Rick Mc

December 1, 2010November 26, 2023

Jeju Olle hike, Korea day 3

#Jeju #JejuOlle

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | (routes 1→ 6 = 106km)

I did part of this route with the Walking Festival. And came back later by myself, to finish.

Walking in Korea and most of Asia is traditionally for the purpose of religious pilgrimage. To walk for fun and fitness is a relatively new and foreign concept.

Festival motto – be happy on the trail

Perhaps the most amazing sight on the sections I hiked was this vast area covered with Mandarin orange peels. We were told that, once dried, it would be used in tea.

The aroma was wonderful.

It was here, too, that our hiking group sampled the famous Jeju pork. Delicious.

Of the stretches along the water, I think this was my favourite.

Near the coast there are always surf cast fishermen in sight.

Most of the “beaches” are black and stony …

This one, Pyoseon, near our official Conference hotel was a rare sandy treat

We took a shortcut to the finish

Christian funeral monument.

Korea is about 40% Christian though none of the huge churches you’ve seen on TV are located on Jeju.

One of the bloggers saw some of the famous diving women of the island close to here.

It’s an interesting story, those divers.

Another saying of this island is that “rocks, wind and women are plentiful“. It’s a bit of a matriarchal society.

Haenyo are skilled divers who are known to be able to hold their breath for more than two minutes and dive to depths of 20 meters. Diving was the first profession for women in Korea and the Haenyo are some of the best free divers in the world.

I set up a tent in a spot hidden by tall grasses. This, my only companion, didn’t reveal I was there.

Read more about route 3 on the official website.

See the rest of my route 3 photos on flickr.

Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | (routes 1→ 6 = 106km)

November 30, 2010November 26, 2023

Jeju Olle hike, Korea day 2

#Jeju #JejuOlle

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | (routes 1→ 6 = 106km)

I did this section solo, starting very early morning. There wasn’t much of a sunrise over Sunrise Peak.

We’ve categorized this a coastal trail as it more often than not stays near the shoreline, moving inland to visit highlights.

Most walk in the normal direction, colour coded Blue. But if you wanted to meet more people, there’s no reason not to walk it backwards, following the Orange signage.

The world “Olle” comes from an old local dialect of Korean. It can be translated as “a very narrow path from house to the closest road”.

The philosophy of the trail builders was to find existing, sometimes disused, pathways less than 1m wide. And to rejuvenate them.

That’s the ideal. In reality, the need to keep the route close to buses and toilets results in paved surfaces perhaps 70% of the route. My feet were bruised and sore after 100km.

Still, there’s rarely much traffic. Jeju island is ideal for road biking though that’s not yet caught on. i did see perhaps a couple dozen recreational mountain bikers over the week I was there.

There’s no official policy regarding cycling the Jeju Olle. But organizers will try to discourage it. (They can’t ban bikes as most of the trail is on public roadways.)

Shout out to the many volunteers at the Walking Festival. It was a great pleasure to arrive at each tent to get my passport stamped, get water, and recharge my enthusiasm.

Traditional stone figures are common on Jeju. … Next time I’m going to learn the significance of each.

They are proud of their beautiful turnips on Jeju.

I didn’t research insects. One morning in wet grass I did see mosquitos. They did not pester.

If you can live on “Mandarin oranges“, you need not carry any food in November. It’s harvest time. Every farmer wants you to try some of his.

One of the more lovely sections this day …

Read more about route 2 on the official website.

See the rest of my route 2 photos on flickr.

Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | (routes 1→ 6 = 106km)

November 29, 2010

The Way Back: best hiking movie yet?

The Way Back is an upcoming drama film about a group of prisoners who escaped from a Siberian gulag during World War II.

… directed by Peter Weir from a screenplay also by Weir based on the memoir by Sławomir Rawicz. It stars Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell, Ed Harris …

The film is based on a memoir titled The Long Walk by Slawomir Rawicz, depicting his escape from a Siberian gulag and subsequent 4000 mile walk to freedom in India. Incredibly popular, it sold over 500,000 copies and is credited with inspiring many explorers.

In 2006 the BBC unearthed records (including some written by Rawicz himself) that showed he had been released by the USSR in 1942 and the book was based on the story of other Polish soldier, Witold Glinski. …

Click PLAY or watch the trailer on YouTube.

They are already talking Oscar nominations.

(via The Outside Blog posting on three men who repeated the walk to raise awareness that the real hero real hero of the Great Escape was a Polish man named Witold Gliński.)

November 29, 2010November 26, 2023

As I post, tensions are high between North and South Korea after the artillery exchange of November 2010 – the Shelling of Yeonpyeong. I wish peace for all in both nations.

_____
trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | (routes 1→ 6 = 106km)

Depart from the beautiful ‘Siheung Elementary School’ and climb up Malmi Oreum and Al Oreum. At the top of the volcanoes you’ll see Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise peak), along with Woo-do (Island) and many picturesque farms will catch your eye. The route continues along the salt fields in Jongdal-ri to the esplanade in Siheung-ri.

When walkers reach Sumapo Beach, the Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise peak) appears once again. The color of the sea at Gwangchigi Beach (the terminus of Route 1) is truly unforgettable.

[Route 1] Siheung to Gwangchigi

We started at the beginning, Siheung Elementary.

The weather threatened, but turned out to be good walking. Windy and cool.

A group of us from the Walking Festival unloading from the bus to begin.

These volcanic stone walls are emblematic of this island.

In the Cotswolds, UK, stone wall masons study for 3yrs. Likely fitting these together takes more skill than it appears.

Jeju Olle is very well signed. Ribbons flag the route, as well as other devices.

This was my first good view of Sunrise Peak (Seongsan Ilchulbong), the geological highlight of my hike.

You could see how volcanic soil and a mild, wet climate make Jeju ideal for agriculture.

Our first of the famed Jeju ponies.

They are one of the symbols of the Jeju Trail.

As part of the Walking Festival, we enjoyed many treats and surprises en route. A piano, at one point. Singers at many other highlight sections of the trail.

The professor is also an opera singer. Our charismatic leader, Suh Myung-sook, convinced him to sing, as well.

For the two days prior, at the conference, I had heard many apologies regarding too few toilets on the Jeju Olle. Much to my surprise the toilets were excellent.

Signs marked the distances between, rarely more than 4km apart. (Many are squatters, however. And some are signed only in Korean.)

We foreigners had much discussion about the many burial plots.

Tradition is that bodies are cremated. Then buried in sometimes spacious stone rings. … It seemed to us (from outside the culture) that much arable land is lost to the farmer.

More treats for the walkers. Fresh carrot juice. And some kind of tasty sweet.

Finally, Sunrise Peak. The highlight is a short, steep climb to the summit. (That’s not actually part of the official hike, so I came back another day to join the throngs climbing it.)

Read more about route 1 on the official website.

See the rest of my route 1 photos on flickr.

Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | (routes 1→ 6 = 106km)

November 28, 2010August 3, 2014

trekking Dientes, Patagonia

Ace and Patricia hiked the most southerly established major trail in South America, part of the Circuito Dientes de Navarino.

I read their trip report with interest. I’d once traveled to Punta Arenas intending to do Dientes, but ran out of time to arrange the tricky transportation to the Puerto William, Chile, on Isla Navarino. That’s the jumping off point for Dientes.

Ace and Patricia ended up taking the Zenit’s 15 passenger boat from Ushuaia, Argentina, to Puerto Williams. And later found a flight back on a 3-seater plane.

Extreme weather in this most extreme part of the world makes all manner of transportation a gamble.

Was it worth it for Patricia?

Yes.

… We reached the dip between the peaks and were rewarded with breathtaking views of the spiky Dientes and across Isla Navarino to sets of islands beyond. It was a clear day and we saw the islands of Cape Horn. It was definitely the highlight of the trip. …

Painted stones & cairns mark the trail. Unfortunately many of those were covered by snow.

Everyone has navigation challenges on Dientes, this adventure more than most. Their goal on day 2 was to cross Paso de los Dientes. The guidebook said to “stay high”. … They stayed too high, eventually having to backtrack when the risk of a mini-avalanche got too great.

If you’ve ever dreamed of hiking the teeth of south South America, download Patricia’s Trip Journal. (PDF)

Check our Dientes information page.

November 27, 2010November 25, 2010

Mt Asgard, Baffin Island – the movie

More rugged and remote than the Himalayas.

The Asgard Project – OFFICIAL Climbing Teaser – Posing Productions

Click PLAY or watch the trailer on YouTube.

… objective to make the first free ascent of the west face of Mt Asgard on Baffin Island. Like that’s not an awesome enough feat in itself the journey there will be pretty special involving training trips to Riglos in Spain, Brento in Italy and Yosemite in California! …

Posing Productions

The film crew hiked in to this location in 5 days.

(via The Adventure Channel)

November 26, 2010November 25, 2010

10 best treks in the world

… according to Lonely Planet:

1. GR20, France
2. Inca Trail, Peru
3. Pays Dogon, Mali
4. Everest Base Camp, Nepal
5. Indian Himalayas, India
6. Overland Track, Australia
7. Routeburn Track, New Zealand
8. The Narrows, USA
9. The Haute Route, France-Switzerland
10. Baltoro Glacier & K2, Pakistan

The two in bold are on our top 10 list.

I like the list, though “Indian Himalayas” is a region, not a trek.

Certainly there are better hikes in Peru than the Inca Trail, including Choquequirao to Machu Picchu.

November 25, 2010November 25, 2010

Backpacker Magazine BEST. HIKES. EVER.

Kelly Bastone and Dave Pidgeon:

We’ve covered 245,591 miles of trails in our 37-year history. Here are our 20 all-time favorite trips …

BEST HIKES EVER COVERED

John Muir Trail, CA | Escalante Route, AZ | Teton Crest Trail, WY | Denali, AK | Presidential Traverse, NH | The Lost Coast Trail, CA | The Needles Traverse, CO | St. Mary to Lake McDonald, MT | Appalachian Trail, GA-ME | Zion Narrows, UT | Wonderland Trail, WA | Southern Traverse, AK | Four-Pass Loop, CO | The Long Trail, VT | Boundary Waters, MN | Wind Traverse, WY | Redwood Creek Trail, CA | Olympic Traverse, WA | Willow Gulch, UT | Northville-Placid Trail, NY |

ORIGINAL ARTICLE with links

I know and like all of those in the west and north. But what about these 3 lesser known eastern trails:

• Northville-Placid Trail, NY
• Boundary Waters, MN
• The Long Trail, VT

As a biased west-is-the-bester, I’d best do some research on those.

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota

UPDATE: Tom Wemett tells that Northville-Placid Trail has a new website:

“The trail passes through what many consider the wildest and most remote parts of the Adirondack Park, notably the high plateau that encompasses the Spruce, West Canada, and Cedar lakes area, along with that of the Cold River. The highest point the N-P Trail reaches (3008 ft) is at the crest of the ridge to the E of Blue Mt. and of Tirrell Pond.” …

nptrail.org

November 24, 2010November 23, 2010

National Geographic photo contest

The Big Picture posted 47 pics of those submitted.

Brown bear, Buskin River, Kodiak Alaska. This bear had been fishing in the river on this morning. It climbed onto the bank and laid down in the grass. This photo was taken about an hour after sunrise just as the sun was starting to clear the trees. The temperature was near the dew point and steam was rising off its body. It didn’t seem at all concerned by the fishermen in the river or the photographer on the bank. (Photo and caption by James Haskins)

Boise Sunrise. With the fog and morning light this looks like a place I’d love to be. If you look very closely, you can see a deer in a clearing in the center left area of the picture (small dot, head poking above bushes, see detail). (Photo and caption by Glen Hush)

see all 47 on my favourite photo blog – Boston.com – The Big Picture

Those are entries in National Geographic annual Photo Contest, categories People, Places and Nature. Deadline for submissions November 30th.

November 23, 2010

Triple Crown hikes, Waterton 2011

I tried and failed in 2010.

But summer 2011 in Waterton National Park, Canada, I guarantee I’ll be getting on the Glory Board, the list of those who complete 3 best hikes, ideally in one calendar year: Akamina Ridge | Alderson Carthew | Crypt Lake