Dobongsan Hike, Bukhansan National Park Seoul - Getting back down (carefully)

Okay, part two...

Having reached the top, it was time to continue our journey and get down from this peak which wasn't going to be necessarily easy.





It was on the next part of our travels that we finally discovered why there had been so many gloves for sale at the base of the mountain...

We had no idea that these ropes would be our guide for at least another hour as, faced with a choice, we took the shorter, (and we NOW realise), much more difficult path across a ridge between peaks.
This gave us many more spectacular views and a huge sense of achievement that we'd all do it again if we had the choice. For me, this was definitely the highlight of the hike.






Lowering yourself down and through tiny spaces took a great deal of strength and we all got a good workout during this section!







Unfortunately though, it wasn't all about going down as the path led us back up again which proved even harder. (As i said earlier, gloves would have been nice.)






Of course it seems obvious now but, should you come across a sign like this one on your hikes, the red line path will be something similar to what we had just been through!


From here on in, everything seemed a breeze. Water supplies were getting low, so we were glad when we came across a spring where we could refill bottles and wipe away some sweat. Although we were all very hot, dirty and tired, spirits were high and we were still enjoying the experience.




This little waterfall provided some more welcome relief, proving that the simple things in life are often the best ...







The whole journey took us nearly 7 hours but was definitely worth every drop of sweat.

Dobongsan Hike, Bukhansan National Park Seoul - The Journey up...

Here's the mountain we're about to climb (although we don't really know that at this point - just thought it looked lovely!) Thought we should get some idea of where we're going.




The first part of the hike took us along a little stream which is popular as a picnic spot.



We came across a few of these "wishing stone piles" where apparently you make a wish as you add a stone to the pile.



Yes, its still all fun and games as we stroll along taking in the beautiful sights and getting back to nature...

A quick check of the map to see we're on track...
No idea what it says but there were a few boulders with various engravings on them.



Things are getting a little steeper now...



At this point we decided that we must be pretty much at the top and that we should stop, have some lunch and watch the "real" rock climbers in action.




During lunch, Hugh went on an exploration and found a temple a little bit further above us which had some lovely views so we all took the stairs up to check it out. The vending machine was a bit of fun!





With food in our belly, we continued on, certain that we were on the ridge part of our journey and would soon be heading down again but unfortunately, this was not the case.



Another rest stop as we all caught our breath and enjoyed the scenery...









We were a little horrified to see the Korean's drinking Soju up here during their rest stop!

Meanwhile, back to the map as this is becoming a lot bigger than we had expected...



Guess its still uphill from here...





At least its all paying off and although we're tired, the views are starting to get really good now.






Finally, a last little climb up with the assistance of a rope and we were, at 708m, on top of the world (well it felt like that anyway)!








Obligatory Hugh Pose!