Sokcho Diary

Daechun-bong 3.9.06

This Sunday I did one of the hardest physical things that I have ever done. Matthew, Karen, Kirsty, Helen, and I decided to head up to the peak of Daechun-bong, one of the highest mountains on the peninsula.

Daechon-bong rises up in the middle of the Taebek range that parallels the east coast of Korea. The mountain itself is not that high as far as mountains go, only 1780 meters, that is about 5200 feet for you non-metric people. But it rises steeply to an initial, false, first peak and then it is a twelve hundred meter trek up to the true peak.

We had to start off early so I met Helen and Kirsty downstairs around 6:30 a.m. because we knew that it would take at least four hours to summit and around three to return to the base.

I knew that it would be an interesting day as we were waiting at the bus stop and were accosted by two very loaded Koreans desperately seeking ninety cents so that they could purchase another bottle of soju, the local fire water, a vial concoction made of rice or potatoes. After a little push and shove the bus mercifully came and we left them angry and bitter at the stop, still looking for that last bottle.

Matthew and Karen met us a little farther on, at the entrance to the park, and we began to get primed up for what we knew would be a horrendous climb.

After a quick stop at the largest statue of Buddha in Korea so that we could pray for a safe hike, we set off up the trail.

The first part was fairly easy, a low steady walk along a pretty well defined trail. We made good time passing many groups of people who had climbed the mountain the previous day and spent the night at the shelter at the top. Strange how we met a lot of people going down but we were one of only a few groups that were going up, that should have given me a little warning about how hard the climb would be.

The trailhead was fairly well defined, a nice wide path that went through a forest along a boulder-strewn river that came down in a series of pools and waterfalls. We stopped a few times to just hang out and absorb the scenery that was all around us. There were chipmunks, black squirrels, and all sorts of birds among the towering mountain pines. The more we headed up the more the terrain changed to an alpine environment. We left the bamboo gradually behind and moved up into a rock strewn environment that got progressively more rugged as the trail thinned from a nice even bath to a combination of metal stairs, twisting bridges, and huge boulders that we had to scramble over.

Our first view of the mountain was when we got to the top of the first ridge after going up about three hundred meters. It was a bright, sunny day about seventy-five degrees and the mountain rose out of a clear blue sky. I was filled with dread as I got a quick view of the steepness of the trail ahead.

After crossing a ridgeline we reached the last rest stop before the summit climb. After filling our water bottles directly from the stream at the foot of the path we started up a four hundred step metal staircase. It was there that the leg cramps started. My thighs rippled from the starvation of oxygen in my body and I crumpled, literally screaming, at the top of the stairs. I knew that I could not quit and massaged my legs as the rest of my crew went ahead.

After a few minutes I was able to get up and start climbing the steepest rock fall that I had ever seen. It was about a fifteen-degree pitch with only a vaguely defined trial bordered by a few ropes. I struggled and struggled, walking ten steps, stopping for a break then doing another ten steps. I knew that I just had to make it to the top, and after an hour and a half I finally reached the false summit where Matthew was waiting, the others having gone up ahead.

After resting for about ten minutes I was able to get moving the last sixteen hundred meters up along another ridgeline towards the peak. I moved slower and slower but the top was finally in view. I had made it above the cloud line.

Below us stretched what seemed like all of Korea. To the east we could see Sokcho and the sea, to the west stretched lower mountains and a few temples down in the valleys. To the southeast, well there we could not really see anything because there was a huge white cloud bank below us.

Its been two days since the hike, my legs still ache, my calves feel like Jell-O and I can barely make it up my own stairs but good what a rush.