Hi all,
Checklist: things I need to make posts about
-Bukhansan
-Gwanaksan
-Buddha's B-day
-Busan
-misc.
Lets start with Bukhansan.
Bukhansan is one of the taller mountains in korea and the tallest in Seoul; a majestic eruption of granite partially masked by the not so majestic pollution blanket hanging over Seoul. Its rough steep climb has been made highly accessible by a series of metal cables, railings, and the occasional bridge. It's quite popular and is easily as crowded as an average Seoul street.
One of the best things about hiking in Korea is the vendors on every mountaintop: You can typically buy ice cream, kim chi, water, and, most importantly, makoli (Korean rice wine).
Here is one of the less obnoxious videos I found of Bukhansan, although, the constant spinning is a little bit much. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K42qS4AC2Rk
you can easily see lots of pictures and videos if you search for 'Bukhansan'.
On this particular hike, the first I had done in eight months or so, I was out of shape and was good and tired by the time we made it to the top...but that was the wrong peak! So, we hiked down that mountain, and then back up the correct mountain. The fight to climb the second peak was comparable to scene in Rocky where Rocky gets the @!#% punched out of him (You pick whichever version you prefer: the mountain or me getting pulverized)! So many stairs.
