It was the morning after our night run in the foothills of Bukhansan. After approximately 4 hours of sleep, it was time to run again! Kent and I were doing a back-to-back set on the Seoul Trail. And this time, we were running in the forest below Suraksan on Seoul Trail section 1.
Seoul Trail section 1 begins at Dobongsan station. Trekkers pass through a city park and then over a highway before getting back into more mountainous terrain. I was eager to get back on the trails, but definitely sleepy from the previous night’s adventures!
It took me a while to warm up, literally and figuratively. It was a cold morning, even after the sun rose. I needed all my warmest layers, plus a buff over my face to stay snug. As we climbed above the city, I was extra grateful for the extra protection!
As we looked back at the city below, it appeared to be coated in a yellowish mist. Smog. Not the nicest day for a run, perhaps! I’d like to say we avoid the worst air days, but sometimes haze happens. In this case, we’d checked the weather but not the air quality and found ourselves out in gritty air.
Although we didn’t have great views of the city, we did have great views of the mountain! Our trail was rolling and runnable, and several trails heading up Suraksan crisscrossed our path. There were hikers out and about, and a few mountain dogs too!
There were also several observation decks to the side of the trail, and one particularly scenic area where we crossed a rockfall! Running side-by-side, Kent and I reminisced about how, last year, our idea of recovering from the challenging Korea50k race was to climb Suraksan the very next day! Determined to take it easy, we power-climbed the rockiest ridge to the summit!
All too soon, it was time to leave Suraksan behind again. We ran down into the city – and through Dangogae subway station! Our destination was the next little red booth at the bottom of Bulamsan. Like it’s neighbor, this mountain’s rocky top dominated the skyline. We were incredibly curious about the top…
…but actually, it was time to stop. We’d promised coach a short recovery run, and our 90 minutes were just about up. After we collected our stamps, we ran back down to the subway station. We would have to save the other half of Seoul Trail section 1 for another weekend of adventures!
Know and Go! Seoul Trail Section 1
Start Seoul Trail section 1 at either Dobongsan station (dark blue line 1 or dark green line 7 – exit 1) in the north or Hwarangdae station (brown line 6 – exit 4) slightly south. Note that section 1 also runs literally through Dangogae station (light blue line 4) near the midpoint of the trail.
This section of the Seoul Trail is just 14.3 kilometers long. It’s marked hard, perhaps because it skirts Suraksan and Bulamsan mountains (with an optional high pass) – but we didn’t think it was difficult.
There are three stamp booths on this section: (from north to south) Dobongsan station (Seoul Changpowon), Royal Azalea Hill (just past Dangogae) and Hwarangdae station).
Click to keep reading about our Seoul Trail adventures, or head back to the Seoul Trail main page. Or – climb Suraksan!