Hiking Korea's Tallest Peaks: #3 - Hallasan

Jeju-do, the pink island on the map

     As I'm sure you've been waiting for...the last and tallest peak of Korea, Hallasan!  Going to Jeju Island was kind of a last minute decision but since we didn't have anything else going on during our winter vacation, we booked a flight to leave on New Years Day for 4 amazing nights in Jeju-do.  Flights from Seoul's Gimpo Airport were only about $120 round trip so we figured might as well see what Jeju has to offer (not bad for booking them 3 days before we left).
     Jeju-do is a self governing province and Korea's largest island.  It's about 130km south of the mainland and was formed entirely by volcanic eruptions some time ago.  It's a very popular destination for Chinese and Korean tourists alike and believe it or not, in 2013 Jeju-do surpassed Bali, Hawaii and Okinawa as a tourist destination with about 10 million visitors!
Hallasan National Park (elevation 1,950m or 6,398ft)
     We did a lot of awesome things in Jeju before taking the trek up Hallasan.  Manjanggul Lava Tube, the Deep Diving Women, Seongsan Illchulbong (aka sunrise peak), Jeongbang Waterfall, Seogwipo Submarine tour, Jusangjeolli Cliffs, Olle Walking trails, Cheonjiyeon Falls and Love Land are some must sees on the island, but the main reason we headed south was to conquer Hallasan!

Without these, we wouldn't have
made it past the visitors center

     Like Jirisan, we woke up around 5am to catch a taxi to the Seongpanak Trail entrance which only took about 20-30 minutes from Jeju City Hall.  After an inexpensive taxi ride (only 12,000won), we made it to the visitors center where we made the best decision of the trip, buying some spikes for the climb up the mountain.  With our headlamps, spikes and layers of clothes ready to go, we started our trek up to Dongneung Peak (동능정상).
     I've grown to really enjoy hiking early in the morning and watching the sun come up.  It's peaceful, beautiful and just gives you so much appreciation for being outdoors.  Because it was the beginning of January, the trail was completely covered with snow.  Honestly, I think it made the hike easier because it was a gradual incline for the majority of the hike, instead of climbing hundreds of stairs.  Eventually we made it to SaraOreum.  Unfortunately, the lake was frozen over but it was kind of cool being able to walk across a lake on top of a volcano.

     After the short detour to see SaraOreum and the sunrise, it was only another 2 hours to make it to the peak.  A perk of climbing Hallasan in the winter was that we were the only ones on the trail.  Sure, we passed a person or two every now and again, but we pretty much had the trail to ourselves!  As expected, by the time we got to the top, it was frigid to say the least.  I've never seen trees covered with so much snow and ice before and Hallasan had enough of them for a lifetime's worth of memories.  Unlike Seoraksan and Jirisan, when we reached this peak, it was deserted.  Aside from two or three other hikers, Sarah and I were the only ones up there.  It was refreshing to say the least, but cold enough to keep our time at Dongneung Peak limited.  Another treat atop Hallasan is Baengnokdam Lake Summit (백록담), also known as crater lake.  Like SaraOreum, it was frozen over too, but was majestic to say the least.

 

      We decided to take a different trail down the mountain (Gwaneumsa) since this trail was rumored to have some of the best views of the mountain, but be a bit more difficult.  Both rumors proved to be true and we were grateful to have taken the Seongpanak trail up the mountain, not Gwaneumsa.  The entire trip was only about 9.6 and we finished the hike in about 8 hours round trip.  One little issue at the Gwaneumsa trail entrance, was that transportation back to Jeju City was limited to taxis.  They were all charging 15,000won but after waiting for about 15minutes, we talked a taxi down to 12,000won.

To give you an idea of the amount of snow,
here is the summit marker without snow... 

Snow covered fern trees

Views from the Gwaneumsa Trail

Helpful trail markers up and down the mountain

Like Seoraksan and Jirisan, Hallasan has these shelters on the mountain.  Some
sell food and others just provide a place to rest before continuing on your hike

In case you brought your sled along on the hike