Travelling through South Korea by bicycle: August 10- Trekking up Mt Sobaeksan

With Su Jung Jang at the visitor centre

Went to check on my bike before heading up Sobaeksan mountain and I found out the rangers had really placed it carefully inside. The visitor centre at Sobaeksan national park is located at the beginning of the trail leading to the park so I had to pass through it.

The path up to Sobaeksan's main peak, also called Birobong is not difficult and offers a gentle walk to the mountain's top. The views, of which I got glimpses due to the rainy weather was beautiful and it was rather unfortunate that I could not trek through the mountain on a sunny day.

Views on the way up

The climate in Korea was supposed to be autumn but thanks to global warming, the rains were coming down when they were not expected to. It was nice to see that a few maple leaves were already turning red.

Leaves welcoming autumn

After trekking up a mountain full of jagged rocks, it was a relief to walk on one that was almost like an elevated walkway, pretty much most of the way. The tyres layer on the floor also made walking comfortable. My view was continually covered with mist blowing past and I quickly took pictures as and when I could :)

What I liked about Sobaeksan was that it had a very aesthetic appeal to it, starting from the visitor's centre to even viewing platforms such as the one below, where the gnarled dead tree at the centre showed so much character that I just stopped to walk around it.

The final walk to the summit is shown on the picture on the right, just like a walk up a small hill. At the top of this place was a central area where it's possible to head out to other trails.

There was also a large pile of stones at the centre which can be seen in the picture below, just beside the direction post.

Sitting at the summit marker

Making my way down, I stopped by the visitor's centre and was given korean pizza, a new experience and definitely way different from regular pizza.

It was here that I learnt that every national park has a kitchen and that staff have daily meals provided. The pizza was from the kitchen and tasted really good.

The korean diet is also rather spicy and I totally enjoyed that. Dipping the pizza into the chilli and having it after a long hike felt awesome.

Went back to my tent and was invited to dinner with a korean family. Being a single foreigner wandering around a campsite full of koreans, I would often be invited to such dinners in the forthcoming days and after awhile I have to admit I looked forward to them.

Having samgyupsa ( Barbeque pork), soju and other korean side dishes often meant a night full of conversations and allowed me to experience the korean culture at its best. As mentioned earlier, korean hospitality just amazed me and tonight would be a night of laughter interlaced with shots of Soju, all downed at once ( Korean style) as I was repeatedly told.

After a night of drinks and good food, it was time to sleep :)