We had great morning weather for our Gayasan (Chungnam) – 가야산(충남) adventure. This February day dawned sunny, warm and clear! We could see the distinctive summit from far away as we drove to the base of the mountain.
With a beautiful day on the horizon, Kent and I decided to take the long way up Gayasan (Chungnam). Instead of climbing directly to the peak, we slowly navigated trails of snow and ice over to Seokmunbong.
Starting with Seokmunbong turned out to be an excellent decision. It was a truly beautiful bong topped by a flag, stone cairn and stele trio! We also had tremendous 360 degree views of the villages and farmland surrounding the mountain, as well as its numerous peaks!
The wide open views continued as we made our way along a fun ridge towards Gayabong – Gayasan (Chungnam)’s main peak. Our route followed a very exciting rocky & ridge, outfitted with numerous ropes courses in the steepest sections.
Although the winter conditions made it somewhat challenging, it wasn’t a truly tough trail. We made smooth and steady progress, and I was happy to take in the views along the way.
In short order, we reached the top! The summit, Gayabong, works as a repeater station. Although the electrical equipment is cordoned off, hikers have access to the true summit: a rocky area topped by a wooden platform and complete with not one but two nice steles and a pair of binoculars.
Looking back, we could see Seokmunbong; looking down, we could identify our little rental car parked on the side of a farm road. We spent just enough time on top to appreciate the summit and get some great photos without getting chilled.
It was a bit of a slippery descent at first! But halfway down, the trail leveled out and we sped the rest of the way down. Feeling zippy, we spontaneously decided to have a footrace across the dam! On the other side, we stopped to listen to the ice groaning as the rays of the sun struck the lake.
At some point we realized that Kent’s hat was missing: did he race it clean off his head? But almost as soon as we noted its absence, we were approached by two helpful hikers that we’d passed on the trail. They returned Kent’s lost hat and we rewarded them with two of the apples in Kent’s backpack!
KNOW AND GO! GAYASAN (CHUNGNAM)
TRANSPORTATION
Gayasan (Chungnam) is another one of those mountains that has a surprisingly far-flung, remote location. Sandwiched between Seosan city and Yesan town, it’s almost – but not quite – on the west coast of Korea.
From Seoul, consider taking a slow train from Seoul Station and disembark at tiny Sapgyo Station in Chungcheongnamdo. From there, transfer to local bus 539 to reach Sangga village. Or, coming from either Seoul or Daegu, hop out at Yesan and change to bus 551, which will deposit you near the two trailheads in Sadong village.
It is possible to use Seosan as a transit hub for trailheads on the western side of the mountain, but be forewarned that this will involve multiple bus transfers – and that’s after you get all the way out to Seosan!
Personally, we drove: this being our Lunar New Year new mountain adventure and all!
HIKE & RUN
There are lots of trails on Gayasan (Chungnam): this mountain is ripe for designing your own adventure course! There are multiple other peaks in close proximity, and it would be a shame to not visit a bonus bong or two!
I highly recommend Seokmunbong, the second highest peak directly north of the main summit. In addition to having a scenic flag and stele, it also has great views of the main peak. And, crucially, Seokmunbong offers a more ‘pure’ mountain experience. The main peak of Gayasan (Chungnam) is occupied by a signal repeater station, which is not everyone’s idea of a wilderness experience. Some mountains have jobs, you know – and are still worth visiting! But if you’re looking for unobstructed views and that natural feel, Seokmunbong has you covered.
STAY & EAT
Despite its small size, Sangga village does have at least one pension, and at least one restaurant. But I would definitely recommend checking out other options, because this village is both small and remote, so you might want to have a back-up plan!
And, as mentioned above, Sangga is definitely not the only point of access for this mountain! Although surrounded by civilization, the locales around Gayasan (Chungnam) tend to be quite small, so you might want to look at staying and stocking up somewhere slightly more distant. Consider Hongseong or Yesan for the closest options on the east side, or Seosan to the west and Dangjin in the north.
Our experience won’t be tremendously relevant here: possessed of a car for our Lunar New Year new mountains trip, we stayed and stocked up far away from Gayasan (Chungnam)!
OTHER NOTES
Gayasan (Chungnam) measures in at 678 meters. It’s found exclusively on the Black Yak list of 100 summits, which you can explore right here.
Is this not the Gayasan you’re looking for? Check out Gayasan National Park over here.
Our Gayasan (Chungnam) adventure took the form of a seven kilometer run in February 2018. Gayasan was part of our Lunar New Year ‘new mountains’ expedition during which we also explored Cheontaesan, Gwanaksan, Gwangdeoksan, Oseosan and Yongbongsan.
Time to return to the 120 summits main page for more mountains?
Get to know the other Gayasan – and have fun out there!
