain madness – when we climbed all 120 of Korea’s most famous summits!
We run far
At the turn of the year, we set another lofty goal for ourselves: to run our first ultramarathon. I signed us up for the Korea 50k in April 2016, and we took our training for it incredibly seriously. Indeed, we even took a hiatus from our national parks mission so that we could train properly – and rest adequately!
So we spent the winter and spring at home in Jeollanamdo, running religiously five days a week. Midweek, we’d run out to Suncheon Bay. On weekends, we’d hit Bonghwasan for dullegil laps and repeated climbs to the summit.
Although our first ultra was a debacle, we learned important lessons from it – and we did not quit. We immediately signed up for another attempt in the fall. Our training for that race was conducted in Korea’s national and provincial parks – which, far from detracting from our performance, seemed to benefit our second attempt!
We ended our year in Suncheon on a high note: the one-and-only UTMJ took place just a week before our contracts ended. And this, finally, became our first official ultra! I could gush over that experience for many a paragraph, but, having done that elsewhere, I’ll simply say that it changed the course of our lives, and that’s no exaggeration.
Learning how (and where) to travel
In terms of the number of countries visited and months on the road, actually, the bulk of our traveling took place in the years before 2016! But it was during this year that we really found our own travel style – and some of our favorite places on Earth!
On previous journeys, we’d done a lot of overland travel by car and bike – but less hiking and running. Thanks to 2016’s focus on national parks and running long in Korea, we were well-equipped for subsequent travels to seek out a country’s natural wonders and explore them on our own two feet!
For our 2016 summer vacation, we went to Malaysia. We had just five days in Borneo, and we wasted none of them. We did a speedy ascent of Mt. Kinabalu for an unforgettable sunrise, then wound down with a boat safari of the Kinabatangan River and a trip to Turtle Island.
Nearing the end of the year, we finally got to embark on a long-awaited, six-week adventure in South America! We started by trekking the Inca Trail, spent a week discovering rare animals and plants in Bolivia’s Amazon and then made our way on foot around the Torres del Paine. In Argentina, we outraced a storm to the flanks of Mt. Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. Then, with time running out, we conducted a running tour of Iguassu Falls in Brazil. We did many other typically touristy things, like a tango lesson in Buenos Aires. But we were especially empowered with the knowledge of where our own feet can take us.
And Chile, we’re coming back for you – and next time it might just be for good!
Best month
This year was so dang awesome, I’d like to give every month an award! But there were three extra special standouts – all in the fall!
In first place is September.
This month was pretty much the pinnacle of our Korean adventures thus far. We spent Kent’s birthday in Byeonsanbando National Park – which immediately became a top-shelf favorite and was a truly perfect day. The very next day, we went to Seonunsan Provincial Park for some epic, boundary-breaking, roped-up climbing!
The following weekend, we completed our national parks mission at the inimitable, unforgettable Paryeongsan in Dadohaehaesang! Shortly thereafter, we biked the Geumgang for the second time over Chuseok break: frolicking in flowers, meeting puppies and even rescuing a road-crossing turtle!
At the end of the month, we completed our portfolio of provincial parks with a back-to-back on the vertiginous bridges of Daedunsan and amidst extraordinary beauty in Mungeyong Saejae. As if that weren’t enough, we also made time for some training on Jirisan and climbed Gwangyang’s Baegunsan!
I simply have to include October as well, for reasons that will become clear in the next section. In addition to our incredible first ultra, during this memorable month, we returned to Gyeongju – our favorite city in Korea. And when our friends took us to the annual lantern festival in Jinju, we discovered a brand new fave! Plus, we returned to Jeju, this time to bike round the island!
Then there was November. It’s a very special month indeed when you can hike to Machu Picchu, explore the riches of the Amazon with an indigenous leader, bike across the salt flat of Uyuni, camp below the Torres del Paine, set foot on a glacier and randomly run to Fitz Roy! But this particular adventure is also featured in another category, stay tuned…
Best race
Absolutely, without a doubt, UTMJ – the Ultra Trail Mt. Jiri! This experience transcends this category as truly one of the best experiences of my life. I loved the rustic lodge where we stayed – and the friendly artist who ran it. I loved the race course – even though it was altered due to inclement weather, that just meant we got to run a fresh new route! Then there’s the friends we met: this race was a first for so many. Our thirsty training adventures on Jirisan‘s slopes set us up for success at this race. And, a level of success we never suspected: I somehow nabbed second place, when all I wanted to do was finish!
But it’s the end of the race in particular that will stick with me for life. We were running downhill into a deepening twilight. First, we caught sight of the tall hotel that the race was based out of. Coming around a bend, we could hear the clanging of bells and a clamor of voices. Glancing around, I realized we were running alone. ‘They’re cheering for us,’ I whispered to Kent, my voice hoarse with emotion. As we began down the steps leading to the finish line, someone turned on the fairy lights overhead to ward off the dark. The timing was magical, and my elation powerful. I cried the happiest tears as I reached for Kent’s hand, and then we ran together across our first ultra finish line.
The Korea 50k deserves an honorable mention here. Although Kent and I didn’t get the chance to finish this race, we actually loved the course and the cherry blossoms that decorated it. It was our first ever trail race and it was, for a good six months of last year, the longest distance we’d ever run. We’d had a great time doing it too, right up until our unexpected end.
Best mountain
The shortest and most honest answer is all of them. In a year defined by climbing all the mountains of Korea’s national and provincial parks, there was a standout in each season and every area.
You already know that Gyeongju is my favorite city in Korea, and we visited multiple times in 2016. The wintery walk on Woraksan that started this year absolutely took my breath away! Over the summer, I was completely and utterly charmed by Odaesan. Our ascent of Taebaeksan was misty, ethereal, and embodied so much that I love about this country. I literally couldn’t imagine a better place to celebrate my love’s birthday than Byeonsanbando! And that’s just the national parks!
Among the provincial parks, my favorite is Mungyeong Saejae: I absolutely love this park’s peaks, meadows, amenities and history. Duryunsan and Cheongwansan share top honors for scenery in the south. Daedunsan is as thrilling as Deoksan is tranquil. Gyeongpo beach was my summer escape this year, and was a frequent destination long before I was doing all the parks! The unique scenery at Maisan and the exciting nature of an outing on Seonunsan are deserving of mention.
But even in a year that was very big on mountains, there are three standouts to call to the podium.
Jirisan. The giant of South Korea’s mainland, Jirisan National Park features the largest land area and highest peak on the mainland. We did not make it to that high summit in 2016, but we did have a bunch of wonderful adventures on the other peaks and passes. For our anniversary in July, we conquered the tough ascent from Hwaeomsa, basked on green Banyabong, and then lingered the day away in the very pretty Piagol valley. Later that summer, we did three incredible training runs on Jirisan’s subsidiary ridges that collectively rank up there with the coolest things I’ve ever done. And, of course, this was the setting for our entry into the world of ultra racing at the singular UTMJ!
Paryeongsan. Call it a provincial park, call it a part of Dadohaehaesang National Park, just call it the best. Paryeongsan is an unreal adventure: everything you might want in an East Asian hike. Named for its eight sequential summits, the trail is a veritable rollercoaster featuring chains, ladders and ropes. And the island views from the top are simply spectacular!
Bonghwasan. A celebration of 2016’s summits simply would not be complete without our very own Suncheon Bonghwasan. We spent the first four months of the year spending three to four days a week with this beauty. Even after we wrapped up training for our first ultra, this was our local running hotspot! And it wasn’t just utilitarian – we’d head up for sunrise, or for a picnic date, and, on one very memorable occasion, to find the trails crawling with frogs! We actually might not have survived Suncheon if it wasn’t for this mountain.
Best adventure abroad
Two top honors for this award! We went on two international trips in 2016, and both were awesome. So, not for the first time, I’m going to split this category up into two subcategories!
Our whirlwind trip to Borneo wins for best short trip. For our first trip to the fabled island, we set our sights on the state of Sabah in Malaysia. But in 2016, our vacations were scheduled Wednesday-to-Wednesday – leaving us with just just five days for adventures after accounting for travel time.
So as soon as we were out of the plane, we were on a bus headed to the base of Mt. Kinabalu. To climb this mountain of UNESCO World Heritage status, you need a guide, and we had a great one! The three of us half-hiked, half-ran up to the lodge – beating out the day’s trekkers by hours, despite frequent stops to admire pitcher plants and other cloud forest flora! After a stunning sunrise the following day, we strolled down in a sprinkle of rain, then flew out to the west coast for a couple of days of spotting turtles and orangutans.
Our big trip of the year most certainly deserves another award! Climbs and Creatures, as we called our first foray into South America, took us from ancient ruins in the rugged mountains of Peru to the high deserts of Bolivia; from the spectacular spires of the Torres del Paine in Chile to Rio’s city streets and on to the waterfalls, rivers and marshes of southeastern Brazil. It was a fabulous, six-week journey across a wide variety of landscapes and incorporating a ton of fun activities. My only regret about this trip? That it wasn’t six months long!
Best domestic adventure
We spent the majority of the year in South Korea, so there are literally dozens of competitors for this title. This was a landmark year, featuring a host of adventures that are dazzling in their diversity. I’ve already told you all about our first ultra, and our training for it on the slopes of Jirisan. And of course, the foundation of this year was our mountain mission in Korea’s national and provincial parks. But that’s far from all this year contained: there were also big bike rides, cribbage picnics and potlucks with friends. The whole dang year deserves to win this award, so let’s do just that. Congratulations South Korea – you are the best domestic adventure!
To bring extra special focus to just one adventure that I’ve not yet mentioned, I’d like to call out our Chuja-do runventure. Neither training nor mission, this was a just-for-fun adventure, and it was an awesome one. We took the ferry out to a pair of rugged little islands between Jeju and the mainland. There, we hit the ground running, zipping along Jeju Olle #18-1 as it encircled the island. We had just half a day before we had to catch the ferry again on it’s return to the mainland – and it was a perfect, bite-sized blast!
Best animal encounter
Wow, did we ever have a lot of stellar animal encounters in 2016! That makes this category a tricky one…
We met so many friendly temple dogs on our mountain mission, and their accompaniment never got old. In the Amazon, I saw both the biggest toad and smallest frog I’ve ever seen! I was tickled pink to see flamingos on the salty, high-altitude lakes of the Bolivian antiplano, and I’m now obsessed with vicunas. In Borneo we glimpsed wild orangutans, and I admired several armadillos in Argentina. Our time in Brazil’s Pantanal region featured creepy Cayman, cute capybaras and our very own horse friends!
But the very best animal encounter has to be our up-close-and-personal time with green sea turtles on the aptly named Turtle Island in Borneo. We spent an evening bristling with anticipation, waiting for a ranger to call us down to the beach to witness a laying. Later that night, we were honored to assist with the release of newly hatched babies as they raced towards the waves under cover of darkness. And just before we left the next morning, we were walking alone on the beach when I spotted a freshly hatched mini. I picked it up, pointed it in the right direction and watched it race out to sea in what was one of the happiest moments of my life!
If I can do just one more, it would definitely be Lucy the Llama. The cuddly creatures that keep the grasses of Machu Picchu nipped and neat wear nametag earrings. Kent and I, along with a couple of trekking buddies, were first into the World Heritage Site one morning for our ascent of Wayna Picchu, and we encountered this beauty on a misty staircase. It was love at first sight!
…I also have to mention the sweet mama dog on our walk to work. During our year in the city, we built up a friendship that consisted of daily greets and pats. And when she had puppies in spring, she just had to show them to us. Cuteness overload, for real!
Best person
You guessed it: it’s Kent! He’s crowned king in every end of year review, because he’s just the best all year round, every year! I have some really crazy plans sometimes, but he’s always game and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that. It’s so fun to have an always adventure partner! Not to mention one that’s great at making mini pancakes and snuggling 🙂
This year’s honorable mentions are many: to the folks who visited us, French and otherwise; to our newest friend Mark; and especially to Jack and Caleigh. We became close with these former coworkers when they insisted on befriending us. They pursued us with popcorn and card games until we eased up on our schedule to make time for friendship. I’m so grateful for all of these good people.
2016 by the numbers
Kilometers: 4589!
2874 running, 1176 biking + 540 hiking
Ultras: 2
A tale of two 50ks – and our first ultras:
The devastation of a DNF at the Korea 50k.
Then a fantastic finish at Ultra Trail Mount Jiri!
Plus a bunch of other incredibly fun runs, like our UTMJ training adventures!
New peaks: 35
Most of Korea’s National Parks. Plus all of the Provincial Parks besides. 2016 was our mountain mission year, and 27 of this year’s peaks were in parks!
On top of that, we met 7 new peaks racing! We encountered Chilbongsan, Cheonbosan, Wangbangsan & Guksabong during the Korea 50k. Then we explored more of Jirisan, namely Chilseongbong & Hyeongjaebong, in training for UTMJ. This year, we also ran up Namsan for the first time!
But perhaps the pinnacle of the year was our ascent of Mount Kinabalu!
New places: 6
Our summer vacation took us to Malaysian Borneo.
During our Climbs and Creatures trip to South America, we visited Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile & Peru!
So that’s why 2016 was our big year. Big, badass and full of blessings. I’m grateful for this past year, and the new one ahead. And I’m grateful for you – thanks for joining me on life’s journeys!