Hiking Seoraksan
At the time, when I hiked this last year, it was so tough I vowed to not go back. However, here I am back at Seoraksan again. I couldn’t resist going to see the fall colors.
Saturday morning, I took the bus from Express Bus Terminal to Sokcho Bus Terminal. It was only supposed to take two hours and twenty minutes but ended up taking longer because the roads were so crowded.
The road to the mountain was lined with cars, and our taxi driver was so kind. He was advising us when we should get out of the car and walk. We ended up walking for over half an hour to the park entrance. When we finally reached it, we had three hours to hike before heading back to the bus terminal.
The trail was so beautiful, and it was nice that there weren’t a ton of people on the trail. Compared to last year, the trees weren’t as changed, but it was still so nice to visit. We walked in the valley that goes past Biseondae and continues on. Last year I came across this one area that is so picturesque but this time wasn’t able to make it due to the time constraints.
The weather went from summer weather on Friday to winter weather on Saturday. I was unsure if I would be warm enough with just my light sweatshirt but it was fine while hiking, but a different story when we finished. The valley in Seoraksan is unique because it is unlike other hikes. Whereas, most hikes you get tired from the incline, this hike through the valley was rather easy but tired out your calves and feet jumping from rock to rock. I can say that my calves were in pain from all the exercise.
I am guilty of hiking without eating a proper meal, so we stopped at one of the restaurants at the park and had soda and a potato jeon. It was delicious and a nice reward for all the exercise. After that, I hopped on the long bus ride back to Seoul (only long because the bus to the long way home).
