On the highest point on the Korean Peninsula, there is a stone marker inscribed with Chinese characters: Cheonwangbong, which translates literally as "Sky King Peak."

With the day's weather of misty snow clouds drifting in and licking the peaks and ridges of the Jiri mountain range 1,915 meters below, it is easy to feel like the king of the sky, as the entire winter landmass stretches out below.

Compared with numerous small mountains throughout Korea, Mt. Jiri is more like a true alpine environment, with the snow-capped peaks and the ice frozen into cold granite.

It was in this mountain range that communist partisans waged guerilla warfare from base camps deep in the Jiri mountain range during the Korean War (1950-53). The story of these leftist rebels has become a subject in modern Korean literature and film.

Cho Jeong-rae wrote the epic novel, The Taebaek Mountains which was later turned into a film of same name in 1994. The Partisans and Piagol are two other films that portray Mt. Jiri as an alpine refuge from the battlefields.

On the uphill climb, it is easy to see how rugged the terrain was and how brutal it would be to wage a campaign of guerilla warfare. In the foothills and lower half of the mountain lies a tree canopy of chestnut, painted maples, red pine, camellia and oaks with a jungle-like ground cover of boreal bamboo that is almost impenetrable and adds a fresh green contrast to the winter shades of brown and gray.

Halfway to the summit, the mountain ecology blends into the tough trees that must survive the harsh winds and rocky soil. Stone birch and yew trees grow atop steep cliffs. Yeddo spruce and Korean firs take the aesthetic shape of weather-beaten bonsai trees clinging to granite outcroppings.

Wandering off trail, royal azaleas and Korean rhododendron create thickets so dense that it is only passable by crawling through byways used by the small Korean water deer and its endangered cousin, the musk deer.

The rugged terrain provides the necessary protective cover and biological diversity for the mammals. Their signs are evident of life if you take the time to look. I noted deer tracks upon reaching the snowline. I found the broken acorns of a feeding squirrel and a few meters further, his demise: the telling sweep marks of a raptor's wings were brushed into the snow.

Before my trek, I visited the Gurye branch office of Jirisan National Park and spoke to head ranger Kim Sung-hwe and asked him about Mt. Jiri's remaining Asiatic black bears or "bandal-gasum-gom," meaning; bear with a half moon mark on the chest. "We think there are five or six," he said, and he produced a camcorder and showed me recent footage of four cubs climbing and scuffling in an oak tree at nearby Moonsu Temple.

"They like to eat the 'dolbae,' the stone pear," he said. My guidebook to the trees of Korea said the stone pear is known as the Ussurian pear and is a hard and small inedible fruit humans can't eat.

Next, he opened a photo album of wildlife photos collected by motion sensor cameras that are attached to trees and left in the forest for extended periods. When a creature enters the camera's sensing perimeter, a photo is flashed. Since most Korean animals are nocturnal, nearly all of the pictures were taken at night or in low-light conditions.

Kim explained that teams of backcountry rangers are sent into the field for days at a time monitoring trails and collecting data. When they return to the base office, another team is rotated out.

"I think you have a good job," I said, considering that he worked in Korea's largest and most diverse mountain range, close to nature and peacefulness. "I think so, too," he replied with a knowing smile.

Peacefulness was abundant on this side of the national park. Only a few cars were in the trailhead parking lot, and most of those people were visiting the historic Hwaom Temple. A hiker could be alone on the trail with few human encounters at this time of the year.

The winter weather turns away many unwilling to brave the cold. The first snowfall comes in November and finally melts off in April. An average of 1-2 meters of snow blankets the upper mountains and valleys.

To get away from the urban crowds and the tourist sites, hiking in the winter off-season makes sense. Remember, the most important thing to carry with you is common sense.

In the villages at the base of the Jiri mountain range, the weather may seem like a brisk winter day. However, above the 1,500-meter line, the wind chill factor can reach minus 30 degrees Celsius, and the gentle breeze felt below is a cutting, savage wind on the summit. Keeping your eye to the sky and watching for oncoming storm clouds is essential for judging when to push onward or turn back.

Since Jirisan National Park is so large, it offers a number of opportunities for sightseeing, day hiking, overnight camping and peak-to-peak backpacking. Begin your trip planning with Mountains of Korea (http://www.kormt.co.kr/hgindex.html) and the National Parks Authority (http://www.npa.or.kr/chiri/eng/main.htm).

Copyright © James Card.