This is the story of two very different hikes.

They take place just one day apart and in two separate national parks.

However, like a broken record I will repeat myself once again, they were both 100% worth the time, effort and energy to hike and each brought to me unique experiences and feelings that have now turned to precious memories of my Korean trip.

My first destination was Taebaeksan National Park. I am not quite sure why, but I really like the name of this park, the sound of it appeals to me for some reason.

The weather when I arrived to hike however was less appealing.

This looked to be only the second time in my travels that I might have to don my waterproofs, and possibly some more layers I as climb; for the weather here in Korea has (finally) taken a slightly cooler turn.

The beginning of my hike was pretty uninspiring to say the least. What I was presented with provided me with very clear flashbacks of Seobaeksan – remember that horrible, steep, monotonous, never-ending climb a few days previous?

Looks a bit of the same right?

So much so, I really did quite a bit of mental work along with the physical as I climbed, trying to soothe the negative thoughts creeping in. But then, something happened…

I looked up from the floor and suddenly noticed…

Whaaaat?

Yup, it was just the tiniest of amount of flakes I spotted, but something was definitely afoot today.

The higher I climbed, the more delighted I became.

I was wandering into a winter wonderland!

When the flakes really started proper, there was only one thing I could do (besides start sending video messages to all and sundry in England at 2am because I couldn’t contain my excitement); I whipped out my phone and put on the only song in Korea that is appropriate for this moment – EXO’s ‘First Snow’.

You can roll your eyes all you want people, but let me enlighten you here on Korean culture – the first snow of the season is a big thing in this country, the tale goes that if you see the first snow with the person you like, it blossoms into true and lasting love. Also, there are stories about lies being forgiven if it snows – even to the king (back in Joseon times), and making wishes that come true when you see the first snow. And the only song that goes fully with this moment of course belongs to the band I support – despite the song being released back in 2013, it charts EVERY SINGLE YEAR when the snow begins to fall in Korea.

Standing on a woodland path, halfway up a mountain in Korea, watching snowflakes gently but plentifully fall from the sky, and listening to D.O.’s dulcet tones; I laugh in pure delight at such an unexpected and miraculous moment.

On I walk, not another soul in sight, listening to the snow rustling as it lands on the fallen leaves, and eventually through the fog I spy something ahead.

It seems I have stumbled upon a temple, complete with Buddha and his snow-draped shoulders. The weather is getting decidedly more bitter, and it is clear that the summit I am heading for will have absolutely no view to speak of, but nothing is dampening my happiness right now.

I come across a chequerboard pathway leading upward, which I carefully navigate, doing my best to avoid slipping or falling. My walk takes on a mystical feel with the ever increasing fog, and the occasional appearance of objects slowly taking shape in the mist.

This monument house contains the epitaph for King Danjong, who was dethroned and exiled, and thought to now be the mountain deity of Taebaeksan Mountain; with sacrificial rites held for him every year by locals on 3^rd September. What I found particularly interesting about this pavilion is that the epitaph on the stone inside was written by one of the monks at Woljeongsa Temple in Odaesan Mountain – the temple I had visited and liked so much on my hike through the national park there. I appreciated having some context and a link to the information I read, along with the feeling that I haven’t just been aimlessly ambling across the Korean landscape, but have obviously been learning and absorbing things along the way.

A surprise awaited me at the peak (as if I haven’t been surprised enough by today already). I knew that I was aiming for Cheonwangdan Alter at the summit, but in reality that meant very little to me. I had no idea what that may be or look like. On my travels I have come across various shrines and the like on my mountain treks, but these can be anything from a small pile of stones to a massive plinth – you just never know what you’re going to discover.

Today’s was certainly an impressive shock.

According to the sign nearby, there are three stone alters on the mountain, the one I have located being the largest of them. The alters are a way of providing offerings to heaven, but I am pretty sure this isn’t talking about heaven as in a Christian belief, but more of a heaven where other deities may exist. For instance, the monument at the top of Cheonwangdan Alter reads ‘Hanbaegeom’ which apparently is the honorific name for Dangun (founder of Gojoseon) of which there is a native religion of Korea that worships Dangun (or did, not clear on the current state of that…).          

What I did find though at the alter was a sign clearly stating that if you make an offering, you need to take it back with you and not leave it on the mountaintop. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. As I said previously, I’ll take any help I can get, and who knows, maybe Dangun has been the one keeping an eye on me today to keep me safe while hiking. So I offer up the only packaged food item I am carrying today, which happens to be my 자유시간 (‘Free Time’) chocolate bar. I lay it on the alter, say a few nice words and ask for a little help, before retrieving it and eating it (I’m taking my religious practice advice from Small Gods by Terry Pratchett here, where offerings used to be consumed and the deity would enjoy them through you). 

Right, all that over with, it’s time for the peak bagging and general scoping of the view.

This’ll be quick then…here’s the view, complete with helpful sign explaining what I am viewing.

And here are my two peaks, yes two! It just so happens they are sitting about 5 minutes apart from each other, so I may as well see them both.

And now it’s time to get the heck off this mountain. I’ve been on the top about half an hour now, and the chill is definitely seeping into my bones. I opt to dash down a side trail that will lead me back to the temple I passed earlier – not knowing that it was a bit more of a ramble than the path I took up.

Still, it delivered. And in fact delivered me to this monk who was sitting on the damp and cold ground practicing his devotions. Not gonna lie, that is some hard core Buddhism going on right there. That takes a lot of mental fortitude.

Step by step, I leave my magical winter wonderland behind and descend back down into the realm of normal weather. You simply wouldn’t have a clue what was going on up there unless you hiked in to it. It’s like I’ve just been given my own secret world. And that makes me all warm and glowy and ecstatic inside.

So enchanted I feel, I decide to stop on the way down on a rest platform I saw on the way up to decompress. I shrug off my pack and throw myself flat back onto the platform and simply lay there letting the tiredness of my hike seep away while staring at the treetops.    

It’s moments like these that I want to remember, to hold tight to, so that when I return home and the mundane creeps back into my life and starts to overwhelm me, I can recall how I feel right now and know that life can be good, near perfect, and that gives me the strength to keep going.

Juwangsan National Park the following day could not be more different.

Jubong Peak at 720m is our destination today and the first point of interest is that this gets to be a circular hike. Unlike most of the walks I have done so far which are mostly straight up and back along the same trail, today there are a couple paths that converge on the mountain, meaning you can choose a variety of courses to take. This is always a good thing in my opinion.

Also, the weather today is stunningly beautiful; lovely sunshine that keeps you warm enough in the slightly cooler air, so I can wear my thermal top and t-shirt only as I hike and then occasionally bask in the sunspots like a lizard. The clear weather gives me a lovely view of the hiking to come.  

There are also people here, quite a lot of them too (despite the photos I take with no-one in them!). I’m surprised. Usually I choose to hike during the weekdays (it’s Wednesday today) to keep away from the main crowds at the weekend, but this park seems pretty popular no matter the day.

Today the path I have chosen to go with gets the hard work out of the way first. Another thing I am learning about myself (in addition to my acceptance of not minding stairs) is that I would much rather get the hard graft done and dusted right away. If there is a climb that requires me to scale rock and march up 1000 stairs, I’d rather do it immediately when I arrive, rather than do a leisurely nice stroll for an hour and then realise I have to put in some effort, because by then I can’t be bothered.

So this is my first look at my trail today, with the emerging fall colours to keep me engrossed along the way.  

Aided by the stairs, I find myself rewarded with some decent views quite quickly.

It’s also just worth pointing out that you are going to start to see a lot of photos of me with either a ‘V’ or some type of ‘heart’ pose (usually finger hearts). If you need to know why, it’s because this is seemingly expected and the thing to do here in South Korea. If I find someone to take a photo for me (which isn’t too hard to do I have found), and I stand there and simply face the camera and smile (like I normally would), I get a glancing look over the top of the camera, a wave of the hand, and a ‘change pose!’ or ‘move!’ generally shouted over to me until I flick a sign of some sort.

When in Rome…

Juwangsan has absolutely stunning rock features in the park, it makes me think a little of Seoraksan. The rocks here are what I like to consider ‘soft’, all rounded and smooth to look at. I find them much more comforting and friendly to hike through than rough and jagged peaks.

I reach Jubong Peak in a fairly short time, and with the small cluster of people at the top it isn’t hard to find someone to take my shot, and of course return the favour.

Today, my photo skills for a hiking group is rewarded with this…

This, as far as my experience and taste ability can tell, is a red bean-filled rice cake (tteok – the stuff tteokbokki is made from). It is basically chewy goodness combined with a sweet paste. I love it. This is home-made, it comes out of a nice lady’s lunch box and handed to me, with great thanks given for the gift. I of course have to sit there surreptitiously with it in hand to wait to see how to eat it (the leaf confused me). It appears the leaf is just ‘packaging’ to make sure they don’t stick together in the box and I watched the others discard theirs before eating. Right, got it. Committed to memory for future use.

On I go and the further I hike, the prettier it becomes, turning mostly into a forest walk which I appreciate. The colour of the leaves continues to astound me. At home I think we get a really pretty bright green spring foliage, but it certainly doesn’t beat the colours I am seeing here in the autumn in Korea – this is tremendous – nature’s artwork for sure.

As I slowly descend I find myself delivered into the heart of a valley, complete with a range of water features, and a completely new perspective of the sheer size and scale of the rocky cliffs surrounding me. It’s breath-taking and awe-inspiring and I just stand for a little to take it all in.  

At this point it’s pretty much a cake walk back to the park entrance, but of course I can’t leave without the customary visit to a temple, this time though, a small cave temple. Have I told you recently how much I love hiking and finding these things along the way? See, this is what we need at home. I want to be out on a nice walk through the countryside and suddenly discover a cave dedicated to the Knights Templar or something.

I get waylaid on my journey to my car, lured in by the smells of cooking, I stop for a bite to eat.

Now, I’m going to be honest here, this was actually the first meal here I haven’t enjoyed. With the exception of the jjigae (soup) which tasted fine, the banchan that were served (except the fruit which I guess was some type of stewed apple and delicious) were all really astringently bitter. The greens I could only take a bite or two of and the rest I had to leave. So that goes to show me that I have obviously done well so far in picking places to eat, as this is the first time I haven’t liked the way food has been cooked.

And just a note on the apple thing…the area that Juwangsan National Park sits within is Cheongsong UNESCO Global Geopark. This area is famous for its apples, like, they are crazy over growing apples here.

I passed a lady selling some near my car and bought a few – I can confirm they are huge and very tasty. We got into a bit of confusion over how many I wanted to take and in the end she popped about 4 in a bag and waved me off, trying to give me them for free. It was very sweet, but I did insist on paying for them because she was so lovely and obviously it’s her livelihood, and so she added another 3 in the bag as I left.

Have I mentioned recently how much I like Korea…?