August 12 - Trekking up Mt Woraksan

Had a good night's rest at the Woraksan National park office and decided to start my trek up Woraksan early. The rangers had actually brought my wet tent back from the camp site and let it dry !

Breakfast was at the kitchen and I had tofu or Dubu as it was called in Korea. The korean diet is rice intensive but it was a good meal before trekking.

Breakfast with chief Bae-Keun lee

 It was already drizzling when I started and I was afraid that the rangers would discourage me from trekking due to bad weather. To my delight they let me carry on and Chief Bae-Keun lee was even nice enough to drop me at the trail entrance.

The trail I started from was already wet to begin with and my entire trek up would be in the rain. I was also the only person trekking most of the way. The trail up reminded me a little of Chiaksan, rocky and with inclines almost all the way.

Worak mountain however has very narrow rocky walkways and is thus even more difficult then Chiaksan, though the park has done a really good job of installing help lines and cables along the way. As I trekked up, I remembered my host of the night before asking me to eat well, on hearing that I was going to climb up Worak mountain the next day.

Walked past a buddhist temple and I definitely liked this statue I saw. I didn't enter this temple as I wanted to hike up the mountain in case the weather became worse.

Another sight I was asked to see by the chief was the buddha carving on the wall at least about 2 storeys high and facing a monastery. I could only take like 2 quick shots in the rain before running to the safety of the forest canopy.

The rest of the trail was rocky and I was a bit more cautious since everything was wet. I used a pair of Salomon oretex shoes for trekking and they never slipped once along the way.

Enjoyed the views along the way, mostly greenery and streams. Most of the time was spent focusing on my footing and ensuring I did not slip. The views did get much better as I reached closer to the top and I  got to spend a good 30 minutes at the peak by myself

The view on the left was enroute to the peak and I stood by awhile just to enjoy the view of the mist around the peaks. As much as the day was cold and wet, it showed me another aspect of these beautiful national parks.

The mist, despite blocking my view somewhat, seemed to add an allure to the already beautiful mountain, spurring me on to the summit.

 The picture on the right was taken just 2 minutes from the summit marker and gave me the illusion was walking amongst the clouds. It felt good to spend some time alone contemplating on the silence I felt up at the summit marker. Sat there alone for a good 30 minutes before making my way down :)

One of my favorite shots was of the spider web on the left covered by raindrops. Spent some time taking this and it was a fulfilling shot.

All alone at the top

The walk back down to the park entrance was more interesting and I got to see the poisonous water toad ( Though I didn't know it was poisonous at that time ) Mt Worak, despite being challenging compared to other mountains had really nice views and wild-life.

Making my way down, I was picked up midway by the park vehicle and brought back to the office. 

To my surprise, I found out that chief Do Heon Kim had actually put my clothes and even my cycling shoes to dry in the afternoon sun. I was very touched by the care and concern that this man showed me throughout my 2 days at Worak National Park office.

 Dinner was at the kitchen and it was such a feast ! After trekking up and returning, I was starving and I tucked in gladly.

With chief Do Heon Kim and the mountains in the background

After a warm shower, chief Do Heon Kim said he wanted to show me a place nearby and I was ready in a short bit. The sun was setting by this time and we took a short drive in the park vehicle to the destination, about 10 minutes away.

The place I was brought to was the Mireukrisaji temple and it was really nice being there just as the sun was setting. This place has a standing buddha statue and I got to speak with the nun who was staying at the site and taking care of the facilities.

It was definitely exciting and interesting to visit this temple and very peaceful just gazing at the buddha's face. The whole place had a certain aura of silence permeating it and just being there had a beauty to it. 

A fitting end to a wonderful day :)