SOBAEKSAN (moaaaar hiking)

this weekend, warm weather was gone...this time, a starting winter said hello utilizing a below zero temperatures and cold biting gale

nevertheless, after night in sauna, me and roomie vit, walked out of the civilization (town of danyang) towards sobaeksan ridge prepared

flower dancer

we managed to check out also the amazing caves of gosudonggul, the place was spectacular...and over 10°C also :D

earth dildo

stalagmites, stalactites, columns, straws, drapery, flowstone

"into darkness they descended..."

we hitchhiked to the base camp promptly, than talked to local "mountain ranger" to learn that our trip itinerary is too physically demanding and "it is not in powers of peoples" :D

ice blocks generator

the weather changed quickly in past few days, yes...
no sunbathing now although week ago it was possible back in the campus

first!!!!

you may now kiss the....

upon reaching open ridge, strong wind forced us into crying men with its killing powa haha!!!

and the lord was like: you shall be redeemed...

we supposed that reaching the top elevation-drunk is just the reason to make vlog again (50 fps, fullhd, CZ ONLY commentary)

continuing along the ridge we met just a few hikers later, the countryside seemed tired, dead, with colored leaves on the ground left to be kicked into, this all poured with sunshine..all in all it felt great to roam such sleeping nature, also we finally managed to leave that concrete online civilization for a day!

after stepping from the steep hills of sobaeksan the most randomly placed train (train) stop appeared in front of us

two one-way tickets for seoul station, please

we could rest ourselves in this stylish accommodation

floor heating!!

here we waited for a bus to take us, but none came, although timetables suggested differently

fortunately local man approached us and asked "busee?" "yes" and showed us other location of the bus stop

after 2 minutes bus came and stopped, who would have guessed?

on bus we traveled together with full-load of elderly people, we let them sit and when all seats was taken even more aged old man got in
he was offered to sit on another man's knees - i tell you, together two hundred of age were sitting there ;) re5p3k7

it was nice to visit again more rural places than capital alone

paradoxically, on our way back we visited dongdaemun design plaza - fashion and expo hub and one of the seoul landmarks

trashmen on strike :D

dance performance under the design plaza very explicitly showed the jeopardy of drinking while driving using trap music and bloody costumes

drink than walk

people, people, peopleeeeeeeeeeeee below concrete man-made architectural monster

to get lost, we headed to namsan - a humble park/hill in center of seoul.....also numerous squads of couples had the same idea (i reckon, they have it every day by the way)
and even a cable car can transport you to the top at only 262 metres...hah

what does the elephant say...?

first selfie on the blog!

and here we are, few moments after the sunset, seoul living 24/7

throughout this post i am grateful to my roomie vit for many many photos, when my cellphone froze dead :D
this one down here also!

GWANAKSAN (seoul hiking vol.2)

the following weekend we rushed to climb another mini mountain ridge gwanaksan on the other side of seoul - until now local autumn weather has welcomed us mostly with sunshine and soft lukewarm winds

on the look back, notice neverending seoul disappearing in a city haze

we continued the ridge trail above morning mist, leaves are turning in less happy shades of yellow already

truthfully, the korean peaks are acceptable but at the same time thrilling challenge for a casual hikers - do not expect plain walking uphill

and trail just got more trickier and demanding, nearly vertical! like

on the cliff edge, a cheerless temple overlooked countryside in loneliness

after tuna, rice and cookies-composed lunch we checked heliport and radom

this hill served/serves as a tactical military communication center for sure

*suffocating* do not try this at home :D

vivre la corée

korea again proved itself as hiker-friendly country, we finished the day in the spasis (jjimjilbang) which is 5-floor korean sauna with 43°C jakuzi, infra, dry sauna, steam room, dry 100°C brick dome = sweat factory :D, oxy room, salt chambers, feet and other massages...

happy ending :)

...and do you know this one?

BUKHANSAN (seoul hiking)

when fall temperatures was still pleasant and the sun was shining we stepped into the pine woods of bukhansan national park just on the outskirts of seoul...

swimming pools!!

through misty, wet morning we climbed carefully:

slippery slopes

towards higher peaks like this:

the korean fall emits much positiveness and is full of sunlight, the woods are filled with cheering warm colours

peaks in bukhansan are predominantly huge granite blocks and ridge trails are maintained and equipped with safety metal railings by proactive korean government since hiking is considered to be a national hobby

and if you are injured (let's hope not) you can get first aid from these birdhouse like emergency boxes:

we enjoyed this one day hiking trip near seoul, i admire the complexity/difficulty of trails

what's next?

back to the city