Hiking the Ultra Baugil in South Korea: Gangneung’s rugged mountain range and untamed wilderness provide the perfect challenge
South Korea’s most challenging natural attraction, the 71-kilometre Ultra Baugil trail arcs around Gangneung’s alpine rim, giving trekkers the chance to experience nature at its best in one of Asia’s most heavily developed countries
Visions of ticket touts, camera crews and flag-waving fans are still fresh in my mind when I arrive at Gangneung’s railway station on an early summer evening.
Just a few months ago, Gangneung was hosting the ice sports of the Winter Olympics such as ice hockey, curling and ice skating. But now, the snow on its mountain backdrop has melted.
This is the first summer that the coastal city is benefiting from a new high-speed train line from Seoul, built expressly for the Olympics, making Gangneung a convenient weekend escape from the South Korean capital.
I’ve come to tackle the most notoriously challenging of its natural attractions: a 71km trail that arcs around the city’s alpine perimeter. Named the Ultra Baugil, it is Korea’s answer to the trekking courses of Nepal.
Shouldering my pack, I head straight to a centrally located guest house intended for Baugil hikers. Despite the late hour, I am welcomed by Lee Gi-ho, the secretary general of the trail network. A kindly man, Lee insists on printing out a dozen pages of route information for me on the spot.
The air is chilly the next morning when the first bus to Geumjin Harbour pulls up and I lug my backpack aboard. Within a few stops, the aisle has filled up with soldiers, and before long we’re cruising south along pine-fringed beaches and jagged coastal cliffs.