It's been a while since my last post and part of that is due to some technical problems that I don't need to go into here. Suffice to say that I may be moving this blog somewhere else. If that's the case, I'll post a link on this page.
My latest adventure was hiking in Bukhansan National Park, a park that is just to the northwest of downtown Seoul. Due to the aforementioned technical problems, I don't have photos, but will post them in a couple weeks as they become available.
It was
Washington's Birthday on Monday, 21 February (not
Presidents' Day, as many call it), and I had been advised that Koreans flow into parks on the weekend like lawyers to a pharmaceutical lawsuit. Plus, it was a beautiful day; it was cold, but it was as clear as Seoul gets. There wouldn't be a better opportunity for a long time.
The day was an adventure on many different levels: natural, physical, cultural, and mental. For those that have played
Myst, exploring this park was like a real-life version of the game (without linking books, however). Many of the signs needed to be translated, maps were not always drawn with north at the top and you couldn't count on being where you though you were.
I consulted my trusty Lonely Planet guidebook and decided upon the Baekundae Hike. "This is a moderate to strenuous hike that takes six hours, including short breaks." I'm in reasonably good shape, have done my fair share of hiking and had heard stories of Korean grandmothers making the trip. No problem. I packed some food, a Platypus bladder full of water, put on some hiking boots, grabbed my hat, gloves and guidebooks and set off. LP gave the following directions:
Take subway Line 5 to Gwanghwamun station, leave by Exit 1 and walk round to the Front of the Sejong Cultural Centre. Get on bus No 156 (W800) and tell the driver 'Bukhansan'. The journey takes about 35 minutes in normal traffic conditions and will stop and will drop you at a bus stop at the western edge of the park.
Ignoring for a moment the phrase "normal traffic conditions" which in Seoul is akin to "normal forest conditions" (everything is standing completely still) it seemed like a straightforward process. I got off at Gwanghwamun and exited through exit 1. I walked to the front of the Sejong Cultural Center (or Centre if you prefer) and was presented with two bus stops. Each had signs for 7-10 bus routes, none of which were 156. I spent the next 45 minutes searching for a bus stop that I had overlooked and deciphering the routes which were in Hangul. I finally came across:
북 흔 산
My basic knowledge of Hangul told me this was "buk-huhn-san" It was on bus route 162. I felt overjoyed at conquering this obstacle. The bus routes had changed, but I had found the new route and stop that I needed. If I had been taking a test I would have slapped down my pencil, pushed my chair back and gave a big stretch indicating to the world "I am invincible!"
To confirm my superhero status I turned to a man about my age standing next to me and indicated the stop and said "Bukhansan?" He looked at me and nodded "Bukhansan." I then pointed to the ground, the sign, and then the bus route number attempting to say "I catch bus 162 here for Bukhansan." He didn't seen to understand, but instead grabbed my arm and pointed at an approaching bus with the number 162 emblazoned on the front. "Buhkansan" he repeated. As the doors to the bus opened I turned to him, gave a slight bow and said "gamsa-hamnida" (thank you). He smiled and I boarded the bus, waved my fare card at the reader and took a seat.
As the bus wound its way through the streets I recognized some areas that I had been before. I examined the route map over my head and determined there were about 10 stops before mine. As opposed to the subway, where every stop is in English, only the major stops were in anything other than Hangul. I tried to read the name of each stop from the sign at the bus stop, but succeeded only about 25% of the time. I did notice that the bus was following street signs to Bukansan, which was labeled in English. I felt confident and as we approached the stop and I disembarked and followed the signs to a visitors center. I purchased a ticket and map and then began the hike.
Aside from the bus number LP had been correct in every detail. The ride was 35 minutes, I walked to the end of a small village, across a parking lot and turned right to the ticket booth. As I started climbing the directions started to fall apart. According to the book a 5-minute walk should have brought me to the fortress wall. I didn't know exactly what to expect, but I didn't see anything that resembled a wall. Five minutes after starting I crossed a bridge. The guide said it would take 15 minutes from the wall. I began to wonder if I was literally on the right path. I pressed on, figuring as long the trail is heading up I'll get to something. People were coming down the trail as well, so there must be something up there to look at. Kind of the anti-zen method of navigation. Instead of going where everyone else is going, go where everyone else is coming from.
As I continued up I came across a small spring where two men were resting. I pulled out my map and indicated to one of them Baekundae peak, where I was headed. He stared at the map as though I had just handed him a schematic for a a nuclear power plant. I again pointed to the peak and then to the entrance I though I came in at. I then pointed to the ground…"here?" and then to a spring marked on the map between the supposed entrance and the peak. He took the map, unfolded it and pointed at a spring in the southern portion of the park. I had been following directions from a different starting point. I re-evaluated my course and determined that if the original hike was 6 hours long the new version would take 8-10. Figuring that my times are about 50-75% of the estimated times, it would be barely enough time to complete before dark. I wasn't too thrilled about being lost on a mountain in Seoul, so I determined to hike to the fortress gate that I had been moving steadily towards and to re-evaluate at that point.
I reached the gate much sooner than I had though I would and celebrated the assent with a Balance Bar and some cold water. It was early afternoon and the map followed the fortress wall for several kilometers along the ridgeline. I figured that the journey wouldn't be too tough. If I had stayed to the right of the wall I probably would have been right. I took off along a trail of packed snow that led me along the ridgeline, inasmuch as I could always see the line above me. I pressed through a forest, grabbing trees for support as I kept telling myself "these people went SOMEWHERE." Indeed, about an hour later I arrived at another fortress gate and decided to continue along the trail that stayed next to the wall. This was much easier and when I next consulted my map I discovered I had travelled about 2 km from where I had joined the fortress wall and was only 4 km from Baekundae peak. It was around 2 in the afternoon at this point and I decided to press on to the summit. I could them follow the path I was originally supposed to take back to the bus stop I thought I had started at.
The trail followed the wall until for another 1 km and then traversed a small valley between two peaks. There were metal poles and cables that were vital to climbing the trail without crampons. After an hour or so of this trail along the edge of a cliff, which provided amazing views I can to…stairs.
Yup, stairs. I walked up the most difficult flight of stairs in my life. My quads began to quiver in much the way that your calves do in the middle of the night that split second before the muscle knots itself into a charlie horse and and your whole body wrenches itself in pain so intense that no sound can describe it so your mouth gapes open in utter silence. I stopped and stretched. Waited. Climbed another flight. Stopped. Rested. Climbed another flight. My legs burned, and there was the ever-present tingle that warned me not to push it. I made it to the final gate and stared upward to the
Taegukki 150-200 meters above me. I gathered my strength and set forth on the final leg of my assent.
More stairs and more cables led to the top…the nub of a giant rock about 3 meters by 3 meters with only a metal railing around the edge. I took some photos and enjoyed the scenery. It was cold and windy, but I didn't notice. I could see Seoul in the distance, the entire park beneath me and nothing beside or above me. I stayed for 30 minutes or so, having a now frozen Balance Bar and enjoying the view.
The trip down was relatively uneventful. I stopped for a meal in a small town at the base of the mountain and watched the sun moon rise over the peak as I walked to the bus stop. I climbed on Bus 704 and got off at the first subway transfer stop. 45 minutes later I was home.
