Johnnie and Angela: Gyeryongsan National Park

This past Saturday, I traveling to Gyeryongsan National Park near the city of Daejeon to go hiking with some friends. It was the first time there for all of us so we didn't know exactly what was in store for the day. The weather was perfect for hiking and there were a lot of people on the mountain wearing colorful hiking outfits carrying backpacks and hiking poles. The hike itself was exhilarating and beautiful and had a lucky twist thrown into the middle of it. I took almost 350 photos this day! I can't show them all but I can make this a three part blog post so that I can include a little more than a handful :)

Entering the park we walked down a path lined with lanterns through two gateway structures. Inside one of the structures were huge scary looking statues towering over us on both sides!

Before coming to the start of the hiking trail, we passed by a Buddhist temple area. There was a sign written in English describing how it was established in 420 AD. You can click on the picture below to see a larger version to read.

The first part of the hike, to the top of the mountain, was strenuous. There was a path of rocks that slightly resembled stairs leading up the mountainside. It took us about 1.5 hours to get to the top.