Bukhansan

Ok, so I couldn’t leave Seoul without at least climbing ONE of the mountains accessible via the subway. I went with Bukhan-san, which is in the northern section of Seoul.

The really great thing about this hike is that I LEFT my 35 pound hiking bag at home!!! I went up with just my poles, a small, normal sized day pack, some food, and water.

This was my first view of what I was going to climb.

Man climbing the side of Bukhansan; now at the top.

The last haul up to the top.

If you look really hard, you can see a couple of rock climbers that look like they are just chilling out on the side of the mountain. It doesn't even look like they have anything attached to them.

Close up.

It was a fairly easy hike, until I got to just within reach of the top. It became much colder and it required the use of both my hands to climb up using the railing and ropes provided. On my way up, I sort of made friends with a fellow named Chris. He was in Korea for a short visit as he was living in Japan, originally to teach English, but was abused by the company (so he quit), and decided to go work on an organic farm instead (still in Japan).

Chris has sprained his wrist somehow and had climbed up with essentially one hand/arm and a journal. We became descending buddies at one point (obviously as we descended) and train buddies until we had to part ways. It was nice to have a conversation in English, as Chris was literally the very first non-Korean person I had encountered through my travels in Korea. It kind of refreshed me.

This woman was sitting right behind Chris.

I loved climbing the mountains in Korea. I look forward to when I can go back and do multi-day hikes when the National Parks are not in national resting period. I think the fall would be a great time. The foliage will be in brilliance of colors, it will be cool, and I think the ideal time to go.

I leave you with this shot of me - content on top of the world.