Gyeonggi Namyangju Cheunryeongsan Climb in Korea- Cheungryeongsan and Seorisan Course

1.     Date and Time : June 15, 2018 09:00~16:00 (7 hours including break one hours).

2.     Location : Namyangju City at Gangwon Province in Korea.

3. Distance and Course : About 8.02km. Course is to start at Cheungryeongsan Parking Lot => Sooribawui => Namiebawui => Cheungryeongsan Summit (886.2m altitude) => Fur Way Junction at Jeolgogae => Seorisan Summit (832m altitude) => Seorisan Summit (832m Altitude) => Royal Azalea Colony => Back to Cheungryeongsan Parking Lot via Cheungryeongsan Forest Lodge.

4.     Access :

There is several ways to connect “Sangbong Station Dong at Gyeonui Jungang Line” where you should get on the Chooncheon Train and get off at Maseok Station taking 46 minutes for 10 times station passing. When you arrive at Maseok Station, you should walk to Maseok Station Bus Stop taking about 1 minute for 38m through Gate 1 at the Station. Please take local bus No 30-4 and get off at Cheungryeongsan Forest Lodge taking 1 hour and 3 minutes for 47 times bus stop passing. As soon as you get off, you should walk to Cheungryeongsan Forest Lodge taking 6 minutes for 549m. Please refer more details to the “Transportation from Sangbong Station to Cheungryeongsan Forest Lodge”. You could simply take reverse course on your way back home. I could estimate total transportation is about two hour and 30 minutes for one way which comes total 5 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 one hours for the transportation. 

5.     Overall Remarks.

5-1) Cheungryeongsan, 886.2m altitude is located between Namyangju City and Gapyung District which was another name as Biryeongsan. When Lee Seongge, 1^st King at Joseon Dynasty came here for hunting before he became the 1^st King and who could not get anything on his hand and questioned to chasers about the reason why. They answered “Anybody who intent to hunt at Cheungryeongsan should pray to Mountain God before the hunt. If they did not do so, they would not get anything on their hand”. Therefore King Lee came to this mountain again next day and prayed to Mountain God before the hunt and succeeded to hunt at that day..

* Climb course which could be carried out either to climb Seorisan first and secondly to Cheungryeongsan or Cheungryeongsan first and Seorisan second. If you take the former, you might need strong stamina since Cheungryeongsan course is harder. You should overcome this harder course later after somewhat tiered with Seorisan climb, even less hard climb but longer distance. While the latter is climb over harder Cheungryeongsan course under full energy charged condition at beginning. That was why I took the latter this time.

* From the Parking Lot 1 to Soori Ridge : Hardest uphill course so steeped and sometime slippery and stony road. It took 45 minutes for only 800m climb.

* From Soori Ridge Junction to Cheungryeongsan Summit : Generally less hard than beginning course climbing to the ridge junction. As shown at the photos, the road was less hard and steep than before, there were sometimes rocky obstacles on the ridge raod which I could climb over without so difficulty.

* from Cheungryeongsan Summit to Jeolgogae Junction : Easy walking course because most course was covered by wooden stairs, say about 80% of total course. This junction is the actual boundary between Cheungryeongsan and Seorisan which is situated about middle between Cheungryeongsan Summit and Seorisan Summit.

5-2) Seorisan, 832m altitude is slightly lower than Cheungryeongsan which is called as a frost mountain as mountain covered with frost longer than other similar mountain. This would be the reason why North West at Seorisan always shadowed and steeper than the other side, direction to Cheungryeongsan which make frost and ice remain longer. Someone called this was one of the reason calling the Mountain as Seori (Frost).    

* Jeolgogae Junction to Seorisan Summit : Less steep and wider road for easy Walking but sometime hard zone with rocky road. There were over than 60 years old pine nut tree are grown at left in Gapyung district.  

* Seorisan Summit to Royal Azalea Colony : So dense bush with many species at the beginning of downhill and soon changed to Royal Azalea colony looks like shape of Koreas Peninsular which is fantastic scenery at blossom season. When I passed the colony, I could not see anything else since Royal Azalea so closely grown and made tunnel almost completely separated and closed from others.

* Royal Azalea Colony to Cheungryeongsan Parking Lot 1 : Very Steeped and Sloped ridge and hill which I could not speed up down ridge or downhill because of sharp inclined and also longer distance than Cheungryeongsan Curse.     

6.     Detailed Course Information

It was a fine weather and dust level also find and good which means I could look down nice scenery around mountain top. I was a bit anxiety about possibility changing this weather to bad when touch the summit. I was tried to be hurry to start to climb as quickly as possible and tried to speed up the climb but failed because of not enough physical energy like younger people climb on the steep hill. Anyhow I tried to climb on so hard sloped hill which I had to tackle over and sent 45 minutes struggling for only 800m. As I reached the junction between steep hill and mild sloped ridge, I found landmark saying as 1.99km to the Summit and following arrow to turn left and walking on milder ridge road and sometime through climbing over rocks for 20 minutes and found Sooribawui which looks like head of eagle as you see at the photo. When I walked on this ridge road and sometime rocky road for about half an hour, I reached landmark saying as 1.35km to the Summit. I kept walking on ridge road and sometimes hard narrow path besides big rock obstacles for about 50 minutes and reached landmark junction 500m to the Summit. I was a bit to bust my energy for faster climbing to the Summit but very hard and so heavy my leg because I was tired with continuous energy consuming for 3 hours and finally touched down Cheungryeongsan Summit (886.2m altitude) through final steep wooden stairs for 20 minutes effort from previous landmark. I decided to take full break at the Summit including lunch and took photo and video for nice scenery of remotely surrounding mountains. As I started to downhill, I checked landmark stating as 2.87km to Seorisan Summit and moved down for a while and reached longer wooden stairs to almost up to Jeolgogae Junction, 1.71km to Seorisan Summit which is practically boundary between Cheungryeongsan and Seorisan. I looked up the slope at Seorisan ridge is milder than Cheungryeongsan’s which I could therefore save losing time at Cheungryeongsan Climb, delayed about 30 minutes from my original schedule. But I realized soon Colony at oviewing the slope is obviously different from actual walking and moderately changed my personal strategy to try to keep current schedule which I could to try to reduce deviation from original schedule as long as possible. I paced walking on the ridge road with existing speed for longer time walking for about 40 minutes endeavor and hardly reached Seorisan Summit (832m altitude). I left one picture for surrounding mountains at the summit and checked landmark as 350m to Royal azalea Colony and turned to head to the colony. There was very green dense bush when I few steps down on the hill which possibly maple trees, small oak trees, bush clover and so on. I was a bit nerve against so tightly and closely extended branches of trees and grasses. Anyway I passed this bush zone and entered into harder zone, royal Azalea zone which is consisting with old royal Azalea, more than 20 years old. When took a picture of this Royal Azalea at observation Point, I could barely see some Royal Azalea group looks like Korea Peninsula. If I came there again at blossom season in Spring, I felt sure Shape of Royal Azalea group should be more clearly featured like Korea Peninsula. As I pass Royal Azalea Colony, I found landmark as 1.89km to Parking Lot and continued to walk down on oak tree forest and very steep road for half an hour and reached 700m to Parking Lot. I walked on ridge road from the Seorisan Summit to this junction so far, even steep and sloped like steep hill. But I had to change to turn left at the junction and walk down extremely steeped hill to the Parking Lot, no more ridges. As I downhill so sharply sloped hill for 15 minutes, I got down to Cheungryeongsan Forest Lodge and some more walking down on easy walking paved road for about 10 minutes and finally back to Parking Lot 1.