Author Topic: Jangsan, S Korea  (Read 1783 times)

Oldtramp

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Jangsan, S Korea
« on: 17:24:31, 30/09/17 »
A little conference in Busan, on the the tip of S Korea a couple of weeks ago....   A city of 4 million souls, it forms a sort of octopus of skyscrapers, with a body on the coast and tentacles that penetrate every valley.  Like Hong Kong, only cleaner and with huge boulevards, which might also serve for landing aircraft.....


All the while I was in meetings the sun shone.  Once I could squeeze a free morning it clouded up and the forecast noted a nearby typhoon, moving slowly.  Which was all rather tedious.  Still, the clouds were off the top of Jangsan, a 2000 ft wooded hill behind the town and I reckoned there was enough time to go up and down before the weather turned nasty.  There are lots of comments on the internet about the confusing signage on this hill and I'll happily endorse all of them.  At the bottom are two trail maps, both in Korean and neither quite reconciling with the other.   I stuck to smiling at people, saying "Jangsan" and pointing upwards, seeing if they nodded and smiled.    This worked and I found myself at places recognisable from a youtube video of someone else's climb.


I can't say it's the best walk I've ever done..... but it was interesting.....

« Last Edit: 17:57:07, 30/09/17 by Oldtramp »

Oldtramp

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Re: Jangsan, S Korea
« Reply #1 on: 17:31:29, 30/09/17 »
And a few more, before we get onto the really interesting curiosities....

Oldtramp

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Re: Jangsan, S Korea
« Reply #2 on: 17:51:51, 30/09/17 »

And here are the unique features......

First we have a warning about mines, left over from the Korean War, on a rocky wooded slope that was too rough and troublesome to sweep, I suppose.  The minefield is fenced off with rusty razor wire, which is hard to see and a greater immediate hazard than the mines themselves  The path snaked along beside it and I was very, very careful to keep to the middle.   

Another curiosity was this defibrillator, high on a ridge close to the old minefield.  Are heart attacks expected here?   Do we need one on Esk Hause?

At the bottom were two other machines, of greater immediate use

The first, which should be bought by those pub landlords who'd presently rather go bust than welcome walkers with dirty footwear, uses a powerful blast of compressed air to blow the mud off your boots.  Very effective it was too, though I would like to give it a rigorous test with the  villainous clay that one finds at the bottom of the South Downs in winter.


The second sprays you with bug repellent.  I missed it on the way up, so I can say nothing about its efficacy.  It was free in Korea but imagine the fortune to be made by installing one of these, with a picture of a midge, at the start point for every Munro and charging a fiver a blast....
« Last Edit: 17:58:08, 30/09/17 by Oldtramp »

 

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