Distance: 16.5km (602.4km), time spent: 10:01 (301:41).
Altitude (start / end / highest): 600m / 700m / 1055m.
Weather: Thick fog early in the morning, then wonderful.
The fog lies glued to the building like an impenetrable wall early in the morning, it is almost as if you can feel resistance if you touch it. The cause of me being awake so early is that I have some cooking to do. From Baekbokryeong there are no sources of water on the trail until Daegwanryeong, over 40 kilometres away. Therefore, my strategy is not to spend any of the water I need on the food underway, so here I am standing preparing the food beforehand (noodles with ham).
This was the sight that met me when I looked out on the landscape around Baekbokryeong Swimteo in the morning, dark and thick fog.
Breakfast is also served early at the restaurant, at 7 o'clock. The workers are present when I come down, quieter today than yesterday evening. I buy myself a bottle of soju, where I pour the contents over into my own small bottle and then ask the hostess to give the remaining soju to the group of workers. No return by car up to the pass, I am obliged to use my own legs. The fog is flickering and is on the retreat, blue sky is pushing through the layer of clouds. Fortunately it is going faster up than I had expected, it felt longer down yesterday than it was.
Back up at Baekbokryeong the fog was bored and left with its clouds.
The small and rustic restaurant is now closed; a look through a window gives the impression that it is a cosy little place. I continue walking on the trail under the blue sky, dragging on my heavy backpack, luckily unknowing about how a marvellous day it should turn out to be. The trail has been altered a little from the description at the beginning, something that probably has been done due to the huge quarry just on the other side of the ridge. The path is going straight across one of the entrances to the quarry, each time a truck is standing and waiting to continue a short melodic speech is played. Continuing further into the forest, people will hear me humming the melody.
After a couple of hours walking in a pleasant forest, there was a brutal climb up to Neungseon Samgeori, where I was rewarded with this view.
The quarry, which is run by Lafarge Halla, characterizes the view almost half the way to Sapdangryeong. Such a large wound in the nature is hard to hide. The trail itself are mostly going through a pleasant forest. An alternative route takes off from the path and are passing not far from Baekbokryeong Swimteo; it beats me that I could have walked down to the place by that route yesterday. I continue walking on the main trail. Through the trees, I can hear voices from other hikers. I take a break at Sanggyeryeong before the path makes the meaning of the word steep come into its own up towards Neungseon Samgeori (where the alternative route meets the trail again). Hidden in the vicinity is the Seodaegul cave, which is containing numerous stalactite forms (or speleothems) and lifeforms inside its 500 meters long cavity, closed for public for the sake of security.
The East Sea. Baekdudaegan is now moving alongside the east coast of South-Korea with a view to the sea.
One of the countless boards you pass on the trail. In the background, you can see the quarry that is being run by Lafarge Halla.
For my toil, I am rewarded with the first real view of the day, after greedily taking in the landscape I continue walking towards Gobyeongijae. From here there is a path going down to another cave, Okgye Seokhoedonggul. I consider walking down to the cave, but it stays with the idea, I end up just eating lunch and watching the path going down. The first pack of premade noodles is opened, it tastes all right, but I do prefer the hot variant. My lunch gets heavily prolonged when a group of hikers arrives at the pass. It is no small amount of food they are carrying with them, hence it does not take long before I am sitting with numerous dishes on my plate in one hand and soju in the other. We talk kimchi, noodles, rice, fried marinated meat, and more.
My backpack resting on the signpost at Gobyeongijae.
If there is one word describing this day, it is Seokbyeongsan. Earlier on the trail I had grown an affection for summits like Baegunsan, Hyeongjebong and Daeyasan, to mention some. Seokbyeongsan (1055m) is elegantly sharing the throne with them on the list. The peak also goes by the name of Irwolmun, which means the gate to the sun and the moon, something that symbolically can be transferred to the two pinnacles that forms the summit. On the tallest of the pinnacles there is a small ceremonial tablet, of which you get the feeling that has been shrinked by the magnificent sight from the mountain. Where the view from Hyeongjebong was a stormy open ocean, the view from here is a calm waving ocean with some large wave crests in between.
View from Seokbyeongsan.
I spend a long time on the summit. When the group from Gobyeongijae arrives, I can hear them from afar long before, I sit out on a small outcrop and enjoys the quiet undulating landscape. There are several tall and thin cliffs you can climb up on top of around the pinnacles to the sun and moon. The gate itself is a large hole in one of the sides of the mountain, from the other side of the hole it goes steeply down. The group are teeming around, apparently satisfied with what they are seeing as well. The time however does not stand still, the sun is continuing its journey on the vault above, and if I am to reach down to Sapdangryeong before it gets too dark, I am forced to twist myself loose from the grip of the mountain.
Sitting on a small outcrop at the peak of Seokbyeongsan.
Down it goes through the forest in counter light; I pass large holes in the grounds that may be bomb craters from the Korean War. Craters that now are growing over again, time heals all wounds. I come down to Sapdangryeong after the sun has burned itself down behind the mountains in the west. In the small light left behind, I explore the pass. The most noticeable at the place is a now closed small tented restaurant, I had a very tiny hope that it was open, the entrance to a sanshingak is also closed, which lies locked in behind a tall fence. I have to make do with the open and smelly toilets here.
Down to Sapdangryeong, the path goes through bamboo shoots.
The spot behind the menhir at the place is a nice place for my tent. It has gotten dark when the Gobyeongijae-group arrives, small lights in the dark, I say farewell and then it is quiet. It is dark, it is a little bit cold, and it is harsh. Even so, I am enjoying myself, sitting on a rock in the nolight, quiet. With some of my clothes hanging out to dry, I know that they will not be dry tomorrow, but they hang there anyway. A new pack of premade noodles is being opened. I sacrifice some water for a cup of hot kopi and then I crawl into the tent, to some relaxation with mentioned kopi, book and soju. My thoughts are still back on the summit of Seokbyeongsan. Satisfied, but I do wish that I did not have to save too much of the water, I feel that I am a little bit thirsty.
Sapdangryeong. My tent pitched behind a menhir at the pass.
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