Get that boost and enjoy the view

Bukhansan mountain my baby, you have got it going on. In order to fulfill declarations made and plans forged years ago, my brother and I had one day left to complete our plan. Seoraksan mountain off in the East coast got written off due to the magnetic nature of Hongdae neighbourhood and the soothing Jiljimbang experience. However, that was of no negative consequence, as our four hour hike to the summit of Bukhan-dong (?) at just under 600m of elevation was plenty spectacular.

Our nighttime activities on the eve before delayed our start to the point of being pretty much the only ones going up as all the giggling Korean senior citizens in their full-blown mountaineering gear laughed at the funny foreigners beggining to climb a mountain in jeans and t-shirts at 3pm. The infrastructure of concrete paths with ramps and steps, roads, and rest stations with vending machines made the first half of the climb pretty easy. After missing several trail options due to our negligence of the written Korean language, we eventually decided to venture off the beaten track on a much more fitting mountaineering trail after feeling that we were more circling the peak than ascending it.

This section of the climb was much closer to what I envisioned as mountain climbing, although again the infrastructure in the form of well placed knotted ropes and grooved stones at key points still made the climb relatively easy. Sweating it out in long-pants was the real difficulty. The first plateau of the mountain was surreal, as we finally crested through the treeline and made it to the view, it became apparent just how high we had climbed. After a drink of water and a few posed photos, we headed up to the summit, which was made easier by the installation of a steel handrail on a very steep incline (I don't think I could have made that climb without proper gear had it not been there). Here my fear of heights was put to the test, as there was a 3-4 meter high boulder at the crest, where after a boost from Tom and clambering around in fear, I managed to become the tallest point on the mountain, with a 360 degree view. Looking down at a metropolitan area of upwards of 25 million people (albeit viewing the backside) from a height is pretty special. A few shameless selfies later, I descended to the regular summit, where I tried not to brag about the view to Tom, who could not make it up on his first attempt. After convincing him that I was truly strong enough to boost him and the trust in that, he managed to take in that wonderful sunset view.

Due to our late start, I began to worry about us getting caught in the dark, so we began our descent (and incidentally ascent up another peak). After negotiating some more foreign signs we made it down to base camp in no time. The pictures (forthcoming) don't really quite capture the feeling of being up so high, so I highly recommend climbing a South Korean mountain if you've never climbed one before. The infrastructure and multiple paths make it not such a difficult task, and the reward is a view to remember.