Myeongseongsan (명성산) was just the beginning.
For this particular mountain mission adventure, we’d planned to visit two mountain mission mountains: Myeongseongsan and Baegunsan (Pocheon). I had an idea that we could connect the two with a series of seldom-trodden paths, over two additional mountains and three high passes.
‘Peaks adventure’ was our coach’s description for this September workout. What a perfect description this was! We’d were been granted a mountain pass: a workout that was aligned with our mountain mission. After scouring blogs and maps to string together a route, we decided it was a go.
So we booked a rental car and on Sunday morning, hit the road headed to the very edge of Gangwondo. It was early – around 3:30 am to be precise – and a thick fog mad our drive was a little too exciting. We narrowly missed a deer that suddenly appeared in the middle of the highway!
Then there was the challenge of parking at the remote trailhead under Myeongseongsan. We cycled through several ideas before simply driving to it and parking just off the road. This was an adventure in itself, as the road was very narrow and pretty gnarly! Encouraged by the sight of another small car parked nearby, we stopped.
But then we encountered tape strung across the entrance…and very little in the way of signage. Was this mountain…closed? We did a bit of an exploratory hike on an overgrown trail before we finally got our vests and committed to Myeongseongsan.
Although our views driving in had been rocky and spectacular, hiking, we were quickly enclosed in dark, cool forest. But happily, almost as soon as the dirt road turned into a trail, signs and maps began to appear. They were old, and some had been modified by hand, but we were just happy they were there!
We went steadily upward, mostly at a hike because Myeongseongsan turned out to be quite a climb. We’d been worried about getting chilly, but climbing quickly warmed us. We had occasional peeks through the foliage at thethe shapely peaks we were approaching! There were clusters of hiking ribbons as well, keeping us on the right track.
Despite the steep slopes, we reached Myeongseongsan’s ridge faster than we expected, and then it was just 300m further on to reach the peak. We were up top after just 50 minutes!
Although we’d seen his car at the bottom, we were still surprised to see someone on the summit, especially after such a quiet journey through the forest. We were especially surprised because this hiker was sitting on a tiny stool and operating a radio! A friendly fellow, he was delighted when we asked him some questions about what he was doing. It was so neat!
A break in the foliage at the summit offered us spectacular views of folded emerald valleys far below. We could even see where we’d parked! I added a stone to a little wish tower, and we took some pictures. There were three charming little benches set up in a clearing just below the peak that we wished we could linger at.
Instead, we left our new friend at the summit of Myeongseongsan to verify the existence of another trail. We were in luck! Slightly further along the ridge, a trail pointed us towards Yakjaryeong, a mountain pass. There were also people camping in the area: most of them still sleeping.
With wide open vistas and the sun rising over the distant ridges we intended to climb later that morning, it was gorgeous!
Running down Myeongseongsan was really fun, and sort of reminded me of our recent race in the Badlands of the US. Unusually for Korea, the trail featured long stretches of clay. Though, as often as not, these were covered by very dense foliage! We got poked and scratched, and we relished the wilderness. I even startled a snake!
After a kilometer or so of open views, we plunged down into the forest again, skirting the ridge. The trail was thin, but obvious, with occasional flags and even signboards, so we kept going. However, there were tons of spiderwebs and it was early, so we knew we were alone – and heading into more and more remote territory.
Or were we? Out of the blue, there was a crashing in the bushes ahead. Materializing out of nowhere, about a hundred army men marched past, holding spades and shovels and one even hoisting a weed whacker! They were just as surprised to see us as we were to see them, so we exchanged greetings and took turns standing to the side. Not something you see every day, even in Korea!
After we/they passed, everything was all quiet once more. There was just one junction we were unsure about. There, we decided to follow the white thread the army guys had unspooled to mark their way – and it was indeed the right way for us as well. We reached the pass that featured a very rough, very remote road.
Stairs wound up the mountain slopes on the other side, so we were able to venture still further. After all, ‘who dares, wins’ – our boldness in seeking trails we weren’t sure existed was paying off! Although we soon found a a trail map, it felt like we were venturing further and further away from well-trodden territory.
Up here in the wilds of Ganwondo, on the slopes of Myeongseongsan, the markings were mostly from the army. We passed several bunkers and trenches. Myeongseongsan was reminding me of Giryongsan in its remoteness and stark beauty.
After a little while, we popped out into an open area. From here, we had a terrific view of Myeongseongsan behind us, bathed in golden early morning light. We could also see down to a little lake to the north, and perhaps even into North Korea! While stopped for a short scenery break, Kent narrowly avoided dropping his sticks down a mysteriously deep and cylindrical hole.
Ahead, we could see the section of trail that had been marked as a dotted (questionable) line on our map. The trail passed over more of that strange, bald mountain ridge – here even more stark without the coverage of wildly grown-in bushes. We could see that the steep slopes of Gakheulsan also featured some ropes – and we could not wait to get to them!
But we didn’t hurry away from our viewpoint. We could hear some hikers, but not see them – perhaps in the forest below? It seemed strange: we were at once so far away from everything in the furthest northern reaches of Gangwondo, but there were familiar noises and signs of civilization.
When we moved on, we did a short but tough climb up the steep side slope to arrive on Gakheulsan. The 838 meter summit provided more terrific views. Looking back, we could see our starting point on Myeongseongsan. Ahead, we could see an enticing, runnable ridge that continued on past the peak (although it was marked off-limits) as well as where we were headed: the shining dome of an observatory atop Gwangdeoksan.
We had Gakheulsan, gloriously, to ourselves. I had one of those feelings of being in the perfect place at the perfect time. Although I knew we had to hurry on to make good time to Baegunsan, I really did not want to go.
Stay tuned for the rest of this adventure! We continued our wild run onward to Baegunsan (Pocheon) – another Baegunsan and another of our 100 summits!
KNOW AND GO! MYEONGSEONGSAN
TRANSPORTATION
Of the many mountains we’ve explored in South Korea, this one might be the most difficult to access. The closest city? Pocheon. You can take (infrequent) public buses to Yeongbuk-myeon, but that’s still a long ways from the trailhead.
Joining a hiking club and/or taking a tour could help you massively. Tour buses will drop hikers off at one trailhead and pick them up later at another. Plus, you’ll have access to great snacks, rice wine and general hilarity.
If that’s not your style, grab a set of wheels. But note that renting will basically just enable you to do a strict out-and-back to the peak. To really explore this area, you might need a combination of a rental car, public buses, Korean language skills and a sense of adventure (maybe also a tent). As you may recall, we were nervous about driving on the remote access road to the trailhead (although we ended up being totally fine). The bigger issue – as you’ll see when we complete our two-mountain mission at Baegunsan, is what to do next. We needed a LOT of help, a bus and taxi ride and still did a long walk back to the car.
Don’t let this put you off. Really. This is some excellent, off the beaten path adventuring. It’s worth it.
HIKE & RUN
We were really unsure about how our adventure would unfold. Despite spending a not insignificant amount of time researching the area, we didn’t know if the trails would be open or closed or even exist in the first place.
(We took the blue trail, followed by the yellow trail.)
However, upon arriving at Myeongseongsan, we were delighted to find the trails well-trodden and an abundance of signage, including trail maps! We speculated that the lack of digital information on this mountain could be linked to the area’s low population density, military presence – or both.
STAY & EAT
On the map, there appears to be a ton of small-scale accommodations clustered around Sanjeong Lake. Despite that, it didn’t seem like a bustling place. Maybe it was the early morning or time of year we visited, but there were few cars and no restaurants. There were a couple of convenience stores in Sanjeong-ri to the south.
This seems like an excellent place to stay and relax in pure peace and quiet, on the boundary between Gyeonggido and Gangwondo. It’s certainly the closest to Myeongseongsan. But, you’ll have to discover if for yourself – as Kent and I just visited on a day trip!
On the other side of the mountain, on highway 47, there’s a delightful cluster of shops, restaurants and even a few places to stay (I think?). But I’ll cover that in more detail next time – as we complete this epic journey from Myeongseongsan to Baegunsan!
OTHER NOTES
Myeongseongsan is on the Korea Forest Service 100 noted mountains list, available here. (They say it’s in Gyeonggido, which is true in most regards but not all. All trailheads start in Gyeonggido and the bulk of the mountain is in Gyeonggi – but not the summit! The ridge follows the provincial boundary).
Kent and I climbed Myeongseongsan in September 2018. We ran from Myeongseongsan to Baegunsan (Pocheon).
Myeongseongsan is 923 meters tall.
Remember: a hike on Myeongseongsan will require further research and good planning!
If you seek more mountains, head back to the 120 summits main page!