Bukhansan National Park Winter Hike @ Seoul, South Korea

I woke up slightly early than usual in the winter month of January 2020 in Seoul, South Korea and all ready for an unprecedented journey here - hiking Bukhansan National Park. It was never my plan to scale Bukhansan National Park initially, as I have not been hiking for the past 8 years since making to the top of Mount Kinabalu in Sabah in 2012 . However, my friend managed to dissuade me from taking my initial plan to scale Wondaeri Birch Forest that offers stunning view of winter birch trees, citing Wondaeri's location is far away from Seoul.. 

Then I was "conned" to embark into a journey to scale Bukhansan National Park, all the way to Baegundae peak at 836m. At 836m, Bukhansan may not sound like any impressive mountain to conquer but the reality is otherwise. As it was winter, partial of the route was blanketed with snow and the view at the top of the mountain was spectacular, though I was totally worn out physically upon reaching the top. 

Bukhansan National Park is a mountain on the northern periphery of Seoul, and the name means "mountain north of Han River", referring to the fact that it is the northern border of the city. It is the highest mountain within Seoul city boundaries and is one of the popular hiking place in South Korea. Apparently, it is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "Most Visited National Park per Unit Area".

There are a few hiking trails in Bukhansan National Park, and the entire excursion from Jeongneung entrance should take about 4 hours to reach Baegundae peak, the highest point of the national park. However as a rookie hiker after 8 years, it took me 5 hours+ to reach the peak inclusive of lunch break. Take home point is always train well before you come. 

Other than physically, I also come here ill-prepared in terms of equipment unlike other seasoned and experienced hikers. I was wearing a leather boots and did not have a pair of crampons, which is the most essential item during winter hiking. As a consequence, I had multiple slips and got my buttocks landed on the ground due to the melted snow. 

If you come here lacking of these equipment, fret not as you can head to the row of shops nearby to Jeongneung information centre for a quick shopping prior scaling the mountain. Grab some packaged food for your lunch too, Gimbap will be a decent and quick choice.

We started to scale Bukhansan National Park via Bogukmun curse via the entrance near to Jeongneung information centre. The whole track consisting of forest, clear stream stretches across 2.4km to the next check point at Bogukmun gate. I am indeed amazed at the scenic view along the route, with dried maple trees standing tall at both side of the path and its leaves scattered all the way. Then there was frozen river, and the childlike playfulness suddenly strike and how I wish I could jump onto the river and ski on it. 

As much as I enjoyed the scenic winter-autumn view, I was somehow feel sad as snow was almost absence despite it being a winter period in Seoul. There are occasional snow-covered dried leaves and rocks which excites me every times I bump into those.

The first 2.4km was an ascending route and features a balance of staircase and soil path. I had to take it slow due to my declining stamina after not having any exercise in the past 6 months. However the first route should not pose any challenges to seasoned hikers.

We arrived at the Bogungmun gate after 2 hours and our mood got a major shift immediately upon crossing the gate because the whole terrain, even the path were covered with ice! Even there was no snowing, the view was terrific. We felt like a little kid enjoying playing with the ice, while at the meantime take a break to enjoy bits of lunch takeaway from the hotel breakfast counter. 

At the same time, the real difficult started here as I was wearing a leather boots meant for walking and did not had a pair of crampons (a traction device with spikes which is used to attached to shoes). Majority of the path was covered with ice, and some was melted ice that can cause slip (which happened to me). However the route from second check point, Bogungmun gate to check point 3, Daedongmun Gate was relatively easier as the majority of the route was flat with a slight ascending. 

After Daedongmun Gate, the difficulty increases as we continue the journey to Baegunbongammun gate. There were more melted ice and it was hard to distinguish between the non-melted ice and melted ice. The staircases are well covered with tire stripes to avoid general crowds from slipping but some part of the route requires maneuvering across uncharted path covered with ice. I was almost worn out physically and started to feel cramp on my thigh. Fortunately, one of the comrade quickly supplied me with some sodium that helped to relief the symptoms slightly. 

The last 400 meters was the most challenging route. It was a "staircase" formed by rocks of irregular sizes entirely, and some were real giant boulders that required a huge ascending leap. Worst still, a few of those rocks are slippery due to the melting ice. While there were proper rope installed along way for us to propel the way up to Baegundae peak, these ropes were made of metals and my friend was having a real challenge holding those icy ropes with bare hands. 

We knew the summit is getting closer as we crept steps by steps on those rocks, and a glimpse at the top showed some human figures lingering there taking pictures are the sole motivation that hauled us up. Everytime the freezing wind whips out face, it provides a chill to bone and that certainly added an additional level of difficulty!

Finally, after much hard work with a total distance of 6.1km, we managed to reach Baegundae peak. I was glad, relief and feel satisfied over my persistence despite deep in the heart there was an urge of giving up. The panoramic view was breathtaking but the wind was chilling deep to the marrows, so we quickly snapped a few photos and started our descending. Besides, sunset is 5.38pm and we only left about 40 minutes before the total darkness came. 

Well, the sheer joy of hiking Bukhansan National Park does not limited to reaching the peak solely. When we were about to reach the peak, there was this cute little fox that appear to be intrigued by every human passing by. On top of that, there were bunches of wild fat cats that jumping here and there which my camera did not manage to capture. 

Descending was another painful adventure. My leg started to tremble as energy level was really low. Furthermore, the huge leap between the boulders pose another dimension of difficulty for descending. A simple mishap could possibly mean life hazard. Therefore, I took it slow, and sometimes had to sit my butt on the rock to move to the next rock. Probably those seasoned Korean hikers passing by had a good laugh at this amateur.

We reached Baegunbongammun gate when it was sunset time and the it was another blessing in disguise, as we managed to snap some real good pictures again! 

Luck was not on our side. We were stuck in a total darkness during our descending toward Bonghwanggak, which is a 3.3km trail from the peak. It felt like an eternity despite the time we spent at the darkness was about 2 hours. I landed my buttock on the rock several times after planting my feet on the slippery ice without crampons. At one times, we almost walked on a frozen river due to inability to distinguish the proper pathway.

Shall we make a call to the park rangers for help? Will we lost in this forest of pine trees? At this point of time, this idea struck my mind. Worst still, one of the comrade had a fall and hurt his face due to a total darkness. 

Eventually after spending countless minutes descending, the quietness was disturbed by some human activities sound. The moment of grateful was indescribable, as we bumped into the Bukhansan National Park ranger station. The rangers were very friendly, they treated us a cup of piping hot coffee and offered us a rest in their hut to shield away from the chilling weather. Most importantly, they reassured we were in the correct route of descending and the descending route is free of ice!

We continued the journey in darkness again and only have 4 rangers to catch up with us with headlights. They helped to show the way down, and we were teleported back to civilization within half an hour. A community bus was nearby to fetch all devotees at Bonghwanggak to a bus station near to Bukhansan Ui Metro Station. No charges were required but donations were welcomed. 

The feeling of relief upon sitting on the comfy couch is beyond words. 

I remember the last meal we had was the breakfast at hotel at 9am, and now the clock is showing close to 8pm. The stomach was growling and we cannot wait to have it treated at any food outlet. 

The chant of beauty at Bukhansan National Park is still vividly registered in my mind despite back to the small town. It definitely was not the most difficult peak to scale but I was contended to have challenge myself to undertake this task. 

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