Choongbook Danyang Sobaeksan Hike in Korea- Sobaeksan Campsite Course

1.     Date and Time : Oct 1, 2018 09:30~16:00 (7 and half an hours including one hour break).

2.     Location : Danyang District at Choongbook Province in Korea.

3. Distance and Course : About 14.66km. Course is to start at Sobaeksan Campsite Parking Lot => Dalmagi Road => Birosa Temple Junction => Dalmagigol Junction => Birobong Summit (1,439m altitude) => Back to at Sobaeksan Campsite Parking Lot . please refer to . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tBvkfaaSpo&t=136s

4.     Access :

There is several ways to connect “Seoul Express Bus Terminal (”connecting at subway lines No. 3, 7 and 9) where you should get on Intercity bus line bound for Chooncheon Express Bus Terminal, non-stop and taking one hour and 30 minutes. When you get off at the Chooncheon Express Bus Terminal, you should walk to Chooncheon Intercity Bus Terminal taking about 4 minutes for about 258m distance and get on local Bus No 50 there taking 29 minutes for 13 bus stop passing and get off at Samaksan Bus Stop and walk to Deungseon Water Fall taking 2 minutes for 107m. Please refer more details to the “Transportation from Seoul Express Bus Terminal to Deungseon Water Fall”. You could simply take reverse course on your way back home but get on local bus No 50 at other side of Kyungchoon Road. I could estimate total transportation is about 2 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 hour for the transportation. 

5.     Overall Remarks.

Sobaeksan Mountain, National Park nominated in 1987 is grouping with Gukmangbong Peak, Birobong and Yeonwhabong Peak which are covering with alpine plants like silver grass and Yew trees normally growing above 1,000m altitude. Jukgyecheon Stream is start to run at the Sobaeksan Mountain which is joining to Gukmangcheon Stram and Nakdonggang River later. There is Yew Tree complex at higher level of Birobong Summit in Sobaeksan Mountain which was registered as National Monument No 244 and also Korean Edelweiss (Somdari) complex. There are some others like well-known historical monument like Guinsa Temple, Hiebangsa Temple, Buseoksa Temple, Ondalseong Fort Castle and Sosuseowon (Lecture Hall) registered as historical Landmark No 55. There is a National Astronomical Observatory in the Mountain. Sobaeksan Mountain is raked as 12th out of 100 ranking Korea Mountain which was nominated by NPS (National Park Service)

6.     Detailed Course Information

There are several hiking course at Sobaeksan Mountain like Birosa Course, Jukryeon Course, Hiebagsa Course and so on. I choose Birosa Temple Course which looks comparably easy and fast way. As I arrived at Samga Ticket Booth, I made an inquiry to man at the booth if I could continue to drive the car to further up and got his reply I could go up further as long as I could. But I commented he could not guarantee parking area near to Birosa Temple area. I kept diving up for some minutes and found there was Sobaeksan Campsite at left and parked the car at proper area at roadside and start to ascend through easy walking road at vehicle road for about 10 minutes and found Damagigil Deck Road where 4.2km to Birobong Summit landmark. That is break and rest area where I could see Hike Course Map as shown at attached photo herein. I walked through this deck road for a quarter minutes and reached Birosa Temple Junction and just short drop Birosa Main Gate and kept the gate at Photo. I continued to walk on paved road for about 20 minutes and met Junction where I could choose either to 3.3km to Birobong  or 3.1km to Choamsa Temple. I took a Birobong at straight and walked for about 2 ~3 minutes and found road condition changing from paved road to unpaved stone road looks like stair road. I kept going up through these stone stair road for about 20 minutes and touched break area which would be somewhere middle of the Birobong Course. But I did not take a break at this place and carry on the course for about 50 minutes via 2.7km to Birobong Landmark, steep sloped stone stair road and wooden stair road and reached landmark indicating 1,000m altitude and 1.9km to the Birobong Summit where I took some break and recognized climate at the sky becoming changing to dark cloud looks like possible rain. I made some rush to my mind moving a possible fast ascending. When I stepped for 2 to 3 minutes, I realized most tree around already starting changed their color to yellow or light red or brown possibly due to elevation high. I kept walking up this beautiful road for some more than half an hour and found landmark stating as 800m to the Summit. As I continuously ascend this color changing fantastic road for about 20 minutes and found landmark only 300m to the Summit. As I walked on steep wooden stair road for 20 minutes, I finally touched Birobong Summit which I could stay there long because of too severe wild and strong wind and sometime hail and sometime rain at top; even I could not record video around the Birobong Summit. Therefore I just stepped down to wind direction where I could protect this so strong wind and recorded video around the Summit   and hurry up descend the return road through the same road which I ascended this morning and back to Sobaeksan Campsite after 3 hours descending.