Sam Lee

I joined the Dabory Meetup group for a hike to Nogosan, an easy trail well known for its views of Bukhansan Mountain. From Gupabal Station, we took a bus to Samhari Village. The temperature was 18 degrees Celsius, warm enough to wear a T-shirt all day. We descended to Heunguksa Temple on the southern face of Nogosan. Just above the temple, there is a small viewing platform where you can see the sunset reflecting warmly off the Bukhansan mountain range and the temple roofs. Unfortunately, we arrived after the golden hour. We ended the hike at Jeonju Restaurant, where we enjoyed tasty Jeollado-style side dishes and beef mushroom stew with japchae.

The weather was perfect for being outdoors all day, with a maximum of 6 degrees Celsius, little wind, and best of all, clean air. Since it was Lunar New Year, the Gwanaksan trails were busy.. I hiked from Sadang Station to Yeonjudae Peak, where I saw the longest line for a summit photo I’ve ever encountered. The descent toward Gwanaksan Station to the west received a fair amount of sun. The upper valley was still frozen solid but gradually gave way to a trickling creek as the ice melted lower down. My lungs felt happy breathing in the clean air, and the sight of clear blue skies made it a perfect day on the mountain. The 9.8 km hike was powered by two hard-boiled eggs, two kiwifruits, and one mandarin. My body felt no aches, negligible exertion, and I was almost laughing when I passed dog owners carrying their tiny dogs.

The aim today was to meet up with Eric’s Dabori hiking group at or near Baekundae Peak. I remember doing the Knife Ridge hike over 15 years ago with SHITY, and I recall it being a difficult climb. However, today it felt easy. The trail received plenty of winter sun since it was entirely on the southern face of Bukhansan. Having quit sugar for over a year, I find that my body reacts strongly to even the tiniest amount of fructose. I had forgotten to pack my water bottle, but luckily I discovered two mandarins in my bag. A small amount of fructose from one mandarin was enough to energize me for the start of the steep Baekundae ascent. As I climbed, I spotted Eric’s orange beanie as he descended with his crew. Rather than continuing up to the peak, I chose to sit and wait, studying the sunset.

Baekbongsan mountain lacked any stunning scenery and the poor air quality made it even more lackluster. The view point was good though, with the view of Han River in the distance.

Normally, Bukhansan’s trails are packed with groups of ajummas and ajusshis, but this time they were eerily quiet. That silence broke at a junction where I stumbled upon a lively squadron gathered inside a giant plastic bubble, feasting on gimbap, kimchi, and makgeolli. One ajusshi struggled with a fuel stove, spilling fuel that briefly caught fire—nearly igniting their makeshift greenhouse. The group seemed to have had one too many bowls of makgeolli, which, unfortunately, is forbidden in national parks. Smoking is not allowed either—let alone operating a fuel stove while intoxicated. I continued hiking up the steep trail, worried that the intoxicated squadron might start a fire that could spread throughout the entire park. The thick layer of dead autumn leaves on the ground looked ready to devour any flames from their makeshift winter shelter and chase me all the way up to Munsubong Peak. Fortunately, none of this happened. At Munsubong Peak, the wind chill felt like -20 degrees. I tried to quietly enjoy some fresh strawberries and tangerines, but a loud ajusshi kept boasting to others about how quiet the trail had been when he started his hike at dawn. After he repeated the same words for the fourth time, I decided to seek a quieter spot to enjoy the rest of my fruit. When I saw him approaching, knowing he was about to tell me again how quiet the trail was at 7 a.m., I quickly descended the steep granite boulder and “abseiled” down the metal railing as fast as I could. As he drew closer, I diverted off the main trail and climbed onto another boulder. I sat and waited while he continued to descend. Relieved, I savored the strawberry flavors in my mouth—peaceful bliss at last—until I saw the 7 a.m. ajusshi hiking back up toward me. I thought he was going to warn me about how dangerous the trail was, but he didn’t. He just gave me a strange look and continued back up to Munsubong Peak, possibly to tell other hikers about how dangerous the trail was…

I hiked up Inwangsan Mountain and then down to Bulgwang Station markets. Freezing cold northwesterly winds were blowing as I was hiking down from Baekryunsan mountain. The forecast advised that it will drop down to -12 degrees with a wind chill factor of -19. The gamjatang pork stew dinner quickly warmed me up with a little soju.