Baekdu Daegan // day 3 // Nogodan - Gogiri

Baekdudaegan day 3.
Distance: 14.1km (39.8km), time spent: 7:28 (21:32).
Altitude (start / end / highest): 1340m / 500m / 1497m.
Weather: Rolling clouds, sunny afternoon.

Sleepless in Jirisan, another night awake in the hot tumults of a Korean shelter. Today the trail will leave the bustling confines of the national park and entering its more isolated areas, before descending down into the rural parts of South-Korea. There is a veil of thinned out clouds in the sky in the morning, emanating from the larger clusters lying dormant in the valleys below.

Clouds over Banyabong in the morning from Nogodangogae.

Back up at Nogodangogae the entrance to the summit of Nogodan is now guarded by two rangers, who were absent yesterday, so my plan to sneak up to the summit is a rather dumb one now. Should have done it yesterday. The dramatic view from the high pass is however giving me some compensation. From Nogodan I walk down to the Seongsamjae hyugeso, and a breakfast that are much longed for. Many people walking around, preparing for a hike in the mountains.

After Seongsamjae the trail changes character to a less defined path through thicker vegetation.

From Seongsamjae, leaving just as a large group of hikers is taking off in the same direction, the path changes character. Having walked through well-defined paths, the trail is now narrower going through thick vegetation. It may not be as spectacular as yesterday, but it is a pleasant walk beneath a shrouded sky. From Goribong (1248m) the rest area of Seongsamjae is spotted as a white fleck in the midst of a green blanket. The view is reminding me a lot of the landscape around Coll de Paracolls above Arles sur Tech in the Pyrenees that I walked through last year.

Seongsamjae hyugeso seen from Goribong as a white spot in the middle of the green blanket, Nogodan peak to the left in the background.

Drifting clouds are obscuring my view; I see my chances of looking far and away from the summit of Manbokdae dwindle. Reaching the summit at 1433m my fears are unfounded, the views are magnificent with waves of clouds now rolling over the ridges below. I can hear voices emerge from the trees below. Another hiker arrived just before me and we share some jeong with each other, talking together in the kind of faltering speech that occurs when one of the party is not fluent in the language.

View of the ridge that continues to Manbokdae from Goribong.

I spend some time at the summit, allowing the hikers whose voices I heard before to catch up. Which brings me into another confusing bout of receiving food and drink; grapes, nuts, chocolate bars, coffee and hot wine are evenly distributed in my direction. There is no shortage of rest areas with places to eat on the trail today, arriving at a second hyugeso at Jeongryeongchi. Where I meet the hiker from Manbokdae again, he shares a beer with me while we are resting in the park above the parking lot. From there the path is climbing steeply up towards Keungoribong at 1304m. A noteworthy detour on the climb up is a path that took me to some Buddha figures that are carved into the rock of the mountain.

Waves of clouds rolling over the Baekdudaegan.

The summit of Manbokdae.

At the summit of Keungoribong, the Baekdudaegan is leaving the main ridge of the Jirisan mountains and is embarking upon an extremely steep descent. Knees wailing. I pass two other hikers, both carrying exceedingly large backpacks, also doing the Baekdudaegan (but taking it in stages each year as most Koreans do). I emerge out of the national park far below, into the embrace of rural Korea under a clear blue sky.

Jeongryeongchi hyugeso with Keungoribong in the background.

Being out of the national park where places to stay for the night where lying right on the trail, I now have to find a place to stay. Walking through the small village of Gogiri, a little unsure of where to find a place, I end up asking for minbak at the first house I come to that looks like a restaurant. Spot on. I get a room in the second floor of the building. But before I could take a shower or anything, a group of people eating and drinking at the restaurant is inviting me over. Soju flowing.

Buddha figures carved into the mountain beneath Keungoribong.

Sanshingak at Gogiri, these are small shrines devoted to the mountain-spirits.

Gogiri is a quiet and nice little village, a good place for resting after walking. I eat a good dinner at the restaurant, then spending the rest of the evening resting at the minbak.

The minbak I stayed at in Gogiri, I slept in a room on the second floor.

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