View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
mikekim
Joined: 11 Aug 2006
|
Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 7:49 pm Post subject: Gurye: anyone every been to Jirisan mountain |
|
|
I was wondering if I could sneak in a quick tour during the Chuseok break. Is it a hard climb? How long does it take? |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
IncognitoHFX

Joined: 06 May 2007 Location: Yeongtong, Suwon
|
Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 8:27 pm Post subject: Re: Gurye: anyone every been to Jirisan mountain |
|
|
mikekim wrote: |
I was wondering if I could sneak in a quick tour during the Chuseok break. Is it a hard climb? How long does it take? |
Great idea.
It can take anywhere from 12 hours to 30, depending on your route. The quickest route supposedly takes 7 hours to the first stop, but you *should* rest up a few hours and eat. There are washrooms and cooking areas at all of the stops. After that, make your way to the highest peak, which should take you another one and a half hours.
The view will kill you; its simply breathtaking. I got a great shot of a friend of mine on the top and he literally looked like he was climbing clouds.
Anyway, I'm not sure the names of the routes I took, but what we did was take one of the shorter routes and then take a whole lot of detours to stretch it out. We left from the base camp at around 6:00am and got back down around 3:00am the next day. You can do it A LOT quicker than that if you take the straight path, but in either case, you will need to pack the following in case you come down after dark (Jirisan is a very dangerous mountain and people die on it every year):
*A head-mounted flashlight/helmet (you can buy both at Lotte Mart) **this is essential.
* About enough food for a large meal, but mostly in snack form. I recommend soy nuts, raisons, a pack of ramyeon, a pot and a home made carosene burner made out of the bottom of pop cans (I can send you instructions if you want--the store bought burners are too heavy).
* One bottle of carosene.
* Bring 4L of water if you don't want to drink mountain water, bring 2L if you don't mind drinking mountain water (refill station).
* A water proof, well-constructed sleeping bag. Something you roll out under brush and be comfortable in, even if its raining. Just in case you decide to spend the night.
...and, three pairs of socks.
As for how challenging it is... it really varies. If its raining and night time, its very freaking challenging. We had humidity and sun going up, and rain and darkness going down. If its moderate and you manage to get to the top and back before dark, then you won't find it too bad.
The only indefinite *bad* part is when the mountain starts getting steep, probably the last hour and a half of the way up just before the rest area. The journey from the rest area to the peak is delightful though, no complaints there.
If you want a picture of map, I can send it to you. It will show you all of the routes. I will highlight the good peak as well. Just let me know. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Smee

Joined: 24 Dec 2004 Location: Jeollanam-do
|
Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 9:05 pm Post subject: |
|
|
That's probably the most informative post I've seen here on Jirisan, Incognito. Thanks for that.
I just wanted to add that there are trails that take about an hour, and others that take as little as an afternoon. You don't go to the top, obviously, but you hit some of the scenic spots. Some of the trails are profiled here, but there isn't too much detail: http://www.gurye.go.kr/eng/jiri/climbing.htm
Also heed IncognitoHFX's advice about being well-prepared.
I'd love to hike Jirisan, but I'm not a camper, and I don't know if I could make it all the way to the top. I may try some of the smaller, scenic routes, though.
Oh, and you can catch buses to Gurye from Gwangju just about any time. You can you run a search on Gurye on the Gwangju site, in Korean: http://www.usquare.co.kr/uterminal/bus_info.asp |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
maeil
Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Location: Haebangchon
|
Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 9:33 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Sounds promising... my boyfriend and I were planning on going to Seoraksan to do some camping over the holiday, but from what I've heard it can be fairly packed with people for Chuseok. We both love hiking, are equipped for camping etc, but does anyone know what the crowds would be like on Jirisan?
Thanks for the information, Incognito. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
kswords
Joined: 09 Apr 2009 Location: eugene, oregon
|
Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:35 pm Post subject: jirisan maps?? |
|
|
icognito - i know this is a really old post, but do you happen to still have any maps of jirisan?
i'm having a hard time finding anything on the internet, and i'd like to figure out my route before i leave.
thanks much in advance. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
matthewschmidt
Joined: 18 Jun 2009
|
Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 3:15 am Post subject: |
|
|
http://koreaclimbs.blogspot.com/
I went to Jirisan for Chuseok and did a 3 night, 4 day hike across the whole park. It was beautiful and absolutely amazing.
This website has a lot of info on it and some excellent English maps. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
matthewschmidt
Joined: 18 Jun 2009
|
Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 3:26 am Post subject: |
|
|
http://koreaclimbs.blogspot.com/
I went to Jirisan for Chuseok and did a 3 night, 4 day hike across the whole park. It was beautiful and absolutely amazing.
This website has a lot of info on it and some excellent English maps. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
The Goalie
Joined: 17 Nov 2009 Location: Chungcheongnamdo
|
Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 3:41 am Post subject: |
|
|
"icognito - i know this is a really old post, but do you happen to still have any maps of jirisan? i'm having a hard time finding anything on the internet, and i'd like to figure out my route before i leave."
Assuming you don't live in Seoul, you can go to any crappy little bookstore and somewhere there should be a section with lots of little maps of all (some of?) the mountains (and obscure little towns) in Korea. Jirisan is a popular destination so you shouldn't have much problem finding one. It's also nice to have with you and the crumpled, torn at the creases remnants makes a great souvenir after the fact. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
thomas pars
Joined: 29 Jan 2009
|
Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 7:17 pm Post subject: |
|
|
jrisan is ok. but moak san and naejang san are really beautiful all year round. especially so in fall. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|