Sokcho Sojourn

Yesterday we went on an exhilarating hike to Ulsanbawi, one of the most popular hikes in Seoraksan National Park. Seoraksan is the highest mountain in the Taebaek mountain range that dominates the north-eastern corner of South Korea and Ulsanbawi is set of giant bald granite peaks that rise from the surrounding forested slopes.

The park entrance is a 30-minute bus ride from the town of Sokcho, where we had spent the previous night on arriving from Seoul. There are a few attractions very close to the park entrance including a giant bronze Buddha of Sinheungsa Temple and several minor meandering trails that cross over an assortment of bridges and most of the crowds stay in this part of the park. There is also a cable car to the top of one of the other peaks and that is popular with families and those who want to get to the views without working for it. 
 
We decided to hike the trail to the Ulsanbawi peak which is only 3.8 kms one way and makes a good half day hike. 

The initial section of the trail is relatively flat and easy, mostly wooded and passes alongside a rushing stream. The trail then turns into long series of steps, some natural and other man-made wooden sections that are very well maintained and lined with non-slip material making it safe even when wet. 

Around the half-way point you reach a little Buddhist temple close to a very large rock named Heundeulbawi (Rocking Rock), so named because passing groups try to dislodge this rock from its perch but only succeed to rock it slightly at its base.

The real challenge starts around the last kilometer or so when the trail simply turns into a series of ladder ascents. Iron ladders have been affixed to the sheer cliff face of the mountain and not only is this demanding on your thighs and calves, it also takes your breath away to see how far down you would land on a misstep!

The views from Ulsan Bawi are legendary, but as it turned out for us, it started getting foggy around the time the ladder section started and we had a complete white-out at the top. While this meant we had no panoramic view, it made for a really surreal hike getting to the summit with barely a few feet of visibility.

If you are expecting wide open spaces and looking forward to some solitude with no people ahead or behind you, this is not the hike for you. It is very popular with Koreans we had a lot of company along the entire way. Hiking seems to be a popular sport here, we saw several groups, young and old, in their smart, colorful athletic wear and hiking boots that seemed to be part of some hiking club or another and were enjoying themselves immensely.  They were very good natured, and made encouraging (or what we think were encouraging) remarks as we were trudging up steep sections.

While this is a national park trail, it is not devoid of commercialism.  There were a few places along the way where we passed through souvenir shops and food stalls.  There was even a food stall at the summit selling Korean iced-tea! But really these did not detract from the hike itself as there was plenty to see and experience along the way.

It took us only 4+ hours to the summit and back, but we decided that this effort was as good an excuse as any to treat ourselves at an oriental spa experience.

Korea has many oncheon where water from a hot spring is piped into a communal bath. The one closest to Sokcho is  Cheoksan Hot Springs, where we spent a part of the afternoon soaking in therapeutic mineral-laden water that wells up from the depths of the earth.