Trails end

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Nakdong-jeongmaek stele at the end of the trail

One year after starting the Nakdong-jeongmaek trail from Busan I finally reached the end point on the Baekdu-daegan ridge last wednesday above Samsu-ryeong - three seas pass - the source of the Nakdong River which this trail has been flanking and channeling to the south sea in Busan, as well as two other major rivers which run to the west and east seas.
The final 3 day walk to trails end began from Dapun-chi pass on National Highway 36, where the ridge forms the border of rugged Bonghwa county to the west and coastal Uljin county to the east, before passing into Samcheok and Taebaek city areas in Gangwon-do, South Korea's most northern and mountainous region.


Typical forest views on the first lonely leg out of Dapun-chi


The first leg out of Dapun-chi is the longest day of the entire trail, 28kms of backcountry hills and sleepy forest in an uninhabited area, with no serviced roads, amenities or water until the end - for my money this is the remotest section of hiking trail in all of South Korea, and a section of the map I've been psyching myself up for since beginning the trail - luckily I got fine weather and an early start because it is no country to be lost.

The view south to Tonggo-san and Chilbo-san from Te Kawa-bong

However, lost I became some 20kms into the walk when the trail joined an unsealed road which followed the ridge skirting around the main peaks. I made the mistake of following the road too far as it broke away from my ridge - an error I wasnt aware of until it was too late to turn back and join the trail, so I stuck with the road which appeared to head down a valley below the ridge - it didnt however and ended some 4kms later at the site of a repaired slip, obviously the purpose for the roads existance. With light fading I had little choice but to miss the climb of Yongindeung-bong, return up the road and find a way down to the nearest village area of Seokpo-myeon, which I reached by about 9pm - I saw a big black boar on the trail down to the village, the only one I've ever seen in the wild. This is the second time I've been proper lost on the Nakdong, and the only time I haven't been able to go back and fix it - I'll return someday to climb Yongindeung, a rare 3-syllable peak.

The Nakdong ridge to the left from the road to nowhere.

Deep in the middle of nowhere Seokpo-myeon is the surprising home of a large factory which refines zinc from Australia. The workers were quite surprised to see me stumble out of the bush and were keen to help me get back to Uljin where I was to meet Trevor for a few drinks. A young employee with a new SM5 was rounded up and told to drive me the 80kms home, we watched girlie-pop music videos on the DVD and he talked about feeling sick a lot working at the factory and there being no girls out in Seokpo-myeon - this combination had led the young man to Jesus, and with the turn in conversation I shamefully pretended to sleep.

Seokgae-jae

The next leg began from Seokgae-jae pass on the quiet road running from Seokpo east to Samcheok city. From here I would climb Myeon-san, at 1245m the highest peak on the ridge, Gural-san (1070m), across the face of 1260m Baekbyeong-san and into Tong-ri, an eastern suburb of Taebaek city.

Summit of Myeon-san

The climb up to Myeon-san is a brutal slog through a fine, rarely visited forest with thick alpine bamboo sporadically lining the trail. Crossing the peak the landscape changes dramatically to an area rich in a wide variety of wildflowers.



Foxgloves

Buttercups

In this zone, hours of walking from any village, I ran into a bunch of old Grandma's aged between 58 - 75 with large packs full of mountain herbs. The gold-toothed old girls were up here for a few days by the look of it collecting their bounty and sleeping under a tarp. They were the hardest old women I've ever met, and were'nt keen for a photo - they gave me some wild mint to chew, it was delicious.

Gural-san summit

On this final stretch to the Baekdu-daegan the Nakdong trail has been recognised with official stone steles on the major peaks, perhaps the Korea Forest Service and local councils are starting this project from the north and working south.

Tosan-ryeong pass

Looking back to Gural-san and Myeon-san

Yukbaek-jimaek trail head

In this country of ridges the jeongmaeks stem from the Baekdu-daegan, and ridges breaking off these are known as Jimaeks and Gimaeks, many of these have hiking trails, like this one - the Yukbaek-jimaek heading northwest off the Nakdong.

Tong-ri, in Taebaeks coal mining area

Mountain Spirit shrine below Ubo-san

This huge new mountain spirit pass shrine is located below Ubo-san north of Tong-ri. Unfortunately the doors are locked, but looking through a crack in the door I could see a life-size standing portrait of the san-shin, his darker beard made me think he was perhaps based on Dangun - the mythical founder of Korea, who's story is based in the Taebaek region.

The last section of the trail

For the final 8km approach to the Baekdu-daegan I was joined by Travis and Heather - the walking was good through lush forest, over handsome peaks and through farmland to trails end.

A modern fire beacon

Where the jeongmaek meets the Daegan

Samsu-ryeong Three Seas Ranch

Crossing the final road of the trail we entered a small farm, where for the first time on the journey ribbons did not mark the way. Confused, and convinced we were on the right track we sought out the farmer, who to much surprise turned out to be a foreigner!

Ben & Liz Torrey

Ben Torrey's history in Korea dates back to the 1950's when his father was a minister in the area. He now runs the Three Seas Ranch/Youth Traing Centre and Jesus Abbey Prayer Centre along with his wife Liz. Since the Nakdong-jeongmaek has gained in popularity hikers in great numbers have been cutting across the ranch which lies on the highest line (the jongju) of the ridge, and hang ribbons from the trees which the Torrey's have been promptly removing - preferring hikers not to cross their farmland but follow a winding service road to the end of the trail. The hikers continue to come though, as jeongmaekers are a determined lot who go to great lengths to stick to the jongju. Now aware of the nature of these trails the Torrey's have agreed to create a route which will safely take hikers through their farm, as is the case with other farms on the trail.

Travis representing Yeongyang-gun at the stele marking the end of the trail.

Three-seas marker indicating where water splits off the ridge into major rivers

Hwangji Pond. Taebaek city

Samsu-ryeong is the true source of the Nakdong river, but to most people its famous beginning is here in the centre of Taebaek city, at Hwangji pond; a deep crystal-clear spring bubbling with fresh water from the Taebaek Ranges which empties into a stream flowing south out of the city and into Bonghwa county, forming the white waters through Cheongnyeong-san provincial park and into Andong, passing by Dosan-seowon and then Hahoe-maeul as it heads west toward the Baekdu-daegan range through the areas of Mungyeong and Sangju before turning south through Daegu and on to Busan, emptying into the sea just west of Molun-dae - the start of the Nakdong-jeongmaek trail. Sounds like a mission, lets get a raft!

Thanks to all helped me on this trek, particularly Mr. Jeong Gyu-hwan for providing excellent translations, and Team Nakdong A.J.Howarth, Mike Allbee and Travis Lynn.
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the Nakdong-jeongmaek, email me at - trekkorea@gmail.com

Cheers

-Andrew

Tonggo-san

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Last week I was joined by Trevor (Travis Lynn and Heather Huxford Keisch) for the walk over the summit of Tonggo-san, one of the more famous peaks on the Nakdong trail. In the week since Andy and I were last out on the trail a bit more green has sprouted in the higher reaches of the ridge, and we enjoyed good isolated hiking across the mountain.

Tonggo-san 1067m

Information on the peak suggests that Tonggo-san was originally named Tonggok-san meaning an extreme sadness, misery and lamentation. The name comes from the story of an early king who was driven to this mountain by invaders - the name of the king or the period unfortunately I don't know - Tonggok was naturally reduced to Tonggo through regular usage. Later the great scholar monk and temple builder Uisang-daesa named the peak Cheonchuk-san (천축산) due to its resemblance to the Indian mountain of the same name - Uisang never visited India so perhaps he'd just heard of the peak, although there is a Cheonchuk temple on Dobong-san in Seoul (thanks David). In any case the name didn't stick.
There is a competing legend on the origin of Tonggo-san's name which I'll tell below.

Picnicing posers on the helipad

The ridge continuing north from Tonggo-san

Thousands of young trees on the western ridge, replacing those lost to fire and or the war.

A familiar sight - Alpine Bamboo which grows in great abundance in the highlands around Taebaek, and I expect will line the trail for much of its remainder.

Dapun-jae our end point with a crew coming from the north - standing around thinking about the hitch back.

Sarang-bawi (Love Rock) - the competing legend of Tonggo-san

Long Ago there lived an orpaned brother and sister who made their meager way foraging for medicinal herbs in the Buryeong-sa valley below Tonggo-san. One night the two were visited in their dreams by a spirit who told them the King of the heavens was very ill, and he could only be cured by samjiguyeopcho (a type of korean barberry), a rare herb found in the valley - the spirits had looked for the herb but goats had eaten all but those growing on the high cliffs, which none dared to climb - if the children would go up there and get the plant a great prize awaited.
For three days the children prayed before heading off up the cliff, they reached the top seven difficult days later and found the plant growing on the edge. Naturally excited the brother ran to the edge to grab the plant and in the process slipped falling to his death. The sister mourned his loss for 3days and nights before throwing herself off the cliff to join her brother. From that day the valley was filled with the laments of the pair, which eventually reached the spirit. The spirit turned the pair into two rocks closly embracing so they should never face the agony of seperation. The mountain above the valley was named Tonggo-san (from Tonggok mountain of lamentation) and the pine trees stained with their blood became a species known as Uljin Pines, whose bark and wood are both reddish.
Nowadays lovers come to the rock to pray for eternal love which many believe the rock has the power to grant and drinking samjiguyeopcho is said to do wonders to the fertility of prospective parents and aide in their conjugal harmony - it might at the very least get the ball rolling anyway as its usually soaked in liquor.

Buryeong-sa valley

We went home down the impressive Buryeong-sa gorge on National Highway 36running east to Uljin. One of the greatest drives in the land.
Buryeong-sa gyegok is rich in a wide variety of plants which are normally only found in southern and northern parts of the country, and is designated as a scientific research area.

Im in Uljin now for the last 3 days of this trek which I'll be starting tomorrow.

cheers

Northern Yeongyang

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East from below Chilbo-san

This weekend I was joined by A.J.Howarth for the long march north out of Yeongyang county. Saturday we walked some 25kms between the passes of Hanti-jae and Pangbi-ryeong crossing 12 peaks including 974m Chilbo-san.

Nakdong-jeongmaek map at the start point in Subi-myeon

Teeth in the grass - a large and healthy snake in our path on the climb to Chilbo-san


The hills in many areas of the country are now lush and green, with azaleas and other plants in full bloom - conditions that Roger Shepherd is currently enjoying on the Naknam ridge in South Gyeongsang province. The Yeongyang area however has just come out of its driest winter for years and has thus far received no significant spring rain to bring the forest back to life, the ridge was bone dry on Saturday but rain came on Monday and more is forecast for later in the week so hopefully next time we're out there's a bit more colour.

Fine looking young man

The bloke above is one of the most prolific ribbon-hangers on the Baekdu-daegan trail and features in the much celebrated video "The Ribbon Tree" , no one-hit wonder he's obviously giving the jeongmaek's a go like so many others, walking the Nakdong north to south.

Chilbo-san (seven treasures peak)- the last, largest and only named peak of the day.

Pangbi-ryeong - end point for Saturday

Howarth with an '82 Hyundai Pony flatdeck in original Lemon-chiffon, one of a fleet of classics on the streets of Yeongyang.

Yeongyang Mountain Village Life Museum

The plan was to walk Sunday through to Uljin county, but Howarth went home with sore legs and I got lost taking an ambitious offroad route to the trail head leaving little time for the hike, so I checked out the Yeongyang mountain village life museum, a really impressive building with no visitors on a fine weekend.
The museum has the expected displays of farm tools and stuffed animals but also celebrates the shamanic history of the area.

A Seonang-dang tutelary shrine

The three famous-sacred women of the Yeongyang area in a reconstucted shrine

In the middle is Madam Hwang of Ilwol-san, to her right is her daughter and to her left Oknyeo, whose shrine I came across last week.

Plastic Mireuk Cave

Mireuk Cave is the energy centre of Yeongyang's famous mountain Ilwol-san and is said to hold the energy of the sun and the moon.

V-shaped pines

We first came across pines cut with the v-shape a few weeks ago on the trail and i offered my own theory on them based on the history of other parts of the country. These displays perhaps suggest something different, maybe the pines have long been harvested around here for fuel, or carved for some other purpose.

An old map of Yeongyang


Alright so we still haven't broken through Yeongyang, so this weekend I'll be back out to hopefully get through into Bongwha and Uljin for the final push into Taebaek.
Four days left

-cheers

Honja Wanderer 단독 산행

click on any photo to see it bigger사진을 크게 보려면 클릭 하십시오

Typical countryside of Yeongyang county from Samseung-bawi
삼승바위에서 내려다본 영양군의 전형적인 시골풍경

My team of kept men, tail chasers and pansies were all busy for the walk through north-eastern Yeongyang-gun on March 28th. The journey however must go on so I set off alone for this awesome section, crossing 15 peaks including the famous Baekam-san and Geomma-san before arriving in the small village of Subi.
공처가, 바람둥이, 겁쟁이(별명들)들인 우리 팀은 3월 28일 영양군의 동북쪽을 등산하느라고 대단히 바빴다. 여하튼 산행은 계속해야 하므로 오늘은 나 혼자서 이 무시무시한 지역의 산행을 시작했다. 유명한 백암산과 검마산의 15개 봉우리를 거쳐서 조그마한 수비면에 도착했다.

Yeongyang town in the early morning 이른 아침 영양읍

I was surprised to learn while staying in Yeongyang friday night that the Nakdong-jeongmaek is very much celebrated by the local government, who have printed their own excellent maps for its passage through the Yeongyang area. This isolated town doesnt see a lot in the way of tourists and the council sees the growing popularity of the ridge as a potential boon for the town - as 119km - almost a quarter of the trail's entire length lies within Yeongyang-gun. The taxi drivers hanging around the bus stop were familiar with the dirt track which Travis and I came down a couple of weeks back so I decided to fork out some cash and get a ride out there, leaving only the task of getting back to Yeongyang and my car at the end of the day.
금요일 밤을 영양에서 보내면서 영양지방 자치단체가 낙동정맥에 대해서 큰 관심을 가지고 있다는 것을 알고 놀랐다. 그들은 이 지역을 지나는 여행자들을 위해서 스스로 아주 좋은 지도를 만들어서 제공하고 있었다. 이 외딴 곳을 여행하는 동안 사람들을 많이 볼 수가 없었다. 영양군의회에서도 낙동정맥의 인기가 점점 높아져서 영양군에 잠재적인 혜택이 있을 것으로 내다보고 있었다. -119km- 낙동정맥 전체 산길의 거의 4분의 1이 영양군에 속해 있다. 버스 정류소에서 손님을 기다리며 시간을 보내고 있는 택시기사들은 Travis와 내가 2,3주 전에 내려왔던 비포장도로를 잘 알고 있었다. 그래서 나는 요금을 특별히 더 지불하고라도 택시를 타고 그곳을 빠져 나오기로 했다. 다시 영양군을 찾아오겠다는 과제를 남겨두고 해질 무렵 내차가 있는 곳으로 돌아왔다.

Camping spot at Araet-samseung-ryeong pass near the trail head
등산로기점에서 가까운 아랫-삼승령 고개에 있는 캠핑장소.

South along the ridge from the first peak. Rocky Samseung-bawi
첫 봉우리에서 능선을 따라 남쪽, 삼승바위

The dry ridge heading to Maebong-san (921m)
매봉산으로 향하는 메마른 능선 (921m)

Baekam-san (1003m) 백암산 (1003m)

The mighty summit of Baekam-san is the first peak over 1000m I've crossed since leaving Gaji-san Provincial park - about 200kms back along the trail. Baekam-san actually lies off the ridge - but close enough to feel the need to climb it for its commanding views in all directions - its also a popular peak with trails leading up from the famous Baekam-oncheon hotsprings below it.
험한 백암산 정상은 내가 가지산 도립공원-등산로를 따라 약 200km 뒤에 있는-을 출발한 이후 넘은 봉우리로서는 처음으로 1,000m가 넘는 봉우리였다. -사실상 백암산은 정맥에서 조금 떨어져 있다. 그러나 어느 방향으로도 전망이 좋아서 올라가 보고 싶은 충동을 느낄 정도이며, 충분히 가까운 거리에 있다- 또한 백암산은 산 아래 있는 유명한 백암온천으로 이어지는 인기 있는 봉우리이다.
The steep rocky southern face of the peak - which has a name - that I shall remember
봉우리 남쪽면의 가파른 바위 - <나는 잊지 않겠습니다> 라는 이름을 가지고 있다-

My picnic posse on the summit 정상에서의 나의 피크닉대원들

This group of POSCO workers had climbed from the hotsprings to eat the contents of their heavy bags - I was happy to help out.
이들 POSCO직원들은 정상에서 먹으려고 배낭에 음식들을 잔뜩 넣어 백암온천에서 올라왔다 - 나는 그들에게 많은 도움을 받았다.

Two standard mountain posers at the stele celebrating Baekam-san - me on the right
백암산정상 표지석에서 포즈를 취한 등산객, 오른쪽 사진이 나, 앤드류.

Baekam-san marks the start of the last leg of this trail as the ridge begins to climb toward the northern peaks of Taebaek-san and the Baekdu-daegan.
백암산은 능선이 태백산의 북쪽봉우리와 백두대간을 향하여 뻗어 있어 이번 산행의 마지막구간 출발점으로 정했다.

Looking back to Baekam-san from below Galmi-san (918m)
갈미산 아래에서 백암산을 뒤돌아보며

First snake of the season 올해 처음 보는 뱀

This snake was the only wildlife I photographed, but I heard a lot of calls and saw a curious animal that was either a Raccoon Dog or a Eurasian Badger - probably the latter as I think the raccoon dog is nocturnal.
이 뱀은 내가 촬영한 유일한 야생동물이다, 그러나 야생동물들의 울음소리는 많이 들었다. 그리고 너구리와 오소리 같은 호기심 많은 동물들도 보았다- 너구리는 아마 야행성동물일 것이다.

Ilwol-san (1219m) 일월산(1219m)

The large mountain in the distance is Ilwol-san - the Sun/Moon mountain, and sacred symbol of the Yeongyang area. Ilwol-san lies between the Baekdu-daegan and the Nakdong-jeongmaek, hopefull I'll get there after this trek.
멀리 보이는 큰 산이 일월산이다 - 해(일日)/달(월月) 산, 영양지역 성지의 상징. 일월산은 백두대간과 낙동정맥 사이에 있다. 이번 여정을 끝내고 나서 가 보려고 한다.

Geomma-san recreational forest 검마산자연휴양림

I ended the days walk at the Geomma-san recreational forest above Subi town. The Korean Forest Service manages 36 recreational forests throughout the country which offer cabin accommodation and a bit of education about plants and animals of the forest. This one I stayed at a couple of years ago with my school on one of our mountain camps.
수비면 위쪽에 있는 검마산휴양림에서 오늘의 산행을 끝냈다. 한국산림청에서는 전국 도처에 36곳의 휴양림을 관리하고 있다. 그곳에는 숙박, 편의시설과 숲속의 동식물에 관한 약간의 교육시설도 제공하고 있다. 우리들의 야영 캠프중의 하나가 2,3년 전에 우리학교 학생들과 함께 머물렀던 바로 이곳이다.

Shrine to Oknyeo 옥녀를 모신 사당

Oknyeo was the daughter of a government official during the reign of King Injo in the Joseon Dynasty. An independent young woman her father sent her on an errand of some sort to the Yeongyang area. Here she died suddenly. Feeling bad for the sudden demise of this beautiful unmarried woman the locals erected this shrine, and pray for her soul every year. The shrine to Oknyeo became famous as a place where wishes are granted, particularly those to have a child.
옥녀는 조선왕조의 인조가 통치하던 당시 한 관리의 딸이었다. 그녀의 아버지는 젊은 처녀인 그녀를 영양지방으로 심부름을 보냈다. 그러나 그 곳에서 그녀는 갑자기 죽었다. 그 아름다운 처녀의 갑작스런 죽음에 언짢은 느낌이 든 그곳 사람들이 이 사당을 짓고 해마다 그녀의 영혼을 위해 기도했다. 옥녀사당에서 소원을 빌면 소원이 이루어진다고 해서 유명한 사당이 되었고 특히 자식을 원하는 이들에게는 소원이 더욱 잘 이루어진다고 이름이 나 있다.

The Oknyeo shrine is watched over by two totems with the faces of the sun and moon
옥녀의 사당은 해와 달의 얼굴을 새긴 두 토템상 위쪽에 있다.

Yaksa-am temple below the ridge in Subi-myeon 수비면의 능선아래 약사암

This is how we do it in Yeongyang
영양에서는 아직도 많은 농부들이 전통적인 방법으로 농사를 짓고 있다.

Baekam-san Oncheon 백암산 온천

As a reminder that winter is not fully over it snowed in Yeongyang on Sunday, so I took National Highway 88 over the pass (probably the most impressive road crossing in the country) to the Baekam Hotsprings.
겨울이 완전히 끝나지 않았다는 것을 깨닫게 하려고 일요일날 영양에는 눈이 왔다.
그래서 나는 백암온천으로 넘어가는 고개위에 있는 88번 국도를 탔다.(한국에서 가장 인상적인 고갯길인 것 같다.)

Snow on the ridge from the road to Baekam 능선위의 눈, 백암으로 가는 길에서

Downtown Subi-myeon 수비면의 중심가

The next mission will hopefully be the weeekend of April 18/19th to Tonggo-san; the mountain of misery - you're invited.
다음 임무는 희망하건데 4월 18/19일에 통곡산-참혹한 산-에서 있을 것 같다, 당신을 초대합니다.


Roger Shepherd at the start of the Naknam-jeongmaek trail
낙남정맥의 시작점에서 Roger Shepherd

This Sunday Roger Shepherd - my partner on the Baekdu-daegan trek and co-author of the subsequent guidebook - set off on a mammoth journey to walk all seven jeongmaek ridges which reach the Baekdu-daegan here in South Korea, including the nakdong! Roger began with the Naknam-jeongmaek which begins in Gimhae city and runs through to Jiri-san National Park, and will be recording his journey at www.hikekorea.net
이번 일요일 Roger Shepherd-백두대간 종주에서 나의 동반자이며 발간될 백두대간 가이드북의 공동 집필자 -는 낙동정맥을 포함해서, 백두대간에서 뻗어 나온 남한에 있는 7개의 모든 정맥의 답사여행을 시작했다, Roger는 김해시에서 시작되는 낙남정맥의 시작점을 출발했다. 그는 지리산 국립공원을 통과할 것이며 그의 여행기록물을 www.hikekorea.net에 게재할 것이다.

Check it out 확인 바랍니다

Cheers 건배

East view from the ridge to Dokgyeong-san in the remote Incheon-ri area
멀리 떨어진 곳에 있는 독경산으로 가는 능선에서 본 동쪽경치

It was all hands on for Team Nakdong this weekend as Travis Lynn and I continued north along the trail, moving deeper into the isolated outskirts of already remote Yeongyang-gun, while A.J Howarth returned to Geumjeong-san near the start of the trail in Busan to explore rock climbing possibilities on the jeong-maek.
낙동팀을 위해서 여러 곳에서 모두가 노력을 하고 있다. 이번 주말에는 Travis Lynn과 나는 이미 멀리 떨어진 영양군의 변두리 오지 깊숙한 곳의 산길을 따라 계속 북으로 이동했다. 한편 A.J Howarth는 부산으로 돌아가서 우리가 산행을 처음 시작한 곳에서 가까운 금정산에서 암벽등반이 가능한지 답사를 했다.


The last couple of missions for those heading north have begun at the Baekdu-daegan hof in Yeongdeok, which is partly to blame for a few days ending a few kilometres short of target.
영덕의 백두대간 호프집에서 이번 산행 중에 해야 할 마지막 두 가지 임무에 대해 의논했다. 두 부분으로 나누어서, 우리의 목표지점을 몇 킬로 앞둔 지점에 이를 때까지 맡은 임무를 끝내기로 했다.


Leaving the road below the wind turbines of Maengdong-san saturday morning we enjoyed a cruisy walk on a distinct section of the ridge, crossing 10 peaks on the way to Araeheori-jae pass, where the next road crossed the ridge. Along the way we didn't see another soul, or even hear a human sound which is rare as in Korea. The good thing about this was we saw a bit of wildlife; woodpeckers, a few lizards and even a deer - the bad thing is it continued once we got to the road and hitching back to the car proved impossible.
토요일 아침 맹동산의 풍력발전기 아랫길을 따라 능선을 걸으며 아주 색다른 것들과 새로운 휴일산행의 기분을 만끽했다. 도중에 10개의 봉우리를 지나서, 능선을 가로지르는 도로가 있는 아래 허리재까지 왔다. 산행 중 우리들은 다른 사람을 한 사람도 만나지 못했다, 심지어 사람의 목소리도 들어보지 못했다, 이런 일은 한국에서는 참으로 드문 일이다. 이런 것이 좋은 점은 우리들이 많은 야생동물, 딱따구리, 많은 도마뱀 심지어 사슴도 볼 수 있었다는 것이고 좋지 않은 점은 한꺼번에 계속해서 깊은 숲속을 도로가 나올 때까지 걸어야 하고 도로가 있는 곳에 도착해서 내 차가 있는 곳으로 돌아가기 위해 남의 차에 편승해 간다는 것이 불가능하다는 것이었다.




The "wounded pines" 상처 입은 소나무

Toward the end of the Korean War hundreds of North Korean guerrilla fighters were stuck in this no mans land between their strongholds in Palgong-san near Daegu and what is now Odae-san National Park to the north in Gangwon-do. The thick forest of this section of the ridge from Myeongdong-san which we crossed last week and Tonggo-san a day or two further north offered them cover and defence as they eluded capture by South Korean forces for months, before most of them were eventually killed.
한국전쟁이 끝날 무렵, 수백 명의 북한 빨치산들이 대구 근처의 팔공산과 북으로는 강원도의 현재 오대산 국립공원 사이에 있는 그들의 요새, 인적이 없는 이 지역에 숨어서 생활했다.
지난주에 넘어온 맹동산의 능선인 이 지역과 여기서 한 이틀 정도 북으로 더 올라가는 지역에는 숲이 울창하다. 대부분의 빨치산들은 결국 죽게 되지만, 그들이 죽기 전까지는 포로가 되지 않기 위해 이 지역이 그들에게는 좋은 은신처와 숨기에 좋은 은폐물이 되었다.
The pines above have been cut with the "V" shape to extract resin for fuel. Along the Baekdu-daegan there is an area with trees just like this called "the wounded pines" which were cut by the resource-starved Japanese occupiers near the end of WWII, these trees were quite possibly harvested by the North Korean commandos as they were holed up in these hills.
연료로 쓸 송진(수지)을 추출하기 위해 V자형으로 상처를 낸 소나무들. 제2차 세계대전 말경에 자원이 고갈된 일본이 저질러놓은, 바로 “상처 난 소나무”라 불리는 것들이 많이 있는 지역이 백두대간에는 여러 곳 있다. 아마도 이러한 상처 난 소나무들은 이 능선에서 빨치산들의 은신처를 없애기 위해 당국에서 상당히 많이 베어버렸을 것이다.


The trench the guerrillas used to defend the ridge is barely visible in the photo above as its filled with leaves, but it stretches for a good 4kms, facing east along what appears to be the most defendable section of the ridge, with a huge cliff dropping off to the east.
빨치산들이 능선을 지키기 위해서 방어용으로 이용해 온 참호들이 낙엽으로 가득 메워져 있어 위의 사진에서는 간신히 알아 볼 수가 있다. 참호는 동쪽을 향해 있고 능선에서도 가장 방어하기에 적당하다고 보이는 지역에 4Km 이상이나 잇달아 있다. 서쪽으로는 깎아놓은 듯한 거대한 절벽이 있다.

Coming down at the end of the day we arrived at the guardian trees and resting pavillion of a typical village for the hitch back to the car.
해질 무렵에 하산해 내차가 있는 곳까지 자동차를 얻어 타고 가기 위해 전형적인 한국 마을의 동네어귀에 휴식을 취할 수 있는 정자나무와 정자가 있는 곳에 도착했다.

Unfortunaely the road soon turned into a dirt track and we walked over 15kms back toward the car before the first vehicle heading south picked us up - this is definitely a leg where camping would be the go.
내차가 있는 곳을 향해 걸어가는 중에 불행하게도 도로는 갑자기 울퉁불퉁한 비포장도로로 바뀌었다. 그러나 우리는 15km 이상을 걸어갔을 때 남쪽으로 가는 첫 자동차를 만나 편승할 수가 있었다. 정말 고마웠다. 솔직히 말해서 그 거리는 걸어서 가기에는 너무 먼, 하룻밤 캠핑을 해야만 할 거리었다.

Meanwhile in Busan...그러는 동안에 부산에서는...

Mu-myeong ridge 무명릿지 - Climbing Report 무명능선 - 등반 보고
A.J.Howarth


Whilst team leader Douch spent the weekend foraging further into the Yeong Yang wildnerness, I returned to the more urban climate of Geumjeong-san close to the start of the Nakdong Jeongmaek. The ridge, and Korea in general, are obviously renown for their fantastic hiking opportunities, but the peninsula's proliferation of protruding rocky outcrops also offers endless potential for climbing.
주말에 팀 리더 Douch가 황량한 영양지역을 더 깊숙이 뒤지고 다니는 동안, 나는 낙동정맥의 출발지에서 가까운, 도시풍이 보다 짙은 금정산으로 돌아갔다. 금정산은 한국에서 매우 환상적인 하이킹코스로 명성이 나 있는 곳이다. 한반도의 여러 곳에 솟아있는 암벽들은 또한 무한한 암벽등반의 가능성을 제공해 준다.



Geumjeong San, in particular, has a number of sizeable granite buttresses thrusting out to the East of the ridge, overlookig the city below. The one I headed to on this fine Spring Sunday was know as Mu myeong Ridge and was described by Korean climbing colleagues as the perfect introduction to multi-pitch climbing. This generally seemed an apt description, as the route offered a great combination of slabs, genuine climbs, a bit of scrambling and even a Tyrollean Traverse. The route was never at a particularly high grade, exposure was limited and their was always an opportunity to drop out on foot if it all got a bit too extreme.
특히 금정산 아래에는 도시가 내려다보이고, 산의 동쪽 능선에는 상당히 큰 화강암 암벽들이 많다. 이 화창한 봄날 일요일에 나의 임무는 무명능선으로 알려져 있는 이곳에서, 한국의 등반 동호인들이 멀티-피치-클라임의 완전한 곳으로 묘사하고 있는 등반을 체험하는 것이다. 이것은 일반적으로 적절한 묘사라고 생각된다, 왜냐하면 이 루트는 암벽들, 멋진 등반길, 약간의 기어오르기 그리고 밧줄을 이용하는 등반 등을 함께 할 수 있는 멋진 콤비네이션을 제공하고 있기 때문이다.
루트는 특별히 높지도 않고 노출도 제한되어 있고 암벽등반 중에 만약 약간 힘겹다고 생각되면 언제든지 대열에서 벗어나 갈 수 있는 기회도 있다.



If you don't have the time or the inclination to cover long distances on foot, climbing offers you a great chance to get into the mountains. Korea is probably one of the best places to start. Most cities have numerous climbing clubs who will be more than willing to introduce you to the sport.
만약 당신이 걸어서 먼 거리를 갈 시간이나 생각이 없다면 암벽등반은 산에 오르는 아주 좋은 찬스가 될 것이다. 한국은 등반을 시작하기에 제일 좋은 곳 중의 하나일 것이다. 대부분의 도시에는 많은 등반클럽이 있고 그들은 당신들을 기꺼이 안내해 줄 것이다.

Directions 방향 안내

From Nam San Dong subway station exit 5, head West, up the hill towards Geumjeong-san. Walk for about ten minutes and you will come to a white church (Geum Jeong Gyo-Hoe), opposite a driving range. Take the trail to the left of the church through a small exercise area.
Walk up the trail, keeping first the playing fields and then Mumyeong-sa (temple) on your right. Go about 500m past the temple and the path loops around to the right, follow it to the foot of the ridge.
You could also access the rocks from the top, via the main Geumjeong-san ridge. OK Outdoor do a good map of Geumjeong-san. (although this ridge isn't actually marked on it.)
남산동지하철역 5번 출구, 서쪽방향에서 금정산을 향해 언덕으로 올라간다. 약 10분쯤 걸어가면 흰 교회(금정교회)가 나온다. 반대편에는 골프연습장이 있다. 교회의 왼쪽 길을 따라 조그만 운동시설이 있는 곳을 지나간다.
첫째로 구기장을 끼고 계속 올라가면, 오른편에 무명사라는 절이 있다. 무명사를 지나 500m쯤 더 가면 산길은 오른쪽으로 돌아간다. 계속 가면 능선의 기슭이 나온다.
또한 금정산 주능선을 경유해서 꼭대기에 올라가도 이들 암벽에 도달 할 수도 있다.
좋아, 야외에는 금정산의 멋진 지도가 펼쳐져 있다. (비록 이 능선이 실제로 지도에 명시되어 있지는 않을 지라도)



The next mission will be the first weekend of April, back up in Yeongyang - hopefully its a bit greener and warmer in the hills by then.
다음 임무는 4월 첫 주말에 있을 것이다. 영양으로 돌아가자. - 바라 건데 그때까지는 산이 좀 더 푸르러지고 날씨는 한결 따뜻해지겠지

-cheers 건배

Back On The Ridge

Hwangjang-jae pass - Our start point between Andong and Yeongdeok
황장재 - 안동과 영덕 사이에 있는 출발지점

With most of the Baekdu-daegan guidebook completed and winter nearly over it was back on the trail this weekend, for the first time since November, to begin the final trek toward Taebaek.
I was joined once again by Yecheon icon come Busan sophisticate A.J.Howarth for the 30km walk north out of Juwang-san National park from Hwangjang-jae pass and into the remote hills surrounding south-western Yeongyang County to Ulchi-jae.
백두대간 가이드북도 대부분 완료되었고, 겨울도 거의 지나가는 때여서 지난 해 11월에 중단했던 산행을 이번 주말에 다시 시작하기로 했다. 태백을 향한 멀고 고된 마지막 여정이 시작된 것이다.
지난번 부산에서 같이 산행을 했던 여천의 우상, 세련미 넘치는 A.J.Howarth 와 다시 함께 주왕산국립공원에서 북으로 30km되는 곳을 산행을 했다. 황장재에서 시작해서 멀리 산으로 둘러싸인 영양군 남서쪽으로 들어가서 우치재까지 걸었다.

Looking back to Juwang-san with graves marking the way into Yeongyang
주왕산을 돌아보며, 영양으로 가는 길에 묘비석이 보인다

Welcome to Yeongyang
어서 오십시오 여기는 영양입니다

Yeongyang-gun is one of the most sparsely populated areas in the country with tiny villages dotted through the hills and valleys surrounding the small town. I read a list of 'most desirable places to live' in the paper a few years ago which had Gangnam in Seoul at the top and Yeongyang at the bottom. At the time I was working with a proud Yeongyang girl who was bemused about that so I went and checked it out, and its a really groovy place with a rare old-school charm, and farmers growing the best chili peppers in the country. Yeongyang is always a quiet place, although I assume it has a rocking festival of some kind, and on this day it lived up to its reputation as we didnt meet a single hiker over the entire day.
영양군은 전국에서 가장 인구밀도가 낮은 지역 중 하나이다. 작은 마을들이 산과 계곡들 사이에 둘러싸여 드문드문 있다. 나는 몇 년 전에 신문에서 ‘살기에 가장 바람직한 곳’ 의 리스트를 보았는데 서울의 강남이 첫째이고 영양이 꼴찌였다. 그 당시에 나는 자존심 강한 영양 처녀와 한 직장에 있었다. 그녀는 그 기사에 어이없어 했다. 그래서 나는 그곳에 가서 정말로 편협한 곳이라는 것을 확인을 했다. 아주 보기 드문 보수적이고 고풍스런 곳이었고 농부들은 국내에서 제일 좋은 칠레고추를 재배하고 있었다. 영양은 언제나 조용한 곳이다.(외진 곳이 반드시 살기에 바람직하지 못하다는 의견에 나는 동조하지 않는다.)
하지만 영양에는 어떤 종류의 요란한 축제가 있다는 사실도 나는 알고 있다.
영양은 조용한 곳이라는 그 명성대로 오늘 온종일 산행 중에 단 한사람의 등산객도 만나지 못했다.

Farmland along the ridge
능선을 따라 있는 농지

Locals
농가

Pass shrine on the ridge to Yeojeong-bong
여정봉으로 가는 능선에 있는 초라한 산신당

The ridge below Yeojeong-bong, recovering from forest fire.
여정봉아래 능선, 산불로부터 회복 중에 있음

The anti-fire mascot
산불예방 포스터

Daecheon Beach and the east sea, with typical late winter visibility.
대천비치와 동해, 전형적인 늦겨울 경관

North along the ridge to Bonghwa-san and Maebong-san which is covered in wind turbines.
북으로 봉화산과 매봉산으로 가는 능선을 따라 풍력 터빈들이 세워져 있다

Bongsu-dae platform
봉수대

Although a really good day of walking with rewarding peaks and views through the haze, this section promised to be largely uneventful, with no temples on the ridge or gnarly rocky features. It was a bit of a surprise then when we came across this huge stone altar called Bonsu-dae, below the summit of our 7th peak Bonghwa-san. The old hemp rope tied around it is a symbol that this is a sacred place, but is ripped and rotted away so it obviously hasnt been used for a long time. However at about 10feet tall with walls spreading along the ridge this was obviously once quite an important place, at least to whoever built it, and is one of the largest of its kind I've ever seen in the mountains.
하지만 멋진 봉우리들과 아지랑이를 통해서 바라보는 경치 등 산행에는 참으로 좋은 날씨였다. 이번 구간은 큰 이벤트가 있으리라 기대를 하지 않았다. 산에는 절도 없고 멋지게 생긴 바위도 없다. 이번 산행 중 7번째 봉우리인 봉화산 정상 아래에 있는 봉수대라고 하는 큰 돌로 쌓은 제단을 지날 때는 다소 놀라웠다. 오래된 삼노끈이 봉수대에 둘러쳐져 있다는 것은 이곳이 신성한 곳이라는 것을 상징한다. 그러나 끈이 찢어지고 썩은 것을 보니 오랫동안 사용하지 않았음이 분명하다. 어쨌든 이런 능선 위에 약 10피트 높이의 돌담을 쌓고 끈을 둘러놓은 것은, 도대체 누가 세웠는지는 모르지만 적어도 그 사람에게 이곳은 한 때 분명히 신에게 무엇인가를 간절히 빌어야 할 일이 있었을 것이다. 지금까지 내가 산에서 본 이런 종류의 구조물로서는 가장 큰 것이다

A.J.Howarth praying for safe passage. A.J.Howarth가 안전한 산행을 위해서 기도하고 있다

Acciona Wind Farm Acciona 풍력발전지역

In complete contrast to the ancient Bongsu-dae platform just over the hill we hit Acciona wind farm. Acciona, a spanish company, is in the process of putting 42 turbines around the bald summit of Maengdong-san and when we turned up they had the crane attached to number 37. The turbines stretch for about 5kms along the ridge and are a bit of a freak out if youve never walked under them before.
조금 전 능선 너머에 있는 옛 봉수대와는 완전히 대조적인 Acciona 풍력발전지역에 도달했다. 스페인 회사인 Acciona는 맹동산의 벌거숭이 정상 주변에 42개의 터빈을 설치하고
있는 중이다. 우리가 그곳에 도착해서 본 공사현장은 37번 터빈을 설치하는 곳이었다.
터빈은 능선을 따라 약 5km 에 걸쳐서 설치되어 있다. 만약 당신이 그 밑을 지나가 본다면 다소 겁이 날 것이다.

Walking through the last of the turbines just on dark we were picked up by the site manager, who saved us from a 20km night hitch back to my car and talked us through Kilo-watts, Mega-watts and the finer points of wind turbine construction.
마지막 터빈을 지나고 있을 때 날은 저물어 있었다. 풍력터빈건설현장 지배인이 내 차가 있는 곳까지 20km나 되는 밤길을 태워다 주었다. 도중에 그는 Kilo-Watts, Mega-Watts 등 풍력터빈 건설에 관한 세세한 부분까지 설명해 주었다

With seven days left on this journey the Nakdong-jeongmaek is forever getting closer to its end point, where it hits the White Head Great Ridge north of Taebaek-san. This weekend the Baekdu-daegan could be seen for the first time stretching north-west toward Taebaek-san from Sobaek-san to the west.
Im done with my current stint of working in April and will complete the trail in one week after that, but hopefully I'll be out again for a day mission beforehand.
이번 여정의 7일을 남겨두고 낙동정맥의 마지막 지점에 도달해 가고 있다. 그 끝 지점은 태백산의 북쪽 백두대간과 만나는 지점이다. 이번 주말산행 때는, 태백산을 향할 때 서북쪽으로 뻗어있는 백두대간을 처음으로 볼 수 있을 것 같다. 백두대간은 소백산으로부터 서쪽으로 뻗어가고 있다. 요즈음 내가 하고 있는 일은 4월 말까지 끝이 난다. 이 일을 마치고난 다음 일주일동안에 낙동정맥 산행을 마치려고 한다. 그러나 잘하면 중간 중간에 1일 산행을 해서 좀더 빨리 마칠 수도 있을 것이다.
Cheers
건배

Juwang-san National Park 주왕산 국립공원

Byeol-bawi peak (star rock?). South Juwang-san.별바위봉, 남주왕산

This weekend I was joined again by Leeds Rambler A.J.Howarth for the trek through the closed section of Juwang-san National Park. This 30km leg of the journey is the scenic highlight of the trail and the only National Park the Nakdong-jeongmaek passes through.
이번 주말에 A.J.Howarth씨를 다시 만나 주왕산국립공원 폐쇄지역을 통과해야 하는 험난하고도 먼 산행을 했다. 이 30km의 여정은 이번 산행 중 경치가 제일 좋은 곳이며 낙동정맥에서 유일한 국립공원이다.

Trail entrance at Pinamu-jae pass 피나무재에 있는 등산로 입구

The signs above indicate that the trail is closed. All National Parks in Korea have sections which are closed to hikers for reasons of nature preservation; which sounds fair enough considering the amount of people living here and the considerable impact this has had on wildlife, but strangely these closed sections are almost exclusively on the path of the long distance trails such as the Baekdu-daegan and here the Nakdong-jeongmaek. There may be a number of reasons for this but it does start to feel like an attack on the legitimacy of these trails.
위에 있는 표지는 등산로가 폐쇄되었음을 알려 주고 있다. 한국의 모든 국립공원은 자연보호를 위해 등산객들의 출입을 금지하는 구역들이 있다. 이런 조치는 이곳에 살고 있는 많은 주민들과 야생동식물들에게 막대한 영향을 끼친다는 사실을 이해한다면 타당하고 충분한 이유가 된다고 생각할 수 있다. 그러나 백두대간, 낙동정맥과 같은 긴 거리의 등산로에 아주 불편하게 폐쇄구역들을 설정해 놓았다는 것은 아무래도 잘 납득이 되지 않는다. 물론, 거기에는 많은 이유가 있을 것이다, 그렇지만 어쩐지 이 등산로를 이용하는 산행객들이 자기네들의 권리도 보장해 달라는 항의가 있을 것 같기도 하다.
Juwang-san is famous for its deep long valleys with clear pools and stunning rock formations which are home to a small population of otters and their protection seems to be the main reason sited for the closing of the trail, which is ridiculous really as there is no water on the ridge; last I heard otters like to live down in the valleys near water not on high dry peaks. Perhaps Juwang-san National Park should consider closing one of the valley trails which see hundreds of thousands of visitors every weekend at this time of year.
주왕산은 그 계곡이 깊고 길며, 맑은 웅덩이와 뾰족뾰족한 바위의 형상들로 유명하다.
이것들은 몇 마리 안 되는 수달의 집이며, 그들을 보호하는 것이 등산로를 폐쇄하는 주된 이유인 것 같다. 그러나 그것은 참으로 웃기는 일이다, 왜냐하면 능선에는 물이 없다. 수달은 높고 메마른 봉우리가 아니고, 아래쪽 물 근처 계곡에서 살기를 좋아하기 때문이다. 아마도 주왕산국립공원은 매년 이때쯤이면 주말마다 수십만의 등산객이 붐비는 계곡 등산로 중에서 어느 하나를 폐쇄해야 옳을 것이다. 수달의 생존을 위해서 그렇다.
The Nakdong-jeongmaek through Juwang-san is closed until 2017 and hikers caught on the trail face a 500,000won fine. This doesnt stop those who have walked all the way north from Busan or south from Taebaek to get there and it didnt stop us either.
주왕산을 통과하는 낙동정맥 등산로는 2017년까지 폐쇄된다, 위반한 등산객이 붙들리면 5십만원의 벌금을 물게 된다. 그러나 이것은 부산에서 출발해서 북으로, 또 태백에서 출발해서 남으로, 낙동정맥을 걸어서 이곳에 도착한 등산객들을 막지 못하고 있다, 당연히 우리들도 막지 못했다.

The ridge to Byeol-bawi. 별바위로 가는 능선


A.J.Howarth at the hole-in-the-rock, Byeol-bawi. 별바위 안에 있는 A.J.Howarth.


The J3 nakdong-jeongmaek team. J3 낙동정맥 팀

The J3 Nakdong team were the only others on the Juwang trail. An odd bunch with matching lycra pants who took their stealth mission seriously; only resting in the most unlikely spots under a thick cover of trees. Strangely for Koreans they were a lot of take and not much give at the communal picnic.
J3낙동정맥팀이 주왕산 산행에서 만난 유일한 다른 등산객들이었다. 모두 다 같이 스판텍스 바지를 갖추어 입고 진지하게 자기들의 비밀스런 임무를 수행하는 이상한 그룹이었다; 울창한 나무들이 두껍게 하늘을 가린, 아주 좁은 나무 사이에서 불편하게 휴식을 취하고 있었다. 지금까지 만난 어떤 한국단체등산객들에게서도 볼 수 없었던 광경이었다. 다른 한국등산객들은 우리를 만나면 오래된 친구들처럼 반갑게 대하고 먹을 것을 풍성하게 안기곤 했었는데 이 팀들은 전혀 그렇지 않은 것이 우리를 더욱 이상하게 했다.

Hills above the Jeolgol valley. 절골 골짜기 위쪽의 능선

One of two guardians at a very old tomb on the trail.
등산길에 있는 아주 오래된 묘지의 한 망두석


North view from Gatbawi-san. 갓바위산에서 본 북쪽광경

What I think must be the rock Gat-bawi, below the peak.
내 생각에는 봉우리 아래에 있는 것이 , 갓바위가 틀림없다,

East from Gat-bawi into coastal Yeongdeok. 갓바위 동쪽 영덕연안

Andy and I got off the ridge, taking a trail down into the crowded Juwang valley to end the day. I'll put some photos up from there when I can work out how to make a slideshow.
Andy와 나는 그날의 산행을 마치려고 능선을 떠나 산길을 따라 붐비는 주왕산 계곡으로 내려왔다. 슬라이드쇼를 만들 수 있는 방법을 알면 그곳에서 찍은 사진들을 올리겠다.