Weather: Slightly overcast, but nice.
Never once did I wake up to the sound of rain on the tent, I took that as a good sign. And although we could see clouds lying seemingly dormant above our heads when we wake up, hope lay in the clear sky at the end of the valley. It is an early morning and breakfast for us. Today there is no mercy, we will hike or not, but our little gamble yesterday seems to have paid off. However, we now have to walk both day four and five in one. I am not worried though, in terms of distance, we have not walked very long each day so far.
Morning views from our campsite, there is light in the horizon.
Finally we leave our campsite for the last two nights behind and follow our local guides on a narrow and barely visible path. We aim for a pass between Beondaebong and Seonosan. Above us, the clouds has thinned out to become veils across the sky. I think the whole group is happy to be on the way again, as we all eagerly walks over the rolling meadows before the pass. The ascent is similar to the one up towards Ganbaeksan, but shorter and not as steep. And, of course, we now have visibility.
Young Korean students on a revolutionary march towards Ganbaeksan secret camp.
From the open pass between the two mountains, we can look down at the closed valley of our campsite. The secret camp hospital is still visible. Behind the ridge above the secret camp is the peak of Soyeonjibong rising up. The secret camps in this area is used for domestic tourism by high school students from all over North Korea, doing a revolutionary march between the various camps. On the pass, we encounter such a group. It is quite amusing, as they appear surprised to see us. As we smile and greet them, with Roger throwing in some Korean sentences, they all smiles and waves back at us.
The Baekdu Daegan ridge from Beondaebong.
Paektusan seen from Beondaebong.
With the sounds of the receding high school students, we set forth towards Beondaebong. At first climbing up over a round crest through sparse trees and vegetation. Mostly small pine trees, but we also pass through a short cluster of birch trees. Now it is definitely clear that we made the right decision yesterday to wait. As we gain elevation, the northern high plateau is revealing itself to us with Paektusan looming behind.
View from the top of Beondaebong. Paektusan at the back. The flat top of Seonosan below, and below that again to the right is the closed valley where our campsite was.
Jo is as usually the first of us up ahead. Unfortunately for one of the guides, who then has to keep up. The rest of us seems more content with taking our time and enjoying the surroundings. Beondaebong appear mostly like a round, bald and grassy peak. Actually, most of the nearby mountains here looks like tall, undulating grassy hills. The views from the top are great, with no obscuring clouds. From here on the Baekdu Daegan will continue on its course south through both North and South Korea, crossing over Ganbaeksan on the way. From here we can actually continue hiking on the ridge and arrive at Paektusan secret camp, a far more scenic alternative than the road we are to take, but we did not get the permissions to do so. Looking down from the peak, we can see the trace of the Amrok river that we will follow instead, with China on the other side.
The group at Beondaebong, me, Jo, Sinead and Paula.
Our guides, Mr. Choi and Mr. Hwang, taking a rest at Beondaebong. Remnants of a tree can be seen at the bottom of the picture.
There are also traces of the volcano eruption here. Erosion has started to uncover old trees, or rather the remains of them, broken tree stubbles standing up from the ground. I was wondering about these as we now appear to be above the treeline. Walking down from Beondaebong, I can see two other people walking down from another part of the ridge. One of them is doing a flip-flop, so my guess is that they are students or maybe young military.
View from the ascent of Seonosan, the closed valley where we camped below and at the back, Soyeonjibong peak.
The approach to Seonosan is far steeper than the impression of it is, as the top looks relatively flat when viewed from Beondaebong (Seonosan at 1985m is lower than Beondaebong). The top of Seonosan is a flat, grassy land of shrubs and sparse vegetation. I had hoped that we hiked over to what appears as a peak at the back of the mountain, with Paektusan at the back, but we are turning away from that direction. Instead, we arrive at a better viewpoint. This section of the mountain overlooks the border river of Amrok.
Looking back towards Beondaebong and the pass below from Seonosan, Sinead, Paula and Roger on the way up.
The crest of Seonosan that we got to walk over to. China can be seen behind.
Maybe not to the best liking of the guides, Jo, Sinead and I get to go on our own over to a crest that has a large open area with no trees beneath it. On the way, we wade through tall grass. There are trees here, but they stand separated from each other, giving it a ghostly feeling, only the end of the branches looks to have any leaves. Beneath us, the Amrok river is more or less making a gash in the landscape, the river seems to be burying itself down into the ground. Next to the river, we can see the old sealed gravel track that we will walk on later. A camp near the Seonosan secret camp is visible, with parts of the secret camp just in view. It is also clear from our viewpoint, that this side of Seonosan has a lot more rock formations and cliffs than we believed it to have.
View from Seonosan. From here we can see the Amrok river that forms the border between North Korea and China. A camp used by Koreans when visiting the secret camps here, and a brief view of Seonosan secret camp below.
The descent from the pass down towards Seonosan secret camp is on a steep and muddy path through the trees. If we had gone hiking yesterday, this path would be really slippery and treacherous and caution would be needed. Again is Jo in front of us, eager to go. To fast, it appear at one point, so two of the guides are starting to run down to keep him from going too far away. Leaving me alone on the track. This forest has a native feeling about it. We come down to a clearing with rolling grass, with the campsite we saw from Seonosan visible through the trees. This is one of the camps the young students stay at when they are on their revolutionary marches.
Seonosan secret camp, the building is used to preserve the tent that was in use when the secret camp was operational.
Seonosan secret camp is one of the smaller camps in the area, nestled beneath the cliffs of Seonosan. What takes most of our attention though, is the bright red motorcycle parked outside the army hut nearby. Made in North Korea. This secret camp was built in September 1936 and served as an intermediary camp for the Koreans coming from Manchuria and Korea to join the partisans. They would come here first, before they would be dispatched to another secret camp.
Seonosan seen from below, from this viewpoint the mountain appear to have more cliffs and rocky spurs than I originally thought.
From the position of our campsite this morning, Beondaebong and Seonosan looked shy and quite inconspicuous. However, that side does not do them any justice at all. Leaving Seonosan secret camp, this side of the mountain reveals rocky outcrops with cliffs and boulders. Another large group of North Koreans passes us by, older and more serious looking. Upon joining the road we meet up with the rest of the staff, having lunch before we set off on the walk on the road ahead of us.
Our female guide showing us a doorknob made of deer at the Gomsan secret camp. Due to the heavy cold here in the winters, doorknobs are made of deer so not to be freezing to use.
Buses passes us by while we are walking, loaded with tired people. It is easy going, but being on a gravel track, less interesting. We stop by another secret camp, as usual named after the mountain it it located next to, Gomsan, which means Bear Mountain. Later on the walk, we should see traces of bears, but no live ones though. There was remnants of a fence sculptured like bears. And next to a water source there was a sculpture of a bear with a cub.
Amrok river with the characteristical Chongun rocks. Seonosan at the back.
Most of the time is the Amrok river hidden from our sight by trees, we can hear it and sometimes catch glimpses of it, but nothing more. After a while we arrive at a viewpoint, an observatory deck with an overview of the river. They have not been very busy keeping the view unobstructed, trees are growing around it that partly keeps us from getting a full view. The way the river has burrowed down in the sediments in this valley is quite interesting though, creating sharp pillars standing in broken columns next to each other alongside the river. These rocks are known as Chongun rocks.
A sculpture of a bear with a cub next to a watersource.
Remains of a fence with bear sculptures on the old road we are walking on.
The road goes on, but eventually we reach our campsite for the night, which is also the last campsite on our hike. We are as before joined by the female guide from the secret camps that we visited, which is nice. Contrary to what might be believed, the Koreans we meet are welcoming and smiling. We are camping near a camp of sort, judging by the sounds we can hear coming from the woods.
Walking on a remote road in North Korea.
It is a nice evening again, but it does not pass by without a curious incident. Setting up a campsite like ours also requires a permit, and we are actually not camping at the original planned campsite. That was changed to this place as we had a longer day today, the original campsite was a little way further. I can say that I start to think a bit when two soldiers on patrol comes into our camp in the evening and asks about us. It looks clear that they have not been informed of our presence. The matter is however solved without any problem.
Roadside smokers. Mr. Choi, Mr. Hwang and Mr. Shepherd.
I am sincerely happy about the decision to wait one day, the climb up to Beondaebong and Seonosan was definitely worth it. On the other hand, it was definitely a twofold day. With the first part of the day a great hike on the Baekdu Daegan, and the second part a less interesting walk on a road. Maybe walking on the road in the bad weather of yesterday would have made it more interesting. We did, however, keep up a good mood and spirit when walking on the road. In all, a great day.
Evening at our campsite.
<- Ganbaeksan secret campSamjiyon ->
That Shepherd cunt sneaking durries up north again, aye?
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