Road Trip! (Day Five ~ Naejangsan)
I woke up around 5:30 in the morning just after the sunrise. I put my stuff inside the tent and zipped up the rain cover. I’m staying at the ‘Gain Campground which is in the southern part of the park. However I’m interested in hiking in the north-eastern region.No one else is up yet so I make my getaway with as little noise as possible so as to not disturb the other campers. Once I’m on the road I speed up a bit and enjoy the cool morning air. The mist hangs in the air quite nicely around the mountains and farmlands as I drive by.
After a few more kilometers I leave the farmland behind to drive up the twisty mountain roads. This was actually a lot of fun. Driving bike to me feels more intimate than driving a car. It may sound strange but on bike I feel more connected to my surroundings. Cars always make me feel boxed and cut-off in by comparison. I love the sway of the bike as I navigate the turns. I found a lonely piece of granite at one point. It was exact sort of spot where normally I’d get K to take a picture of me that would surely provoke my parents. Even without an audience I climbed the rock for a better view into the park.
Photo ops aside, I continue into the park. Just before the park entrance to this are there’s a ‘hotel zone’ So I stop at the convience store. After getting dehydrated in Byeonsanbando I’ve been much more aware of the importance of having food and water while hiking. So I take a break to eat and drink before starting my hike. I drink a liter of water and eat some of my kimbap. I stock up some water, and I’m on my way. To begin my hike I must pass through the one pillar gate where upon I must cast away my ‘chaotic thoughts’.
On the way in I pass site with some graves and sacred stupas, which are containers that house buddist relics. I’m notice a bleached dead tree with a stone in the center of its trunk at the base. Amongst all the living trees and green leaves it really stands out.
I walked past the stupas, and Naejangsa temple itself, and started on the trail to the highest peak in the park, Sinseonbong(763m). After a few minutes, I spot a little collection of taps (pronounced ‘tops’). Usually people will try to add a little stone to the top of the tap and make a wish. It has been said if the stone remains atop the tap, you’ll get your wish. These ones look as if a lot of effort has been put into their arrangement so I decide to leave well enough alone. Although there’s no sign here, cleary these taps have some significance. Usually you make wishes on little taps, not special ones.
Shortly after the tops, the trail begins to lead me up the mountain. It’s a pretty steady and steep incline. I’m already thankful to have my water, and even under the generous canopy it is boiling hot. A few steps into the trail and I’m greeted again with spiderwebs in my face. Those chaotice thoughts I left by the gates are running up the mountain to catch up to me at this point. I break off a small branch from a tree and resume swashbuckling up the mountain again. The chaotic thoughts go back to the gate. At the end of the branch the leaves are spreading in a circular fashion. So as I’m waving the branch back and forth ahead of me so I’m also getting a nice breeze. The trees are pretty think right up until the peak. However, the view from the top of the mountain is spectacular!
Unfortunatley this wasn’t Sinseonbong! I hadn’t noticed another fork in the path and had hiked to Kkachibong instead. Visiting Sinseonbong would add another 3 km to the hike, but this time I had plenty of food and water so it wouldn’t be a problem. Just before I was going to set out I heard some voices, a pair of teenagers who were hiking with their parents had just reached the peak. They offered me some crackers and some of their ice tea. I reciprocated by offering them some of my kimbap. I thought they’d only take a few pieces, but they ate all of it while I was taking pictures from the peak! Although I had no more food, I still had plenty of water so I decided to stick to the plan and hike over to Sinseongbong which also provided me with a wonderful panoramic view.
I stayed here for a few minutes to take in the view and read a sign explaining a legend regarding this peak. An imm
ortal sage was lured from heaven by the beauty of Sinseonbong but he was never able to reach the peak due to it’s height. Armed with this knowledge, I started to trek back to the other peaks in this section of Naejangsan.I passed Kkachibong and reached Yeonjibong at lunchtime. I get a nice view here of the surrounding mountains. At the next peak, Manghaebong you can see the Naejansan resevoir on one side of the mountains, and the valley that leads back to the temple where my hike started.
I met a nice Korean couple here took a photo for them before I moving along. Hiking during the weekdays is really a different experience from being in a park on the weekends. There’s less crowds and it makes for a much more peaceful experience. Eventually I reach my last peak, Bulchubong. I could continue along the ridge and visit the other two peaks, but at this point I’ve run out of water so I knew it was time to be coming down from the mountain.
Almost immediately below the peak I came to a clearing where a small but ancient temple had once stood. It was destroyed during the Korea war and now all that remained was a well, some holes in the rockface, and a sign commemorating the tragedy. I’m under the shade of the trees now and hiking is much more pleasant. I reach Wonjeogam and was greeted by a large golden Buddha next to the temple. There was also a place to get some drinking water so I drank about a liter and refilled my bottles afterwards. There are people around at this site but they don’t want to be disturbed so I walk back to the main temple, Naejongsa. Once again, the difference between visiting this kind of place on a weekday versus the weekend cannot be understated. There are but a few people wandering around. In the background you can see the mountains which surround this temple.
My time at Naejangsan is now complete. I ride back to the campground to pack up my tent and head to Gwangju. When I unzip the tent I find a stowaway! A stick bug is clinging to the inside of my tent’s raincover. I grab a small twig and the bug gladly accepts the offer and I place him on a nearby tree.
With the tent packed, I drove into Gwangju and got some rest at a local jimjjilbang near city hall. Tomorrow my plan is to do some sightseeing in the city. It’ll be an easy day so I’ll have a chance to rest my legs a bit.