Baekdu Daegan // day 30 // Buseoksa - Doraegijae

Baekdudaegan day 30.
Distance: 17.5km (467.9km), time spent: 8:38 (239:57).
Altitude (start / end / highest): 434m / 770m / 1244m.
Weather: Overcast, then sunny.

I wake up to the national day of Korea, which is celebrated by the sky with a grey and dull weather in the morning. A stately breakfast today, consisting of potato cakes that I bought yesterday, hot noodles, apple, cider and apple juice. Before I walk, I yet again becomes lavished with apples and apple juice by the owner of the minbak, and the backpack weighs enough from before. On the way up towards Buseoksa, the temple guard wants to give me an apple as well. I donate some of the apples to the temple, by giving them to a woman sitting inside Muryangsujeon. I am then leaving the majestic temple behind me and follows the path up to the closed fence, from where I set forth on the steep return to Galgotsan and Baekdudaegan.

Passing by a stone pagoda, I leave the majestic Buseoksa behind and set forth on the steep path back to the Baekdudaegan.

After an hour, I am tired back into the spiritual embrace of Baekdudaegan. From Galgotsan, there is a short walk down to Neujeunmogijae, a pass that marks the end of my time among the azaleas of Sobaeksan. Another steep climb follows, this time on a good path up to the summit of Seondalsan. At the summit (1236m), there is no views to talk about, the world only consisting of grey layers of clouds. On the way down, however, the sky is opening up and the clouds are breaking apart. A nice forest is emerging out into the open, where the colourful arrays of the autumn are making its entry. In the horizon, there is a remarkable sight, the water of the Murya-dam.

View from the Baekdudaegan in the direction of the Murya-dam.

When I arrive at Baekdalryeong, the birch pass, the sky is blue and sunny. I have been looking forward to this moment, to step out of the forest to something you have wanted to see for a long time. The moment is not disappointing. Bakdalryeong is a great pass situated in a somewhat desolate area, even though a mountain road is crossing the pass. There is a lovely stele here, a nice sanshingak, a wooded pavilion that you can sit inside and eat in, and the usual information boards from Korea Forest Service. In addition to that, there is a chattering information post here, which at regular intervals are telling the world around it something in a language I do not understand. It goes off at the same time I open the door to the sanshingak, which makes me believe I have set off an alarm of some kind.

A tree in splendour, spreading its branches majestically over the path.

Mr. Cho Geon Hyung and his wife arrives before I am going to eat, so we sit down inside the pavilion and eat lunch together. He works in finance and his wife is a high school teacher. We walk together from Bakdalryeong, I onwards and they back towards Doraegijae from where they had hiked. It feels good to finally be walking under a clear and sunny sky again, invigorating. Alongside the trail there are small wooden signs displaying which plant or tree you are looking at.

Bakdalryeong. A wonderful pass on a secluded mountain road.

Mr. Cho Geon Hyung and his wife inside the pavilion at Bakdalryeong.

We come to the summit of Okdolbong (1244m), where the highest point itself lies quite hidden behind the trees. There are however, some nice rocks nearby that I can climb on top of to look out over the landscape below. The couple has now made up their mind to call a place where I can stay for the night, after I mentioned that I had not attempted to call. My thoughts were more focused on getting to Doraegijae and then see if I could get down from there to a place, and if not stay at the pass. There is very little signal coverage here, so they are spending some time in the attempt, even though I tell them that they does not have to. They are a pleasant company to walk with.

Fluttering ribbons celebrates the summit of Okdolbong.

View from one of the rocks at Okdolbong.

It is quite strange meeting a white picket fence in the middle of the mountains, there is something peculiar about it. Inside the fence, there is an over 550-year-old cheoljjuknamu, a royal azalea tree. It is a gnarled and twisted tree that twirls its branches to all sides. The white picket fence reminds me vaguely of home. Downwards again, the trail passed through a tunnel of flowers, though there are little blossoming now.

Cheoljjuknamu, an over 550-year-old royal azalea tree. Fenced in by a white picket fence.

Doraegijae is a rather anonymous pass, with nothing more exciting about it than a nature bridge crossing the road. From the pass, the couple are driving me down to the village of Seobyeokri, where we after a small search locates a minbak. The owner of the minbak will drive me back up to Doraegijae again early tomorrow. I say goodbye to Mr. Cho Geon Hyung and his wife that are returning back to their home. While I am taking a shower, someone is knocking on the door and a young boy is giving me a bag. Inside the bag, there is a large bottle with energy drink (Sunny Blast) and a huge pack of chocolate biscuits, together with a note with 'Please eat deliciously. Have a good time. Cho Geon Hyung.' written on it. The hospitality of the Korean people are never ceasing.

One of several small information plaques in wood displaying which flowers and trees you see along the path.

It is quite overwhelming all the food and help I get along the trail. Which is very nice, but it is also something that at times makes me feel a little bit like a naive tourist. I do wonder if everything would have gone as good as it has, if I had not received it. Then again, this is probably one of the problems I have to count on when I do not know the language of the country I am spending so much time in.

Seobyeokri looks like a village that has seen its better days; there are a number of tired buildings and houses here. Still, most of the people I see here are looking happy. The owner of the minbak are also running a small shop and a restaurant. And even though they are rolling and smiling with their eyes when I order meat, I get what I want. I feel quite thin at this point. I walk to the minbak satisfied and very sated. There are almost no clouds on the sky now, above me lights from the constellations on this side of the earth are shining down upon me.

Seobyeokri.

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