My First International Hike

Mt. Bukhansan: My First International Hike

Seoul, South Korea

Raising my country's flag at Baegundae Peak.

South Korea has always been one of my dream destinations. With the proliferation of Kpop and Kdrama rapidly assimilated in Pinoy culture, we are constantly reminded of SoKor’s beautiful landscapes, mouth-watering dishes, handsome oppas and LSS-inducing pop music.

July of last year, in the midst of South Korea’s record breaking scorching temperatures, Tala and I travelled to the land of oppas, I mean kimchi! We explored Seoul, Nami Island and the Demilitarized zone where we had a glimpse of North Korea (and handsome oppas clad in military suits). After doing the typical tourist activities such as donning hanbok inside Gyeongbokgung Palace, shopping for Kbeauty products in Myeongdong and consuming Korean fried chicken (with beers for me), it’s now time for some adventure.

You see, I was at the point of my life last year where I swore to myself to climb a mountain every month. I was also physically fit with regular walking/jogging, zumba and weight-lifting sessions. (I downward spiraled in terms of physical activity in the second half of last year to now because I got occupied with other things say relationships). Anyway, last year I was really motivated to add an easy hike to our itinerary. This was also to develop Tala’s sense of adventure and love of outdoors.

So, on our fifth day in South Korea, we ventured to Mt. Bukhansan.

Mt. Bukhansan is kind of popular to tourist hikers because of its proximity to Seoul. It is only an hour away from the city and can be hiked in a day. The mountain range is within a well maintained national park with three major peaks. The most famous peak is the Baegundae Peak and though the tallest it is the easiest to climb with difficulty rating of 4. I also learned online that it is easy to reach on your own thus I decided to DIY and not to join any hiking tours.

Journey to Bukhansan National Park was initially easy. From our hotel we took a train to Gupabal Station and exited at Exit 1 as what is instructed in online blogs. Next is to ride bus 704 but that became a challenge when we boarded a bus traversing the opposite direction. I realized this by looking at Google Maps, why are we going farther from the park? I pressed the stop button and we climbed down on the next station. We crossed the road, went to the nearest bus stop and waited for another bus 704. Finally, we were on the right direction.

After 15-20 minutes, we arrived at the nearest bus stop leading to the park. We went down and walked an easy 10 to 15 minutes before reaching the entrance of the park.

At  the entrance of Bukhansan National Park.

The first part of the hike was a slow and easy ascent towards the base of Baegundae Peak. The trail is cemented with forest trees providing natural canopy. No one will get lost due to abundance of trail signs indicating how many kilometers remaining to the peak. Mountain temples were also seen on either side of the trail. Toilets and rest stations are provided for the convenience of hikers.

Cemented trail from National Park entrance up to base of  Baegundae Peak.

Mountain temples along the trail.

At the base, there is a line of vending machines and we voraciously pressed for Lotte products. The red energy drink is a top favorite of me and Tala. After the refreshments, we geared up for the next portion of the hike and before long passed by a picturesque mountain temple with handsome doggos.

First time to try and we liked it!

Korean doggo!

Quaint Korean mountain temple.

Now comes the hard part – the continuous ascent over granitic boulders.

I was feeling weak in the knees and tiredness started to creep in. Funny though because from the start of the hike, Tala was complaining to me why I included her in this tedious hiking activity. But the moment we hit the hard part, she’s so fast in climbing and she kept encouraging me to keep up with her pace. At this stage, I stop so often for water breaks and had to fill up with Korea’s popular honey butter almonds.

Entrance to another mountain temple.

Now the little girl picked up her pace and climbs faster than me.

Trail  food!!!

The last part of the hike is the technical ascent to the peak over slippery granite rocks. There are steel ropes and cables installed at some parts for support. This is mountain and rock climbing in one. We persisted to the top, conquered Baegundae Peak, checked my bucketlist of an international hike.

Steel ropes on granitic rock.

A South Korean flag is planted at the peak waving at the wind over panoramic views of Seoul far below. I draw out my Philippine flag (which is a remnant of BXU airport Independence Day decoration) and proudly waved it at the peak for all the foreign tourist hikers to see. I was so happy and more than proud to finally climb my first overseas mountain.

A view of Seoul at the peak.

After some pictures and enough rest, we started our descent via back trail. I ran out of water but the good thing in Bukhansan trail is that there are signs where to get drinkable spring water. I filled up my empty canister and gulped the refreshing and cold Korean natural water.

Back at the vending machines, we hoarded Lotte drink products. We were energized for the rest of the hike.

After exiting Bukhansan National Park, we stopped by a convenience store for snacks. I bought a very cold drink and realized it’s a medicated drink when it tasted like Robitussin cold syrup. Tala can’t stop laughing over my little boo-boo.

After that, we went back to Seoul and went straight to Dongdaemun Stn and had a revitalizing dinner of chicken soup infused with Korean ginseng.

Korean ginseng chicken soup for dinner.

Climb Date: July 23, 2018

Summit Elevation: 836.5mASL

Difficulty Rating: 4/9

Jump-off Point: Bukhansan National Park

Exit Point: back trail

Days Required/Hours to Summit: 1 day/2-3 hours

Features: city view of Seoul at the peak, mountain temples along the trail

Geology: intrusive granites

Guide: none, DIY

Contact Person: none, easy to DIY