Jirisan Ridge Hike - walking with bears

Jirisan is the start point of the Baekdu Daegan, which is a 1700km more or less continuous ridge that forms the backbone of the entire Korean peninsula. The Jirisan section of Baekdu Daegan is about 40 kilometers. I started on the west side of Jirisan National Park in Gurye, sleeping in a small guest house. I had planned to sleep rough but I soon learned Jirisan is also home to about 60 Asiatic black bears.

I had to sleep in a mountain shelter. It is not allowed to just turn up at a shelter, so you need to make a reservation - even weeks in advance in peak season. I wanted to start my hike the next day, so I was lucky I could make a reservation for Yeonhacheon Shelter at the Jirisan National Park Southern Office (511-1, Hwangjeon-ri, Masan-myeon, Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-Do). Apparently June is considered off-peak season.

Day 1: Gurye - Nogodan shelter - Yeonhacheon shelter

The hike from Gurye starts with a 7 kilometer and 3 hour steep walk up to Nogodan, the first shelter along the ridge hike. I left at sunrise and soon walked past Hwaeom-sa, the head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, one of the Seon (Zen in Western thought) sects dating back to the Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392).

The distance between Nogodan and Yeonhacheon takes about 5 hours. The path is walkable but there is a hardly an horizontal stretch. The path is mostly hidden under the canopy of the trees. Clear views are not common and my views are often blocked as clouds drift in. The temperatures are very nice though and I can hike the whole ridge just dressed in a T-shirt.

The park authorities warn for bears by big warning signs every kilometer or so. In the unlikely event of encountering a bear you have to curl up and lie still on the ground. That is: if you haven't been able to scare the bear off, which is your first line of defence.

I arrive at Yeonhacheon Shelter in the late afternoon without seeing any bears. There is no food at the shelters. You have to bring your own supplies for the duration of the hike. Instant noodles are cheap, weigh next to nothing and provide plenty of energy. I also brought some precooked Ottogi rice and canned spicy tuna.

Day 2: Yeonhacheon shelter - Seseok shelter - Uisin village

This trip I was not able to climb the highest peak Cheonwangbong (1915 meters). I wake up in Yeonhacheon with the sunrise. I have no more reservations for a shelter so I need to make it back to my guesthouse in Gurye in the evening. I decided to continue along the Baekdu Daegan and walk far as possible.

The first stop is Byeoksoryeong Shelter. The hike between Byeoksoryeon and the next shelter, Seseok, is simply beautiful. This part of the hike is black labeled as "expert level" and at times you are really hiking on the ridge. When I arrive at Seseok Shelter I have run out of time. I am still on the Jirisan ridge and have to make it down to a village. I opted for Cheonghakdong but somewhere along the scramble down, the signs for this village disappeared and after many hours and many rocks I ended up in Uisin.

Uisin is a tiny village and there were no buses so I ended up taking the longest taxi ride in my life - 50 kilometers back to my starting point.

While I didn't hike the full Jirisan ridge, I still had a feeling of personal accomplishment. In the early springtime of 2018 I discovered why I had been feeling so tired after working days. A blood test unveiled a dust mite allergy and since I work in a very dusty environment my physical condition had been severely compromised. This was my first longish mountain hike in quite a while (18 hours in two days) and there was no trace of tiredness, just very sore muscles due to lack of training.