Summers now at its end here in Korea and with it my break from the 낙동정맥 trail.
The plan this first weekend back was to walk from Unmum-ryeong (the pass where I finished up at in June) 37km north to Dang-gogae on the eastern edge of Gyeong-ju provincial park.
Inside one of the mountain shelter/restaurants at Unmun-ryeong
First peak of the day
Saturday was a bit of a grey one with rain never far from the hills and visibility not so great. I set off with a pretty big group of walkers who were heading to Munbok-san, a big mountain on the end of a ridge which branches NW from the 1st peak while the Nakdong-jeongmaek heads NE. With the poor weather I decided to join them and save the next section of trail for the promised good weather on sunday.
Two of the posse cutting a bottle of Makali to make two cups.
The couple above were both seriously overloaded with food yet grossly underprepared. They had 4 bottles of makali (rice wine) a kilo of Chokbal (pigs feet meat) and a decent pile of Kimbab yet no water; that was my contribution.
With the self-designated hiking leader...he had a GPS and a walkie-talkie.
Looking at the Nakdong-jeongmaek from the trail to Munbok-san
Wahang village below Goheon-san, back on the trail.
Sunday dawned fine and incredibly clear for the climb up Goheon-san, the last peak over 1000m until near the end of this trek.
South-west views to Neungdong-san, a mountain I crossed in June.
Goheon-san summit (1033m). Yo, thats two photos joined together.
Large new cairn on Goheon-san. The wooden bit is temporary, I reckon a plaque is going in there.
The open ridge trail to Baekun-san, the next peak and a mean climb with no shade.
Daeseong-sa temple
This little temple doesn't appear on the maps and I wouldve mistaken it for a farmers hut had it not been for the sign.
Inside Daeseong-sa
Baekun-san (901m)
From Baekun-san the ridge trail became very thin and overgrown as most walkers take another route down. I ended up calling it a day in an area called Soho, a pretty trendy place by rural korean standards.
The future of rural Korea
flash houses below Soho-gogae pass
Soho-cheon stream
Next weekend is Korean thanksgiving (chuseok) I hope to walk at least one, maybe two days between Sat and Monday.
-cheers
4 comments:
hey mate, can you show us the san-shin of daeseong-sa?
ah chuseok! manicured tombs, a slight scorching to the brush and a bit of a national clean up...bring it on!
Wonderful journey!!
Great going Andrew. Fascinating and unknown places you're bringing to light - Tony MacGregor
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