Buraksan Revisited

While Johnnie was in the States, Dulce was in a kennel.  There are boarding kennels on our military base that are actually pretty nice and we know the people who work there so we knew she was in good hands.  Still, she was beyond excited to see us when we picked her up!  She sheds a lot but besides that, she's such an amazing dog and we both missed her a ton while we were gone.

After our long flight and Dulce's kennel stay, we all were in need of some exercise.  We took a few free hours and went hiking in nearby Buraksan Park that we had first visited in April.  This time we continued on the trail miles further than we've gone before.  The random exercise equipment disappeared, other hikers became far and few between, and the sounds of the city were swallowed up by the thick trees surrounding us.  We took Dulce off leash and all enjoyed hiking through the quiet solitude of nature.

Dulce carried her own treats in her backpack :)

She had a blast treeing some squirrels!

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"Ever wonder where you'd end up

if you took your dog for a walk and

never once pulled back on the leash?"

~Robert Brault

Songnisan National Park

Last week I went on a hiking day trip with some friends to Songnisan National Park here in South Korea.  This was an incredible hike with well maintained trails, gorgeous scenery, challenging terrain, and a breathtaking view at the top.  We were lucky enough to have perfect weather all day with fantastic visibility!

From www.lonelyplanet.com:
This park covers one of central Korea’s finest scenic areas with forested mountains and rocky granite outcrops. Its name means ‘Remote from the Ordinary World Mountain’.  The large temple complex of Beopjusa at the base of the mountain dates back to AD 553, but has often been rebuilt.  The huge, 33m bronze standing Buddha weighs 160 tons and was completed in 1990 at a cost of US$4 million.  Beyond the temple, hiking trails extend up to a series of 1000m-high peaks.

There is a small tourist village just outside the entrance to the park that has a nice variety of stores, restaurants, and a few hotels.  We loaded up with some snacks and drinks before starting the hike.  Inside the park entrance is the Beopjusa Temple with a giant bronze standing Buddha, beautiful pagodas, rock carvings, and ancient relics.

From the entrance, there was almost 2 miles of paved pathway with a little cafe at the end that serves great makgeolli.  Even if you can't or don't want to hike up the mountain, this paved walk and the temple still make it a great place to visit.  When the path changed to dirt, the hike turned into a challenging uphill workout.  There were many steps carved into the rock and some staircases and railings as well.

Hiking under some fun rock formations!

Amazing views!

With my hiking partners :)

Stone carvings at a mountain-top temple

We walked past these rocks a couple times before realizing they were carved into a turtle and a dragon!

Elevation marker at the top of the peak: 1,058m

I have an awesome app on my iPhone called 360 Panorama that records the 360 view all around you.  The top of this peak was the perfect place to use it!

Click on this picture for an interactive 360 view!

Flat view:

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"Getting to the top is optional.  Getting down is mandatory."
~Ed Viesturs

Buraksan Park

Johnnie is home!! He's been TDY for the past almost 6 weeks and finally returned on Friday evening. If you've been following our blog, you can see that I've kept busy while he was gone but I was still missing him every minute of every day :)

We took advantage of the beautiful weather on Saturday and headed out (with Dulce) to a nearby park that we've heard about to do some hiking, talking, and to simply enjoy each other's company. Buraksan Park is only 1 mile from our apartment and it's a hidden gem that I'm sure we'll return to many times. We climbed a small, unassuming trail to the ridge only to find a wide, well-worn path along the ridge top that was lined with a lot of random exercise equipment, benches, lookout towers, flowering trees, and tons of other people who came to enjoy the day there as well.

Pictures of various wildlife we're likely to see - it all looks harmless.

Working the legs...

Korean people love using the random exercise equipment!

I think the machine Johnnie is for working your abs

but I'm not sure about the table the red-hat-guy is on.

Ramps for doing sit-ups

Elliptical machines

This swinging leg machine may be more fun than an actual workout.

Pumping some iron :)

After hiking a distance, the trail came to an intersection with a bike path. There were some tent booths set up selling drinks and hiking poles, a bathroom building, and benches for resting. We drank some iced green tea while deciding on which path to take. The hiking trail continued along the ridge for another 2+ miles to an overlook, at which point we would have to return on the same path back to this intersection. The bike path went winding through the hills, ending close to where we started.

Some day we will hike to the overlook but today we decided to check out the bike path. The path is amazing and I am so excited to have something like this so close to home! The paved path undulates through the woods, twisting and turning past houses and farms. It's only a couple miles long but the hills will make it a great workout for biking or running.

This is going to be gorgeous when the vines covering it turn green!

We strolled back to our apartment down the sidewalk under the blooming cherry blossom trees that line the city streets. The beauty of spring is slowly pushing away signs of the harsh winter.

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"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm,

and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can

have if only we seek them with our eyes open."

~Jawaharial Nehru

Gyeryongsan National Park - part 3 of 3

We had a choice after lunch to go back the way we came up or to continue along the mountain path, looping around to where we started from.  We chose to keep hiking and this turned out to be a very good decision.  The trail soon started following the ridge of the mountain.  There were steep stairs that were bolted to the sheer rock faces, metal railing along portions of the ridge to make it a little less dangerous, and constant breathtaking views on both sides of us.  This part of the hike made the strenuous trek up the mountain completely worthwhile.

The ridge line we hiked along:

Looking back to where we came from:

The railing was comforting since there was a drop-off on both sides of the trail.

My hiking partners - so much fun to spend the day with!

Stacks of rocks were everywhere - each one representing a wish or a prayer.

We finally arrived back to where we started from 6.5 hours later.  This was such an amazing hike that I would love to do it again before we leave Korea!

Related Posts:

Gyeryongsan National Park - Part 1 of 3

Gyeryongsan National Park - Part 2 of 3

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"May fulfillment come from the journey, not the destination."

~Author Unknown