백운대 (Baegundae)

Months ago, riding my bicycle into Seoul for the first time, I smiled with delight when I observed the cityscape of the northern part of the city. The tall buildings and the skyscrapers were not taking over the view as in most big cities. Instead it was the mountains that caught my eye. Seoul may be a huge city but hanging over top of the man-made constructions looms a tall mass of rock, trees and nature.

In the past six months I have been slowly inching my way to that mountain with each visit to Seoul, almost like a natural attraction. First, I visited Itewan just North of the river. Next, I visited Namsan mountain with North Tower at its peak. After that, was the historical Seoul of Jongmyo at the mountain's base. Then there was Bugaksan, the mountain standing between the high peaks of Bukhansan and the rest of Seoul. From there, Baegundae's jagged peak commands the view north while city life, skyscrapers and old palaces lie to the south. Just when I thought I couldn't get much closer I saw Dobongsan on the map and caught a view of the high peaks of Bukhansan from behind. Since that first cruise in on the bike trail along the Han all roads have been leading to Baegundae.

There are a few ways to hike to the highest peak of Bukhansan. I didn't choose the longest route, nor did I choose shortest. From the park entrance at the Bukhansanseong Information Center to the peak we had about 4 km. The hike took us up a sloped valley next to a rather cool and turbulent creek. It was a surprisingly refreshing hike considering the clear blue skies on a hot August day. It didn't take long to reach a road, and later a temple. Down near the temple we caught our first view of the high peak and the steep route that we would be taking. From there the trail turned abruptly up hill. We reached the 2 km mark after what seemed like less than an hour of hiking. From there on we took it nice and slow up to the peak. Along the way we were trading positions with a Korean lady with a device that periodically called out, in English, the distance that she had hiked until that point and her speed up the mountain. Eventually we reached a large stone wall constructed centuries ago between two peaks as a passage over the mountain. From there we turned left, hiking along the wall and up a path of cables, stairways built and steps carved into the snow. At that point we had left the coverage of the forest and we were hiking up open rocks offering views on both sides. We finally reached the peak two hours after passing the 2 km mark. 

It wasn't until reaching the peak when we could finally get our bearings straight on wear exactly we were located. On our way up the rock face we could see climbers scaling and descending the peak to our right. From the peak of Baegundae I could look south and see Seoul and its North Tower at the top of Namsan mountain. To the south I could see Dobongsan, a mountain in Bukhansan National Park that I had hiked to the top of about six weeks earlier. To the west I spotted our route up the mountain and a large Buddhist statue at a temple that I plan to hike to on my next visit to the park. 

If you look closely through the haze you can see Seoul Tower on the top of Namsan in the distance.

We chose an alternate route down so as to see a different part of the mountain. We went down the eastern path which was half the distance of that in the west. Effectively, we crossed Bukhansan west to east in our course. Shortly after beginning our descent we passed a rather large shelter where we stopped and grabbed a snickers for some extra energy to complete our hike. At the base we enjoyed a beer as we waited for a bus down to Uidong, the main park entrance for hiking Baegundae.

From Uidong looking up at Bukhansan, you catch the view that is stamped on the park's symbol. Finally, after grabbing a quick bite to eat, our day came to its completion at one of our favorite Seoul spots, the lawn of city hall. We enjoyed milkshakes while watching locals enjoy a small music festival right there on the lawn.

Climbers scaling Insubong, the peak just next to Baegundae.

The path climbed along a fortress wall.

In some parts, cables provided much needed assistance.