Gangwondo Pyungchang Odaesan Climb in Korea- Sangwonsa Course

1.     Date and Time : June 11, 2018 09:30~16:30 (7 hours including break one hours).

2.     Location : Pyungchang at Gangwon Province in Korea.

3. Distance and Course : About 18.79km. Course is to start at KNPS Sangwon Parking Lot => Sangwonsa => Jungdae Sajaam => Jeokmyeolbogung => Birobong Summit (1563m altitude) => Sangwangbong Peak (1491m Altitude) => Mountain Road => Back to KNPS Sangwon  Parking Lot .

4.     Access :

There is several ways to connect “Dong Seoul Bus Terminal (” by means of subway lines No. 2 at Gangbyun Station) where you should get on Intercity bus line bound for Jinbu Bus Terminal, non-stop and taking two hours. When you get off at the Jinbu Bus Terminal, you should walk to Sangwonsa Bus Stop taking about 4 minutes for 248m distance. Please take local bus No 55 and get off at Gijangam Bus Stop after 17 times bus stop passing and 39 minutes transportation. You should walk to Odaesan Sangwonsa Temple taking about 5 minutes for 357m. Please refer more details to the “Transportation from Dong Seoul Bus Terminal to Odaesan Sangwonsa”. You could simply take reverse course on your way back home. I could estimate total transportation is about three hours for one way which comes total 6 hours for round trip. But you would reduce this transportation time to 4 hours for round trip in case you use private car or rent car which you could save two hours for the transportation. 

5.     Overall Remarks.

5-1) Odaesan Mountain, 1563m altitude is located among Gangneung City, Pyungchang District and Hongcheun District in Gangwon Province in Korea which was nominated in 1975 as a Korea National Park and divided with Bukhangang territory at north area and Namhangang territory at south area. There are two well-known temples at Odaesan, the one Woljeungsa and the other Sangwonsa which you could see very unique and beautiful old fir Forest at both side of road to both temples. Local Government announced the road heading to two temples was cleared from official local transportation road No 446 and now day no longer car transportation through these fir forest road. But people could walk on this road without vehicle disturbance. There is Octagonal nine story stone pagoda at Woljeungsa Temple which is nominated as national treasure No. 48. While Dongjong (Bell) at Sangwonsa temple was nominated by the Government as Korean National Treasure No. 36, widely and well known to the people and which was built by old Jajang month in Shilla Dynasty. There was an old story as “7^th King Sejo in Joseon visited to Sangwonsa for his pray to Buddha and ruckly saved his life from ambushed assassin under gentleman’s robe. A cat intentionally holds the robe with mouth and pulled away so that Sejo could find the assassin and killed him on spot”.

5-2) Climb course from KNPS Sangwon Information Center to Birobong and Sangwangbong is generally arranged with following principally different structures.

* From KNPS Sangwon Information to Three Way Junction, one to Birobong and the other to Sangwonsa : Wide and clean paved road with flat squared stone and covered with old and tall firs at both side of road.

* From the Three Way junction to Jungdae Sajaam : Wide and clean road made with brown clay and fine gravel and lined up with old fir trees on the road 

* From Jungdae Sajaam to Jeokmyeolbogung : Thousands stairs with black stone are arranged at so steep hill and passing through oak tree forest.

* Jeokmyeolbogung to Birobong : Walking steeper uphill and passing sometime on stairs or deck road or rocky and slippery narrow path through oak and other tree forest.

* Birobong to Sangwangbong : Walking small maple tree bush on ridge road which is comparably mild sloped and easy walking road. There are many old maple trees which shows strange beautiful features.

* Sangwangbong to Mountain Road Junction : very sloped downhill through oak tree forest and sometime very slippery under misty rain today.

* Mountain Road Junction to KNPS Sangwon information Center : Easy and comfortable road but too longer distance and felt tired and tardy.                    .   

6.     Detailed Course Information

It was a bit foggy in the morning in Pyungchang area when I started to walk the road to Sangwonsa and sometime show sunshine through foggy cloud randomly curtain to Odaesan. I felt sometime there would be a possibility this foggy could be cleared at afternoon as I climb and touch down Birobong Summit. I bear this hope in my mind and headed to Sangwonsa temple through paved road with square stone as well as so cleanly well lined up with fir tree forest at both side of the road for about a quarter minutes and reached Sangwonsa main gate which was colorful trees at both side of upstairs to the main gate and continuously enter into Sangwonsa Main Temple and looked around Dong Jong (Bell) in the temple which was assigned by the government as Korea Treasure No. 36. I took a photo for the temple and the bell as you see at attached phot herein. I saw so dedicated beautiful magnolia blossoming at side of the road during the returning to the Birobong junction stating as to 3km to Birobong Summit. As I walked on this road for about a quarter minutes more, I reached to last toilet which no toilet during complete course. Any Climber must take care of each physiological Phenomenon at this toilet before their climb. The road was so far paved with stone and cement and would be here changed to concrete road. When I walked on this road for about 2 minutes, I found stone ball at left saying as Jungdae Sajaam and must climb so hard steeped black grey stairs to Jungdae Sajaam for about 20 minutes and further more to Jeokmyeolbogung for about 10 minutes. I found landmark saying as 2.2km to Birobong which was standing between Jungdae Sajaam and Jeokmyeolbogung. There was no Buddha at Jeokmyeolbogung temple since real Sarira was buried at this temple, no need Buddha statue. There were total five Jeokmyeolbogung Temples in Korea. Woljeungsa Jeokmyeolbogung is one of these five temples. Please refer more details to Jeokmyeolbogung temple Story Photo attached. As I continuously headed to Birobong, I found landmark saying as 1.5km to Birobong and kept following the arrow direction through wooden deck road and stairs covered with robber for protection from slippery and damage on wood stairs. There was somewhat smaller maple tree forest bush between Birobong and Sangwangbong and sometime unknown named wild flowers at the bush. I walked through this dense forest for about 10 minutes and found landmark stating as 1.1km to the Summit. I made really hard breathing time by time during uphill and sometime short break on the way up like so steeped rocky and slippery road and sometimes inclined wooden stairs and spent about more than half an hour and met landmark saying as 700m to the Summit. I kept climbing up the sharply inclined hill through steep narrow path and sometime sloped stairs for about 3 quarter minutes via 400m and 200m landmark respectively and finally touched down Birobong Summit-1563m altitude. I tried to take some photo at the Summit bu could not see anything because of misty rain at higher elevation above 1000 m altitude. I had to turn to Sangwangbong which was 2.3km away from Birobong and walked through so dense maple tree bush for about 40 minutes and reached 1.8km to Sangwangbong Peak. I kept walking through these kinds of so dense bush with maple trees, small oak trees and many wild grasses and plant for about 1 hour and 30 minutes via 900m and 300m landmark and touched down Sangwangbong Peak-1491m altitude. When I made downhill for about 20 minutes, I found landmark saying as 6.1km to KNPS Sangwon Information Center. I was continuously walking down slippery and sloped narrow path with mainly oak trees for about half an hour via 5.6km landmark and hardly reached junction as 4.6km to KNPS Sangwon information Center trough mountain road, wider and easy walking but longer distance. As I made somewhat fast walking for about one hour and ten minutes on this mountain road via 2.9km and 1.6km landmark, I eventually return KNPS Sangwon information Center after 7 hours hard effort.