Failing to Reach the Summit
Mt. Halla Dampens Fulfillment
Written and photographed by Fatemeh Khalili.
My friend and I visited Jeju Island during our one-week school break. It was a very last-minute decision for us. As it was Korea’s monsoon season, it was difficult to visit many places in the country. Yet, it was our last vacation before moving to Seoul, so we chose to go to Jeju Island in the end. We were looking for a place by the sea and as close as possible to many attractions.
Finally, we found a great, reasonably priced guesthouse around Aewol where our window faced the blue sea surrounded by lava cliffs. We did not want to miss the opportunity of seeing the sunrise over the ocean. We woke up every day at 5:00 a.m. and made our morning coffee. We held our warm cups and waited for the sun to slowly rise. I had the dreamiest four mornings of my life and am not exactly sure when I will experience such serenity again.
We arrived at the guesthouse at 5:00 p.m. on the first day. Although we were a little tired, we headed to Handam Park and Gwakji Beach as soon as we changed. These two spots were 30 minutes away on foot from the guesthouse. I am so obsessed with watching sunrises and sunsets over the ocean, and luckily we had the chance to see the sunset over Handam Park that peaceful evening. Watching the sun set from that spot is so magnificent that they even made a special spot there for taking pictures when the sun goes down. We ended this brilliant day by eating beef short rib soup.
The next day, we woke up early to hike up to Mt. Halla’s peak, which was actually the first and most important reason for this trip. There are four trails – Gwaneum-sa, Seongpan-ak, Eorimok, and Yeongshil – and only two of these lead to the volcano’s crater lip: Gwaneum-sa and Seongpan-ak. We chose Seongpan-ak, the easier of the two. The trail is 9.6 kilometers long and takes seven hours for experienced hikers to reach the summit and return, whereas it takes approximately nine hours for beginners. We had checked the weather, and it was supposed to be a sunny day.
We started hiking at 8:40 a.m. and were fast enough to reach the Jindalle-bat shelter by 1:00 p.m. There we had kimbap for lunch, which we had already bought from a small restaurant before starting to hike. From Jindalle-bat shelter to the peak, it only takes an hour and a half, but as we hiked higher, the weather got worse. Soon it got windy and the rain poured heavily. Despite the fact that we had brought umbrellas, they were useless and we got soaked from head to toe. As well, my friend is so tiny that she felt the storm would whisk her away. With only 300 meters left to the summit, we begrudgingly decided to turn around and start our descent. We could not risk it.
At that point, we thought that was the end of our troubles and that we were safe. We were wrong. Worse was awaiting us! As we had gotten soaked, we were shaking from the wet and the cold. Our teeth chattered so hard that we were unable to talk. We got to the first shelter to get warm, though to no avail. We were running out of time and could not get any warmer, so we started down again. Just after getting restarted, my friend slipped and sprained her ankle on the slippery rocks. We could not have felt more miserable than at that moment. The trail seemed longer and longer, and we did not have the energy to go further. A young couple who were ahead us had been checking on us every few minutes. We met them in the next shelter, and they gave us some chewy candy and started a conversation. The woman said she had gotten worried and was curious about us since she had seen the desperation in our eyes and our tightly clutched hands earlier.
I am the type to believe in destiny, so after they had found out that we were also staying in Aewol, they kindly offered us a ride. We could not have been more thankful for their kindness. We finally reached the foot of the mountain at 7:30 p.m., after struggling with the cold, rainy weather and sore muscles. Seven minutes away from the mountain, the weather was as clear as if it had never rained. We did not get to the peak, but thanks to this incident, we were able to make new friends.
On the third day, we visited Yongdu-am, which is a rock shaped like a dragon’s head set in a peaceful place with picturesque views. On the final day of our trip, we went to Udo, a small island 15 minutes off the eastern coast of Jeju Island. Udo is only 6.8 square kilometers in size, but it has so much beauty to offer. We had the best part of our trip there cycling the whole island with rented bikes. The seafood we had at Haeangil-472, a unique restaurant made of stone boulders, was awesome, and the photo spots were unforgettable.
Granted, the intent of the trip to reach the top of Mt. Halla was not achieved, but the experience was far from a complete loss. We gazed at beautiful sunrises and sunsets, made new friends, and biked around the scenic island of Udo, sampling its delectable seafood. And I will be back, better prepared to make reaching the summit my next trip’s highlight.
The Author
Fatemeh Khalili is an Iranian GKS (Global Korea Scholarship) student studying Korean at Chonnam National University. She will start her master’s program in Korean literature in Seoul this autumn. She loves literature because she believes each country’s emotions and culture are included in its literature. Therefore, she wants to act as a bridge between Korea and Iran by translating each country’s literary works. Instagram: @koreanicles