So the plan went like this: wake up early, climb Halla-san via the Seongpanak Trail, reach the summit, then go down via the Gwaneumsa Trail. In my head, everything would go like clockwork, and we’d have climbed this esteemed mountain of Jeju and beheld the crater lake, or the Baengnokdam. Alas, it was not meant to be… not when Mother Nature herself decided to cry buckets of tears that day.
I am picking up my blog posts on my trip to South Korea – Jeju-do, in particular – with this two-parter on my hiking adventure to Halla-san, or Mt. Halla.
Jeju’s Halla-san
Halla-san, Hallasan, Mt. Halla… these all refer to one and the same thing: the highest mountain in Jeju AND in South Korea, tall and proud at 1,950 meters or close to 6,400 feet above sea level.
Jeju is basically a volcanic island, which goes without saying that its loftiest land form – Halla-san – is a volcano. Granted, it is dormant, with the last recorded eruption to be in the year 1007.
The whole area was declared by the government as the “Hallasan National Park“, and it was designated by the UNESCO as a “World Heritage Site”.
It also happens to be the most famous hiking destination in the island, with five designated hiking courses or trails that hikers can choose from. And all five courses can be taken in a day hike. In fact, only daytime hikes are allowed, so no overnight camping or night hiking allowed.
Out of these hiking courses, only two trails lead to the summit: the longer Seongpanak Trail in the east and the steeper and more challenging Gwaneumsa Trail in the north.
The Plan…
…and that was what we wanted to take. Hike up to the summit for 4 hours and 30 minutes through the Seongpanak Trail and go down the Gwaneumsa Trail for 5 hours.
A couple of days prior, when we were in Udo Island, well, it rained. You can read all about that here and here.) The next day, the weather was fine enough, although as we were driving from place to place, the skies seemed foreboding.
When we mentioned to our guide/driver Mr. Bruce about our plan for the next day, he immediately expressed his misgivings that the weather would allow for a summit climb. So he suggested instead that, in case the weather and the authorities won’t allow a hike up the summit via Seongpanak Trail, what we could do is go up via Yeongsil Trail instead and go down Eorimok Trail.
I didn’t take him seriously. I refused to. I was definitely set and hopeful on going all the way up to the summit.
The next day, we woke up early and took a cab to the Seongpanak Trailhead. Halfway through the ride, we spotted droplets from the sky.
(Me: *cue silent screaming* …NNNNNOOOOOOOOO…..!)
Just… look at that. LOOK.
It’s 7:00AM…
…and by the time we arrived at the Seongpanak Rest Area, it was a heavy downpour, and we could only look on helplessly from inside the coffeeshop as we nursed a breakfast of kimbap and tea served by the ladies.
There were other hikers who arrived after us, and we all waited until the rain let up. After about half an hour, the rain did stop, and we made the attempt, but the park staff at the trailhead would not let us, saying the trail is closed, not even to the other, obviously more experienced hikers with us.
My heart was breaking. It’s not like we can go back the next day, because that’s our flight to Seoul. This other Australian guy and a French couple were also disappointed, but at least they still had, like, a couple of days in Jeju,
So Rog and I talked about it. What should we do? If we don’t go hiking, we have nothing planned, really. And we were all set for this for the day. So we decided to go with what Mr. Bruce suggested.
We took the bus, returned downtown, then took the ride that will take us to the trail of Yeongsil Trail.
At 9:00AM…
…we arrived at the Yeongsil Rest Area.
Yes, it was still raining, but just a strong drizzle, compared to the torrential downpour an hour earlier.
We bought some packed lunch at the Rest Area store, as well as a couple of raincoats. It seems to be the norm for a hike like this, since the other hikers who were there at the same time as us also donned them.
By the way, there are no fees collected when you enter the trails to Hallasan. And you don’t have to pay for a guide, because you don’t need one, really. Basically the trail is laid out and all you have to do is follow it.
Besides, the popularity of these hiking courses means that they won’t be empty of other hikers. You can just follow the other hikers if you feel like you will get lost. But trust me, you WON’T get lost. If you do, that’s because of plain stupidity on your part.
One assurance you can get is the sight of signs along the trail, with English translations. Of course, these signs will only be useful if you actually pay attention to them. 🙂
That precaution about wearing headphones if you want to listen to music while hiking, though. It does piss me when some hikers I’ve met in some trails here in the Philippines bring their bluetooth speakers and blast their music out loud. Should be a no-no.
Yeongsil Trail
The 9.6-km Seongpanak Trail is undoubtedly the most popular because (1) it leads to the summit and (2) the trail is a gentle slope all throughout, which makes it the friendliest for beginners, despite being the longest. Gwaneumsa Trail is 8.7 km long, but it is steep and the most challenging.
Meanwhile, Yeongsil Trail is the shortest trail, at 5.8 km. But it’s one of the more scenic ones, giving you a great view of the mountain sides, particularly the crater wall of Hallasan. That’s why it’s favored as a hiking course during autumn, when everything is bright reds, oranges and browns.
I kinda had a feeling that we won’t be seeing any of those views, but hey, it’s not like we hike only for the sights, do we?
You’d pretty much find all sorts of hikers in these trails, and I say that also based on my experience climbing Bukhansan or Mt. Bukhan is Seoul. (You can read about that here and here.)
There are solo hikers. There are groups of friends, families, even couples on a hiking date. Isn’t that cute, though.
Of course, we had to join the dress code.
The rain was intermittent, which meant we repeatedly had to take off our raincoats and put them on as needed.
You can track your progress through the hiking course easily because at key points, there are these signs that act as markers, telling your where you are, how far you’ve come and how far you still have to go.
As much as I like hiking on unpaved trails, since it gives a better feeling of being in and with nature, I cannot help but appreciate how South Korea made their hiking trails and courses feet-friendly, so that even the elderly can have a go at hiking.
Wood and stone are primarily used to make the trails easier to walk on, and what struck me was how they were installed in such a way that they seem to meld into the natural terrain. Instead of creating a trail, the makers or builders set it up respecting the true nature of the original trail, not disturbing it and instead making it seem like it’s natural for it to be there, like it all made sense, you know?
As you go up, there are points with these panels indicating what you’re supposed to be looking at in the view. The thing is, the fog was soooo thick so you can’t really see anything out there.
Like, at this point, you are supposed to see the Yeongsilgiam (Rocks).
Remember what I mentioned before about the 500 generals? It’s in the post on the Jeju Stone Park. It’s about how the 500 sons partake of a soup, not knowing their mother accidentally fell inside. Upon discovery of what they’ve done, the sons, in their anguish, retreated to Mt. Halla, where they all turned to rocks.
This is the reason that the Yeongsil rocks are also referred to as the Obaengnahan or the ‘500 generals’.
Along the way, you cannot help but meet other hikers. Interestingly enough, the other hikers were also going up through the trail, instead of going down and the other way. And most of those who continued on up (some of the younger couples turned back when they probably realized that the wind is stronger further up) were already in their middle ages to maybe even in their 60s.
Women who are clearly in their 50s and 60s hiking up mountains. That’s a sight I can’t see where I’m from.
And they’re very friendly, too. Many of them even asked (in Korean, with my limited understanding) where we’re from, and they sound even more amazed when we say “Philippines”. Haha!
We had to make do with the paintings of what we couldn’t see. Like this one, on the other side is the Yeongsilgiam Cliff and Obaengnahan Rock Pillars. Supposedly, the rock pillars would look like they are soaring to the skies.
This was designated by the government as Scenic Spot No. 94.
It does get steeper as you go on, and you can feel that as the stairs also become steeper.
I definitely see one more advantage to the Park authorities building the stairs for the trail. The natural flora of the place is largely undisturbed, and human feet won’t be able to damage all that lush greenery.
Of course, as you go up, the wind becomes much stronger as well.
Rog and her Little Blue Riding Hood momentOne kilometer away from the Shelter, which marks the end of Yeongsil Trail, is Witsejogeunoreum.
It was a long open stretch, which means that there is no shelter if the wind decides to whip around you mercilessly.
At that time, I found the place so serene, despite the wind and drizzle. Without seeing it, I can tell that that it’s such a great sight if the weather is much fairer.
At 11:00 AM…
…. we finally arrived at the end of the trail, where the Witseoreum Shelter is located.
This is where all the hikers converge, since it has an enclosed space, and even well-equipped rest rooms or toilets.
Witseoreum is where the Yeongsil and Eorimok Trails meet, by the way, so those who take the Eorimok Trail to go up the mountain will also end here, and start their descent via Yeongsil Trail.
It took us much faster, because the estimate was 2 and a half hours. If the weather was nice, we’d probably have spent more time taking photos, and it would have taken us around 3 hours to finish the trail.
We went inside the Shelter and took out the humble lunch we bought from the Rest Area. We weren’t particularly hungry yet since the kimbap breakfast we had at the Seongpanak Rest Area was very filling, but we figured we should eat it so we won’t have to bring it back down again…
…also we had no idea when our next meal would be.
I am amazed at how many others still hiked the trail despite the weather being bad. Some of them also took to this trail when they weren’t allowed at the Seongpanak Trail. 🙂
We stayed here for thirty minutes or so before we decided to start our descent. In my head, I was thinking, “Someday, soon, I will be back, and go up to the summit via Seongpanak. Definitely.”
(To be continued in the next post. See ya then!)
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