Jirisan One Day Hike: Why It Almost Never Works
The Day Marco Decided Jirisan Was a Day Trip Marco arrived at our van at 5:40 a.m. outside Namwon Bus Terminal with trekking poles, trail runners, and the kind of quiet confidence that comes from having done the Tour du Mont Blanc. He had one day before a flight from Busan. He wanted Cheonwangbong — the summit, 1,915 metres, the highest point on the Korean mainland — and he wanted to be back at a guesthouse in Jeonju by 9 p.m. I had driven a lot of people to Jirisan. I said what I always say: 'Let me show you the map before we park the van.' He looked at the numbers. He paused. He ordered a second coffee from a convenience store and we talked for twenty minutes before he changed the plan. This post is for every Marco out there — the experienced hiker who has done serious mountains elsewhere and assumes Korea's highest peak will yield to a single day of effort. Sometimes it can. More often it cannot. Here is why. What the Numbers Actually Look Like Jirisan is not a...