Bukhansan: Baegundae > Wonhyobong 백운대 원효봉

I took a trail from Uidong on the east of Bukhansan and walked west to the main peak of Baegundae, then continued on along the valley towards the entrance. On the way I decided to check out Wonhyobong, a peak west of Baegundae and along the valley. Wonhyobong turned out to be a very pleasant surprise and is another favourite Bukhansan hike.

I left Bukhansan Ui Station (북한산 으이역) Gate 2 on the Uisinseol Line and headed west along a road and river before getting to the entrance to the park. The trail was nice and offered some early views of the peaks ahead.

After getting some elevation, I tried to follow the trail Naver Maps was showing me, but it seemed to disappear! Stubbornly I persisted even though hikers were going another way, to I wasted about 30 minutes going up, then down to find the non-existent trail, then back up again! Anyway, once on a trail, I passed a nice looking temple with a mountain behind it, and then on up towards Baegundae.

I passed what I assumed was an emergency shelter and then up to the gate and right to go up to the peak. It was quite busy at the top but the sky was clear and that’s where I ate my sandwiches.

I left the peak and contiued on west down to the river. At that point I decided to try Wonhyobong. Once committed, it got quite hard hiking up again and I started to wonder if I’d made the right decision! I got to the top of that stretch and there was a gate and some sections of old fortress wall.

Turning left and contimnuing up, I came across a few wide rocky ledges with insanely nice views of Uisangbong to the south and Baegundae to my left. The peak too was very wide and flat. The trail went further west and up a steep little rock with some rails where you could stand and get a 360 degree view.

From here it was west along bits of wall before turning south towards the Bukhansanseong Fortress entrance. Along the way I went into an old army bunker. It seemed to have been build in 1968, just after the time the North Koreans tried to assassinate the president. It was in relatively good condition and would be a great location for a mountain retreat! There were more wall sections; these sections on Wonhyobong seemed original and very rugged compared to the rebuilt sections you see in some of the more travelled places in Seoul. Once I got to the foot of the mountain, I headed to a coffee shop I’d seen before. On the way were two dining chairs just placed along the trail looking south. I guess they were someones…