Chiaksan National Park (치악산)

Where:  Chiaksan (치악산) is located in Gangwando, the north-eastern most province of South Korea.  Easily accessible from the capital region of Seoul, it’s a fairly popular park but perhaps not quite as busy as Seoraksan.  Elicia and I were in the midst of a two-park weekend binge, first hitting up Sobaeksan on a Friday and then visiting this national park, Chiaksan, on Saturday.  Since they’re only an hour apart, this was quite convenient.  Here’s a map showing the location of both, along with a sprinkling of the other nearby national parks.

Hiking Highlights:  Waking up in a motel fairly early in the morning in Jecheon city because our camping plans fell apart in Sobaeksan the day before, we hit the road and drove the remainder of the way to Chiaksan.  To position ourselves near the highest peak (Birobong, 비로봉) and next to two different campgrounds, we drove around to the northern park entrance and information center called Guryong (구룡).  This area also shares the name with the big temple called Guryonsa (구룡사).  Sure, there’s other parts of Chiaksan to explore, but I felt like this would be the best area because there’s a temple, waterfalls, and the highest peak all within reach.  This recipe has worked well in the past, so we’d stick to the game plan!

Since it was early in the morning and we had the whole day ahead of us, we’d once again try to find a spot for our tent.  The first campsite we tried was Guryong Auto Campground, and just like in Sobaeksan, no luck there.  We didn’t have reservations, and huge tents left little room, even for our little NorthFace Tadpole tent.  The ranger said we couldn’t stay there, but thankfully I saw another campsite using Naver Maps and so we drove into the park in pursuit of a place to plop our tent.  It seemed we were driving where we shouldn’t – the guards let us past some gates and whatnot, basically driving on the paved hiking trail.  We went to Daegok Campground, which turned out to be more of a student or kid-friendly nature experience area than a campground.  We saw a few other families camping there, so we thought, hey, why not?  We parked the car and after hiking, would make Daegok our home for Saturday night.  Phew!  We could camp!

In the above trail map you can see the Guryong entrance and also Daegok Campground where we would start and finish our day’s hike.  Unfortunately there isn’t a huge network of trails in this area, but it’s a convenient place to start in Chiaksan to take you up to the 1288m peak called Birobong Peak.  Also in light green you can see the route we took from the bottom up to Birobong, and back down the adjacent trail.  A simple out-and-back, but there’s two different trails you can take that connect Seryeom Waterfall (세렴폭포) to Birobong Peak.  A change of scenery is always welcomed, right?

So, the stage is set.  We found a nice spot for camping, our backpack was filled with high-calorie foods, and we walked up the very easy trail to Guyonsa Temple.  This initial walk is really peaceful, flat, and deep into the woods of tall, mature trees.

The walk went quick, and we found ourselves at Guryonsa Temple.  The crowds were thin, but people were beginning to file in to enjoy the day.  The temple’s setting was neat because the sun’s rays were beating in and the tall mountains loomed in the background.  We were able to fill up our water bottles here at the temple, and then we hit the trail again with Seryeom Waterfall in our sights.

The trail from Guryonsa Temple to Seryeom Waterfall was again very easy – it’s 2.1km but didn’t take too much time at all because it was a nice walking path.  We made it to the waterfalls and although I’m a fan of waterfalls, it wasn’t too impressive.  In fact, I didn’t even snap a picture!  Several people were there enjoying late-morning snacks, but we had more important things to do:  get to Birobong Peak.

As advertised, the trail became fairly difficult between Seryeom Waterfall and Birobong Peak.  It’s only 2.7km, but boy oh boy, it’s pretty dang steep.  Not impossible, but there were tons of stairs and near-vertical sections where ropes where needed.  The name of the game?  Slow-n-steady.  It’s hard to capture in a picture, but perhaps this perspective gives you insight to the degree of difficulty:

And oh, in case you didn’t notice, the autumn colors continued to be present here in Chiaksan!  Down at the bottom most everything was still green, but now that we were around 1000m, the colors were brilliant.

The majority of the trail was in the woods, so we knew we were making a lot of progress in terms of elevation gained, but we couldn’t see out to gauge how high up we were.  Just a few hundred meters before the summit, we came to a little clearing where we could look out, and smiles came to our faces.  What a gorgeous day!  Sights like this provide us with an energy-boost and motivation to get to the tippy-top.

We made it to the 1288m Birobong Peak in a little over an hour after leaving Seryeom Waterfall.  It was painful, but we made pretty darn good time.

With little food consumed since early morning, we were ready for some snacks on top of this beautiful mountain.  The summit area was pretty spacious, and good thing, because there was a fair amount of people also enjoying the peak!

Again, what a lovely day to be out hiking – visibility was pretty good!

I snapped this picture of Korean hikers atop, looking out in both accomplishment and awe at the surroundings.  Their faces say it all.

A little bit of a close-up to show the changing leaves at the higher elevations:

We could literally see for miles and miles…

 

We spent a good amount of time atop Birobong Peak.  At 1288m it certainly doesn’t crack the Top 25 Highest Peaks in South Korea but it was definitely high enough to create a superb vantage point, that’s for sure.

After we soaked in the surroundings for a while, it hit me how this was the second-to-last national park we’d visit in Korea!  Our goal of seeing all 16 mountainous parks is almost finished, Chiaksan being #15.  This realization wasn’t a surprise to me in any way, but for some reason, sitting atop the mountain this day, I recalled all the trails we’ve seen, peaks we’ve summited, and places we’ve camped.  This adventure to complete the goal has been downright awesome, each experience seeing all the parks uniquely beautiful.  And thinking of all these things was like a tidal wave of endorphins.  Man, what a cool and beautiful country we live in, and visiting all the parks is the perfect way to see darn-near the entire country.

We went down the adjacent trail we went up.  There were a lot less stairs on this one, and it was mostly rocks.  It made going down a bit slower because of the unsure footing, whereas if you’d hike our route in reverse, you would experience rocks going up and stairs going down (probably quicker and more safe).  We took our time and enjoyed our stroll downward, chatting the whole way.  The above picture is of a nice little bridge we crossed on the way down.

We arrived at Seryeom Waterfall, then finished the easy trail back down to Daegok Campground where our car was parked.  It was maybe 4:00pm, so we set up our tent, cooked hot dogs like the Americans we are, and laid in the hammock until long after the sun went down behind the valley.  The autumn nights are chilly in Korea, so eventually we got chased into our tent to find warmth in our 20F sleeping bags.  Success!

What a great day in Chiaksan National Park.

15 down, one to go!
Bukhansan National Park in Seoul will be the final one.

Biseondae (비선대)

What:  Within Seoraksan National Park, Biseondae (비선대) is a nice 3.0km walking trail that follows a river tucked within the steep and rocky slopes of the Seoraksan mountain range.  At the end of the wide, gentle, and well-groomed walking path there is a place to eat, some bridges, and beautiful scenery.  There’s also a fork in the road in which hikers can continue their journey if they choose, ascending quickly up the rocky and difficult terrain to further explore Seoraksan’s beauty.

Where:  After hiking Ulsanbawi (you can see that post here) we came back down to the main Seorak-dong area and checked out the trail map again.  We were full of energy and ready for some more hiking since it was just a little after noon on Friday.  Originally, we wanted to do a 4.6km loop and see Yukdampokpo Falls and Biryongpokpo Falls; however, upon arriving at the trail-head we found out the trail was closed for some maintenance and to allow nature to restore itself a bit (Seoraksan gets lots of visitors).  Although I was slightly bummed as I wanted to see the waterfalls, it was satisfying to see some trail closures to (hopefully) ensure conservation so people can enjoy the park’s beauty for years to come.

Hiking Highlights:  

The 3.0km Biseondae course from the main entrance follows a babbling river filled with huge boulders.  Since you’re in a valley, you’re often treated to beautiful views of the steep mountains and other surroundings.

It was a Friday afternoon, and it was a holiday, so there were quite a few people in the park.  Because this trail is super-easy, it tends to be a little busier than others, however, it really wasn’t that bad!  There were a few bridges we were able to cross:

And there were even several places like this to stop and grab a quick snack or ice-cold drink.  Pretty convenient if you forgot to pack something and needed some energy!

Around every corner was something beautiful to look at.  We could have passed time just sitting by the river (many people do!) and relaxed away the afternoon.  Scenery like this picture below dotted this entire trail:

Eventually we came to Biseondae, which is where the easy but beautiful 3.0km trail terminates.  Here you’ll find a rather large restaurant, brightly-colored people with cameras, and lots of laughter.  Sometimes things get a bit busy in Korea… especially if there’s a tour group like this in front of you!

With energy still left in our legs (the day before we were in Odaesan, and earlier in the morning we did Ulsanbawi) we decided we wanted to hike up the steep trail for a while to  a) get away from the crowds for a bit  and  b) see a cave (Geumganggul Cave – 금강굴)  that was supposed to be worth a visit, according to some of our newly-made expat friends who happen to teach in a town right next to Seoraksan.  Given the surroundings, I was really itching to go up for a while so I could look out and see the valleys and peaks of Seoraksan from this vantage point.

So… the trail turned out to be pretty darn steep.  The first 800m or so was very rocky and very steep, making it pretty challenging.  All the hiking was catching up with us, and we contemplated turning around… for about a second.  We just had to keep going.  The views were incredible!   The rocks turned into stairs, and we were alongside some steep cliffs.  I was hanging onto my bamboo walking stick, keeping one eye on my footing, and the other out in the valley… soaking it all in.

It was truly incredible.

Looking up, there were often sheer cliffs perfectly suitable for rock-climbing.  And there were a few groups making use of that.  Can you spot them?

We made it to a little platform-type area that served as a good resting spot for a couple of minutes.  We were able to see lots of the valley.  What a great way to spend Friday afternoon…

To help paint a better picture about the views… this picture shows the valley, surrounding mountains, and if you look closely you can even see the riverbed down below.

While looking down was a bit dizzying, looking out was extremely gratifying.

We made our way up the steep, sturdy steps and found ourselves at our desired destination: Geumganggul Cave (금강굴)

This cave was actually quite small.  There was a worker inside selling a few things (for fundraising) and also a small well with some natural spring water, so we dipped our bottles in and topped them off.  Inside, it was nice and cool and the views looking out were second-to-none.  It was really quiet as there were few people.  Time seemed to stand still, and I no longer knew if it was 2pm or 5pm… we sat down and soaked it all in for a while.

Eventually though, we had to head back down the somewhat-terrifying stairs to make our way back to the Biseondae trail (maybe this picture doesn’t have a good perspective on just how steep they were):

After hopping down all the stairs, it was a little bit of a relief to hit the flatter terrain on the Biseondae trail.  From where the Biseondae trail ends and creates a fork-in-the-road, I would say it was about a one-hour climb up to Geumganggul Cave, including a couple of stops.  The trail wasn’t marked for distance, but I would say it’s about 1.0km beyond the ending point of Biseondae.  In total, I’d say this hike to Biseondae and continuing on to Geumganggul Cave was about 4.0km, so 8.0km round trip.

Overall:  First of all, I’ll lead off by saying Seoraksan became my favorite National Park.  It is our 11th National Park we’ve visited out of the 16 mountainous parks in South Korea, and while each park before Seoraksan has been really awesome… Seoraksan takes the cake.  If you find yourself going to Seoraksan, you’ll likely be heading to Seorak-dong as it’s the easiest to access with public transportation (buses/trains).  If you have a full day (highly recommended), start early and do both Ulsanbawi and this Biseondae course (or the waterfalls if the trail is open).  But, if you only have half a day and want to do one hike, I’d give the nod to Ulsanbawi because it’s so unique.

For us, the adventures would continue.  It was only Friday evening and the weekend was just beginning, so we’d continue our journey and drive to the southern part of Seoraksan National Park near a tiny town called Oseak, which is famous for its mineral springs.  It’s from here you can most quickly access Daecheongbong Peak, the highest peak in Seoraksan at 1708m.  We wanted to position ourselves closely to this action, so using Naver Maps I’d search for camping (캠핑) and unfortunately not much came up directly in the park nor in Oseak.  I called a camping place (it’s always fun calling in Korea when you can’t speak the language too well!) that was just 5km from our next trail-head, and he said we could camp there that night.  Phew!

We arrived around 6:00pm, and it turned out to be a make-shift campsite.  The man that owned the land introduced himself, and said we could camp anywhere on his property, which happened to be beautifully situated away from the road and in the thick of the valleys’ forests.  He charged a nominal amount, and we set up camp just meters away from the river.  There were about 4 other tents here, and it was so gratifying to feel like we had the place to ourselves.  The rest of the evening was spent cooking some grub and talking with our camping neighbors, who turned out to be some of the coolest people we’ve met in Korea.  We’d hit the pillow hard after sun-down… it’s been two great days of hiking so far, but the next day would be the most challenging!

The first day of Seoraksan was great… but I found myself (as I often do) looking up at the higher peaks and thinking about the views from the tippy-top.  Tomorrow we were set to tackle the largest peak Seoraksan has to offer, Daecheongbong.

Odaesan National Park (오대산)

What:   Odaesan National Park (오대산)

Where:  This temple-rich and somewhat secluded national park is in the northeastern province of Gangwondo.  From our apartment down in Yeosu, it’s likely a 5-6 hour drive while from Seoul it’s about 2-3 hours.  In our quest to visit all 16 national parks in South Korea, we took advantage of a  recent five-day weekend in early June to take the slow and scenic drive along the east coast, something that’s also been on our Korean bucket list.  Highway 7 runs along the east coast which is sprinkled with nice sandy beaches between interesting little coastal towns.

First, we made a pit-stop in Ulsan to visit our friend Lisa (also from Wisconsin) before continuing north up the coast.  With four days of our long weekend remaining, we didn’t have any concrete plans other than to get some hiking and camping in.  After cruising the coast with the windows down (unless it was sprinkling, which it did frequently) we landed at Odaesan National Park in the dark at about 8:00pm.  The forecast for the next two days called for rain, rain and more rain, so we were excited to get camp set up in the park’s campground, hopefully under a shelter or trees.  But there was only one problem…. the ranger wouldn’t let us enter the park.  I think it closes at 7:00pm and despite my desperate attempt to allow us to camp, his arms in the shape of a big “X” and saying “NO” made it pretty clear we weren’t going to be able to pitch a tent.  Clearly we arrived too late to begin camping in Odaesan.

So I began thinking of Plan B.  With the help of Naver Maps I was able to search for “camping” (캠핑) and found a potential place just down the road.  Upon driving into this mystery place, it didn’t look like a proper campground, but more like a kids’ camp and activity park for school groups.  We saw two or three other tents, but otherwise it was really quiet, so we crept up in our car with the lights off to prevent making a scene, found a little shelter, pitched the tent, and scurried into our tent as the rain began to spit from the sky.  Perfect timing!  We kept our eyes and ears ready for someone to come and say we couldn’t camp there, but we were ready to pull the ‘foreigner-card’.  I figured it’s easier to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission.

In the morning, we’d find out there was a zip line, soccer fields, rock climbing, etc.  There wasn’t anybody around to “check-in” or pay, so we simply packed up our stuff and drove back up the road to the Odaesan entrance.  My goal for this trip was to avoid motels/hotels and instead spend every night in the tent in the mountains or on the beach.  So far, so good.

It rained during the night, but in the morning it was just overcast.  No rain (yet).  The same ranger was at the entrance, and we each had big smiles on our faces when we saw each other again.  We were up early – it was only 6:15am when we entered Odaesan National Park.  Little did he know we just camped 2km down the road.  Plan B was some make-shift camping, but it was a success.

Elevation:  The highest peak in Odaesan National Park is called Birobong (비로봉) and it reaches 1563m at the summit, making it the 16th highest peak in South Korea.  For the complete list you can check this out.

Hiking Highlights:  After entering the park, it’s another 30 minute drive on a pot-hole infested dirt road.  It began sprinkling, so it was a messy drive.  Our car, Sylvia, did great getting us to the trail-head at Sangwonsa Temple (상원사), possibly the ‘main’ attraction to Odaesan apart from the hiking trails.  Since it was before 7:00am there were probably only 3-4 other cars in the parking lot, and no tour buses!  I think the lack of people was a combination of the early time and dark and rainy skies.  BUT, we were on a mission, and we were going to hike rain or shine.

The plan of attack, as it often is for us, is to head to the highest peak the park has to offer.  The trail from the parking lot to Birobong Peak is 3.3km, but first you get to check out three temples: Sangwonsa (상원사), Sajaam (사자암) and Jeokmyeolbogung (적멸보궁).

These three temples are along a well-groomed path of steps and lots of cut stones, making it possible for people of all ages to see these three temples within an hour or so.  Therefore the first 1.5km has three temples and much of the trail looks like this:

Here’s a trail map with our course in green:

Right near the parking lot was Sangwonsa Temple, so we poked around the grounds for awhile.

Sangwonsa Temple itself was pretty neat.  There were several buildings and monks doing some morning chores.  Besides that, it seemed like we were the only ones who showed up for hiking this rainy day.

Next, we were off to Sajaam Temple (사자암), which was actually a personal favorite of mine.  Why?  Here’s some pictures:

Sajaam Temple was tucked in a valley, deep in the woods.  The buildings were built in such a way to create a tier-like structure.  It seemed like the buildings were in harmony with the landscape, whereas other temples often just level out the land, throw a bunch of concrete slabs down, and build on top of that.  Here, it all seemed really natural, and very beautiful.  After we had a conversation with the monks and a woman-worker (all of whom appeared to think we were crazy for hiking in the rain), they gave us a bunch of bananas, hot coffee, songpyeong (traditional Korean snack) and some apple candies.  It was a really nice gesture but I’m not sure if they were feeling sorry for us?  They were comfortable and warm next to a fire inside a beautiful temple, while we were outside, a bit chilly, soaked, and about to embark upon a 10km+ hike.   Nevertheless, the coffee hit the spot and we’d snack on the bananas in preparation for the remaining 2.0km up to Birobong Peak (1563m).  Here’s a shot of Sajaam Temple while looking back:

We then proceeded to the third temple, Jeokmyeolbogung (적멸보궁) (yes, it’s a mouthful I know).

Jeokmyeolbogung Temple was quite small in comparison to the first two.  There was just one little building.  At this point we were half way up to Birobong Peak:

We carried on.  Sometimes the trail had steps that we could easily see:

While other times the green plants made the stairs a little hidden:

Three things were constant:  the low-lying clouds (fog?), rain, and wind.  We were completely soaked, but we were keeping warm and maintained good spirits.

We hadn’t seen another person since the last temple, so the trail was quiet.. we had it to ourselves.

Except for guys like this:

The Summit:  The 3.3km up to Birobong Peak wasn’t too shabby.  It was wet, but not dangerous.  It was peaceful and quiet except for the wind and constant drizzle hitting the trees.  The trail was sometimes dark and eerie from the fog and dark clouds.  The first 1.5km was pretty easy, the remainder was pretty steep.  Alas, we made it to the top of Birobong Peak in Odaesan National Park.  And WOW were the views amazing!!

Just kidding!!  We actually couldn’t see squat.  Way too many clouds, way too foggy.  It was really cold and really windy.  And still raining pretty hard!  It felt great to make it to the top, so we had to have a summit selfie.

Normally there’s a nice-sized crowd atop the mountains.  Today?  Not a soul.  It was literally just us.  We stayed on the summit for approximately 1.5 minutes.  I envisioned beautiful mountain scenery hiding behind the fog… perhaps some day we will have to come back on a clear day so we can see the nearby peaks in Gangwondo Province.

More Hiking Highlights:  We hung a right and made our way towards Sangwangbong Peak (1491m).  This 2.3km segment was relatively flat and along a ridge.  On a clear day I’d bet you’d be able to see through the trees to see some incredible valleys… but today we weren’t so lucky.  What we lacked in views, we more than made up in privacy.  We STILL hadn’t seen a single person after leaving the three temples.  That’s a fair trade-off in my book!

The trail was becoming like a slip-and-slide.  We made it to Sangwangbong Peak (1491m) and both decided to cut this hike a littler shorter than originally planned.  I wanted to continue on and make our way all the way (heading east) to Durobong Peak, but being soaked from head to toe for 4-5 hours made both of us really want some dry clothes and a warm car!  We instead made another right, heading down the trail back to Sangwonsa Temple and our car.

It turned out to be a relatively uneventful trek back to our car.  We saw another frog, got rained on more… oh, and I fell (and then slid) very theatrically one time.  In total, we hiked 12.2km.  It did not rain on our parade!

Overall:  I like Odaesan for the three temples near the bottom (especially Sajaam Temple) and the relatively easy hiking trails.  I think Odaesan is a little off the beaten path, especially because a lot of people gravitate towards the very popular and nearby Seoraksan National Park.  Odaesan does have lots of beauty though.  On a clear day, I can imagine it’s stunning atop Birobong Peak.  I guess Elicia and I will have to make a return trip to check it out if time allows.  Maybe the best part of Odaesan National Park was that we didn’t see a single person while hiking!  That was the first time ever happening to us, so it was pretty cool, especially since we were at a national park (they draw larger crowds).

Odaesan was the 10th national park of 16 we visited in South Korea.  Only six to go!  After hiking Odaesan, we would make our way to Seoraksan National Park for 2 days of camping and hiking… (stay tuned).