Well, my first couple of experiences of the national parks here has really sealed the deal; I’m going for it, while making my way around the country I am aiming to visit all 22 parks. There. I’ve said it.

And no, not just for the stamps.

Once again something has been awakened inside of me, something I thought I had lost, and that is a pure unadulterated love of walking and climbing up massive mountains in nature.

Honestly, I thought I was slightly done with all that after I had finished the AT. In the 10 years since I finished the trail I haven’t made any effort to attempt anything harder than climbing a small hill and having a cup of tea or a pub lunch along the way. So to find that oomph again, that motivation that comes from the depths of who knows where that drives you to keep taking small steps up vertical rock faces day after day, is really quite a wonderful thing. To put it in the words of AJ “I didn’t realise you were planning on doing quite so much hiking while you were there…” Me either, buddy.

But don’t worry! I still have a host of other stuff to do along the way too, but just quite a bit of slogging up mountains as well. And with that, let’s visit two more parks together before hitting some more historic stuff.

I have headed for Jecheon. Slightly north still, but inwards into the middle of the country. I’m here as it’s a pretty central location for reaching both Seobaeksan and Woraksan National Parks. And also I get to stay in this really lovely room…

It’s basically a small self-contained apartment. It’s quiet and warm and cosy and has copious amounts of hot water for a shower (which I have learned is a very important thing for me, odd given that my shower at home is basically a bucket of water from my kettle).

Summiting Birobong is my aim for Seobaeksan National Park, it’s the highest peak in the park at 1,439.5m, so I thought, why not?

This was very different to my thoughts about an hour into this hike which were along the lines of ‘do I want to turn around and head back? Is this really fun to do?’ I will hold my hands up and admit, this is actually the first and only time I can recall that I really have questioned if I wanted to keep walking on a hike. Mostly I just complain. A lot. And rant. A lot. But deep inside I know I’m going to keep going. But not today. Let me explain why.

This was how the morning started…

Beautiful right? Nice and relaxed and pretty. I even had the gall to video Flea and show him what a nice pretty hike I was having. A lovely river, some small waterfalls, doesn’t get better than this.

And then it turned to this…

And this is where photos never do justice in hiking. So let’s try to put this picture in your mind. It looks like a simple path; no massive boulders, twists or turns, nothing out of the ordinary. But what we have here is a path that is actually at an incline of just enough that you have to lean constantly forward while you hike. If you try putting your feet flat on the floor and then lean forward until you feel a nice tight pull in the muscles up the backs of your calves – that’s what we have here. Now imagine keeping that pose while walking solidly for two hours. Sounds like it might wear on you a bit, right?

Now add to that the small rocks strewn across 100% of the path, covering the entire length and width. This means not only do you have your leaning pose, but also the fact your feet are having to be poked and prodded uncomfortably as you walk and you are constantly stumbling over shifting rocks. For two hours.

The final touch I want to add here are the leaves. Ah, the lovely beautiful autumnal leaves. That. Cover.  Everything. Yes, all of those rocks that you can’t see but only take a guess at. The possible snakes concealed or camouflaged underneath. And the amazing level of slipperiness that exists when degrading leaves and rocks come together.

By my first rest stop I was honestly ready to turn back. My legs hurt. My feet hurt. My back was even complaining a bit. And then to top it off, it wasn’t like there was even any view to be had, I was marching through solid forest.

But still, by this point I was half way there. My rationale? Well, I could walk back down and not have seen or achieved anything OR I could walk the same distance and see what all the fuss was at the top. So on I marched.

I almost cried in delight when I saw these…

Who would have thought that I would actually be happy to see stairs?! Stairs! Thank you! Anything but fucking small rocks!

With each stair I climbed, the happier I felt. And when I got to the top, well, it was all worth it…

I was greeted by an amazing ridge line with a nice boardwalk to walk along and plenty of company too! I didn’t even mind when I realised that my destination was all the way at the top of more stairs…

The sun was shining, there was a cool breeze, views of mountains, and a peak to bag! Life was feeling pretty good now.

As is fast becoming the norm, at the top I was greeted by a group of hikers, one of whom came over and offered me a chocolate bar. Gratefully and thankfully received, it was important enough to ensure I was clutching it when my summit photo was taken.

I now felt happy enough to hike back, even knowing what awaited me on the return; my knees weren’t going to be thanking me later that’s for sure. And as if to solidify my thoughts of how tough the upward march was, on my way down I walked past a group of school kids, strung out over about a mile of path in various states of exhaustion, grumpiness, and general fed-upness. They were certainly not enjoying their outward bound experience and I felt truly sorry for them. The very last group I passed (at least an hour away from summiting still) had a few members sat on the trail, clearly at the point of giving up, and their teacher kind of mingling with them. They saw me coming and I get the usual chirpy “Hello!” shouted at me, which I cheerily replied to. I then decided to up my Korean game and called to the girl sitting down “Kkeun?” (finished?) and she replied she was having a rest as it was tough (in Korean – got that fine!). So I bring out the k-drama big guns for the first time and turn to her with fists raised and say “hwaiting” (that’s like an encouragement thing here) and the group all smiled and laughed happily and said it back to me.

It’s the small things, people.

The following day I was feeling a little bushed I can tell you. I wasn’t feeling the need to chase another high peak, so I settled on what I thought was an easier trek to Jebibong Peak (721m – about half of yesterday’s height) but with AMAZING views – yes, capital letters intended.

Of course, I failed a little to factor in the full scale of the steepness of this trail…

But it was totally worth it.

This was one of those hikes that pretty much every step you took you were presented with a new and more impressive view than the last. This trail could have ended up being 6 hours of hand over fist rock climbing and I wouldn’t have cared simply due to being able to stop and gaze over the vista every couple of minutes. So impressed was I, I felt it important to send my mum texts and videos every few steps at about 3am UK time. I am sure she loved me very much for this.

My only real concern today (and indeed has now been on my mind every walk I take, cause I’m like that) are snakes. Why? Because last night someone kindly posted on my Korean hiking group a photo taken at Odaesan (where I was two days ago) of a snake affectionately known here as the Seven Step Snake, because that’s apparently all you get to take from the time it bites you until you die.

Yeah. Fab.

I would like to clarify that the chances of seeing snakes is low, they do tend to scarper quite easily when they sense people coming, and that out of the 16 species of snake in this country, only 4 of them are venomous. Also, I always keep my eyes glued to the ground when walking.

And like today, I am hyper aware because I am hiking over big rocks – nice flat ones in full sunshine that would be great for snakes to bask on.

Final note – I didn’t see any all day. See how easy that was?

Stairs and rock climb complete, I get to take in a little woodland ridge before getting to the peak, along which I meet another lady solo hiking in the opposites direction. Traversing a narrow part of the path, she kindly steps aside for me, but I hear her exclaim slightly as I walk past…”Paji!” I look down (because that means trousers) to see what’s wrong with mine (by the way, they are totally frayed to all get out on my legs which is what I thought she was going to tell me). She’s looking near my feet, so I am all confused as to what the apparent issue is, until she points from my ankles to hers.

Can you spot the difference here?

Yup, it seems she thinks I should be hiking with my trousers tucked into my socks like her. So adamant on this point she is, that she continues to stand and stare at me expectantly until I reluctantly bend down and tuck my trousers in. Satisfied she gives a nod, as do I, and off she hikes. Note – as soon as she was out of sight, I untucked them, I can’t stand the feeling of that trousers in socks! Kind of like when people tell me I should wear hiking boots with high ankle support – to me they really feel uncomfortable and painful to walk in.

Not long after I hit the peak and are aided in my photo op by a kind couple.

A few minutes rest, water and a snack, and back I go. This time not fussed about the return journey because I know those views are waiting for me again.

Hike completed and it is time to find my stamp. It turns out where I started today, parked at a port and with no ranger post save a little closed hut, is about 35 minutes from the nearest National Park Office. No worries, you know why? Because now I get to drive through the heart of Woraksan, just another way of experiencing the park at large. And it seems I really have hit this park just at the right time for the autumn foliage – reds and oranges abound!

It’s a peaceful drive and a successful mission. But now it is time to say goodbye to the parks for a couple of days and set off for some more historic adventures, for we are headed to Andong Hahoe Folk Village!