This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to go to Seoraksan National Park with some of my friends from Yonsei University. I must say, it was a great experience, even if I did have to wake up at a ridiculously early time.
When I was invited to go, I really had no idea what the actual plan was. All I was told was “hike up a mountain… sleep in a temple…. hike back down the next day.” Sounded like fun to me! So I met my friends at the Express Bus Terminal, or 고속 버스터미널 in Korean. We got our tickets, stopped to fuel up on Dunkin’ Donuts, boarded the bus and settled in for our trip… with me still not knowing exactly where we were heading. It didn’t help that as soon as we were moving, the windows were completely fogged over, so I couldn’t see what we were driving by.
About half way through the trip, the bus stopped for about 15 minutes at a rest stop so people could use the restrooms or get up and stretch. It was made very clear, however, that food and drinks were not allowed onto the bus. That didn’t stop people from buying dried squid to eat on the bus… and therefore make the whole bus smell awful.
We made it to our destination, Sokcho, in about 2 1/2 hours. When we got off the bus, I saw a little bit of the ocean at the end of the street. I eventually figured out that we had actually driven ACROSS the country. In 2 1/2 hours! West coast to east coast. This really amazed me because that is about the amount of time it takes to drive from Flagstaff to Phoenix. I was also really excited because it was my first time leaving Seoul since arriving in South Korea!
The next step was to find the bus to take us to the park. After a little discussion, and consulting with the locals, we figured it out, and were on our way.
The weather was absolutely perfect for a day of hiking. It was a little chilly, but once we got moving, it was just right. I had packed a heavier jacket, and only ended up using it when we weren’t walking, and at the end of the night.
So we bought tickets, and decided where we wanted to hike to. We intended to hike up Daechongbong mountain, which happens to be the third highest mountain in the country at 5,603ft, and sleep in the shelter near the peak, but we eventually discovered that all the trails leading up there were closed off.
But before that happened, near the entrance of the park, we ran into some protesters who were protesting the proposed plans to build another cable car somewhere in the park. They were very adamant about us signing their petition, so we decided to do a little bargaining. We’d sign their petition if they’d take our picture in front of this giant bear statue (which I don’t have a copy of, unfortunately). I figured that there’s a good chance that I’ll never be back here, and the park was beautiful just the way it was, so the petition now has my support.
The first trail we hiked just about did me in. This last week, I had been very sick with tonsillitis, and luckily, on Saturday, I felt scores better, but considering I hadn’t been able to eat solid foods for a few days, my energy levels were extremely low. But I managed to make it! …Part of the way that is. When we reached a really intimidating set of metal stairs leading up into oblivion, I opted to stay down below and take some pictures… and catch my breath. At the top of the stairs, there was a small buddhist temple carved into the side of the rock wall of the mountain. I was told it was about 5 meters (15ft) deep, and fairly simple. I was just amazed/curious as to why that location was chosen. Seems rather inconvenient.
We then hiked back down, and bought lunch at one of the small little shops we saw on the way up. It was just what I needed- food! Unfortunately, I discovered my appetite was still not very strong, so I was unable to finish it. But it was still delicious.
With our plans of staying at the top of the mountain dashed, we were debating on what to do. Should we do another trail, take a ride in the cable car, or head back into town and go chill at the beach and maybe find a hostel to stay the night in? We decided that we should do another trail. This one was a bit easier than the first, most likely because I had eaten, but nonetheless, I was struggling.
We reached a point in the trail where we there was a temple, and some really cool rocks with chinese characters carved into them, and a really great view of the area below… as well as a view of what was to come. Another, even more (like 150x more) challenging staircase up the side of a massive cliff. Again, I stayed below. After the others got back, and hearing what they were saying about it, I knew I made the right decision.
At that point, the sun was starting to go down, so we decided to head back into town, check the bus schedules, and decide what to do then. When we arrived at the bus station in town, the next bus for Seoul was scheduled to leave in 5 minutes, and had exactly 6 seats left… the exact number of people in our group. It was perfect! And, 4 of us got the 4 seats in the very back of the bus with extra leg room. Needless to say, after a long day of hiking we all slept pretty much the entire way home… despite it only being about 7PM!
