Jirisan National Park

I had an October break. We decided to do a “backpacking” trip and visit Busan. We flew out Saturday hoping to start hiking on Monday, but due to a storm moving in we bumped our trip for another day. I was really glad we did because it gave us a day to walk around some beautiful Korean mountains and go to an amazing Buhdtist temple. It also gave us a chance to get put together a bit better before we left. We bought food and fuel and packed a bit better. It was also my first time staying in a more traditional Korean Hotel. We all slept on the floor in a single room.  I slept well. 

Shaping trees and a beautiful hike around the neighborhood. 

The Temple was huge and amazing. I could have spent more time there, but we had to eat and make sure we were ready for the hike. 

Hwaeomsa Buhdist Temple

We started the hike in a cloud and in some pretty impressive wind and cold. We caught a cab to the start of our hike, which was at the top of a ridge. The visibility was so bad, we were only going a few files per hour for the last few miles per hour. 

The beginning of the hike was pretty wet and cold. Luckily we were in the trees and the wind died down. It was a beautiful hike even though we could not see far, the trees and trails were plenty to keep our attention. It felt good to be out with a backpack again. Eventually it cleared up a bit and we finally got to our first hut. The hut was a lot different than what we were used to in Colorado. 

The first nights shelter took some getting use to. There are no beds, just slats of wood that show where you are suppose to be sleeping. We had some less than perfect sleeping pads and sleeping on the ground was a git harder than I was use to. A lot of the people there slept just fine on the wood floors. I then had a couple of snorers right next to me. It was plenty warm, and I was grateful to have a place to sleep because we did not bring sleeping bags or tents. 

Yeonhacheon shelter

The next day we had a longer hike and the vertical picked up. We were following a ridge and it went up and down a lot with a lot of steps. We woke up early and started walking in an icy wonderland. All of the trees were coated in ice for most of the day. The trails were in good condition (not icy), but they were beautiful. There were not a lot of people on the trail, but the people we met were very nice. A lot of them gave us candy and treats when they saw us. Some gve us some very nice chocolates. 

The second nights shelter was a bit bigger. We got to watch them helicopter in a few loads of supplies which was pretty cool. The helicopters were busy up and down the valley taking in and taking out a load of winter supplies. Cooking dinner was a blast because everybody kept giving us food. I got a large homemade gimbap, I got beef stew (delicious), and we got some Kimchi. We saw people cooking entire chickens and huge meals. People brought up pounds of kimchi. A lot of the people there were a bit older and they had brought huge meals up thousands of feet. I was very impressed at their strength and generosity. I was given a spot that was pretty close to everybody else so I asked for another spot and they gave it to me. I was upstairs and I had a little more room and not snorers. I slept a lot better, but still not use to sleeping on the hard floors. I think I could get use to it over time. Probably would be more of a back sleeper, which is a good thing (I think)

Jangteomok shelter

We got up early the next day and headed up Jirisan Mountain,  the second-highest mountain in Korea. We got up to be at the top for sunrise. Most of the people at the hut left for the same thing, so it was not too novel of an idea. We left a bit after everybody else but got up in time for the beautiful sunrise. It was beautiful and the Instagram culture was in full effect. Lots of selfies were taken. I guess I am no better, because I posted my pictures, here, but I would like to think I enjoyed the view, more than I worried about the pictures. 

The way down dropped over 3000 feet in a short period. We quickly met a Korean who grew of close to our school in Jeju and his friend, a younger man who was going to college in Jeju. The older Korean did not speak great English, but he tried and his English was far better than my Korean. The younger man in college spoke amazing Korean. They stayed with us for the entire hike. Even when we stopped to view a Buddhist temple they hung out with us. The older man was incredibly kind and helped us find our bus and even traveled with us for a while until he knew were on the right path. He even told the bus driver where to drop us off.  We ended our day in Busan after a few hours on the bus.