Greetings;
Last weekend I assaulted Mt Fuji. I'm currently blogging from jail,
pending charges. "What," I hear you ask, "would make you risk such a
ridiculous undertaking?" My response to that would be "Because I'm too
stupid to know fear!" So sit back, have a good drink and prepare for
my step-by step report of my Fuji hike.
Sunday, July the 8th 2007
12:00 PM
I met my co-worker Sarah at JR Anjo. We caught the express to
Toyohashi, then transferred again at Hamamatsu, then Okitsu, then
Fuji, then Fujinomiya. The total travel time came to 4 hours.
Mood: Optimistic
4:00 PM
We arrive at the station only to find that we have missed the last bus
for the day. We wound up taking a cab up to the 5th station. The
cabbie spoke no English, so we had to negotiate as best we could with
hand gestures and mangled Japanese. He was a pretty cool guy. On the
way up the mountain he saw a deer by the roadside, so he braked
suddenly so that we could have a look at it. I nearly went through the
windshield
Mood: Cautiously optimistic
5:00 PM
We are half-way up the mountain and we haven't started walking yet.
The 5th Station of Mt Fuji has a restaurant, a gift store and a rancid
changeroom/toliet combo. We stayed there for a few hours, looking
around at the view (non-existent due to fog) and drinking the coffee
that would keep us awake for the rest of the night
Mood: Excited
6:40 PM
We began to hike up the mountain. We made it to the 6th station in
only 20 minutes, which proved to be a bit of a tease compared to the
rest of the mountain stations. We rested for a while and spent some
time talking with Shoko, a part-timer from Fukoka who is working there
as her summer vacation. We also scared a old Japanese man by yelling
out "Konban wa" before he could see us through the fog. He no doubt
thought the mountain spirits had turned into gaijin and were going to
eat him
Mood: Cheerful
9:24 PM
It's dark now, so I have my torch out and Sarah is wearing a pretty
cool headlamp. It's hard to breathe at this altitude (just under 3km).
I can't talk and walk at the same time. I'm staggering like a drunk
man and for a change I'm not drunk.
Mood: Challenged
10:00 PM
We reached the 7th Station. There is no one else here. Since the 6th
station, we haven't seen anyone. The volcanic rocks glow white in the
moonlight. It's beautiful, yet the loneliness is scary. For the first
time in Japan, there is silence.
Mood: Awed
11:30 PM
We reached the 8th Station, and thought we could not go any further.
There was a barricade across the path that said the route was closed
due to snow blocking the path further up the mountain.We though we
were going to have to stay there for the rest of the night, but the
guy who was in charge of the First Aid/200 Yen toilet rest stop told
us that the snow was only ankle-deep. So we decided to continue
onwards
Mood: Determined
Monday, July 9th 2007
1:10 AM
We reached the 9.5th station, the last one before the top. Sarah
wanted to sleep until sunrise, even though we had no sleeping bags,
tents or medieval cloaks. So we curled up onto the ground and tried to
get some sleep
Mood: Tired
1;50 AM
I woke up from a dream in which I was a envoy from Tokugawa Iesyu to
the noble Yeti people of Yeti mountain. Once woken, I was unable to
feel my legs or stop shaking. I was so cold that I thought I was going
to die of hypothermia. Over the ledge, the mist had finally cleared
and we could see all the way down the mountain over Shizuoka. After 20
star jumps I was able to feel my legs and continue onwards.
Mood: Freezing and delirious
3:13 PM
We reached the top! The crater was huge, and there was still a lot of
snow. We hiked up the last twenty metres to the weather station on the
summit. Apart from some late night stoners in American Mura, Osaka, I
am the highest man in Japan
Mood: Tired but happy
3:40 AM
I was shuffling around the summit like a zombie to stay awake and
warm. The sun is beginning to rise, and I want to sleep
Mood: Tired. Brainnsssssss.....
4:20 AM
The sun rose. It was very beautiful in a way that cameras can't catch.
The climb was worthwhile. On the other side of the mountain, we saw
some camera flashes. There were other people, but we didn't see them
Mood: Awed
6:00 AM
It took a long time to go up, but going down was a lot faster. Now
that the sun has risen, we can actually see the mountain for the first
time. The whole mountain is made of reddish-maroon rock, except for
parts that are covered in snow. The sky is very blue and life is good.
However, I was close to running out of water and my feet were getting
really tired. Because of the way my shoes were designed, when I went
downhill a lot of pressure was placed on my two big toes
Mood: Sleepy
7:30 AM
I was very tired, and my toes were killing me. I just wanted to go
home and never walk again
Mood: SLEEPY
8;14 AM
We have reached the 6th station. Shoko had opened up the store and
gave us some free green tea while we rested and chatted. The end is
nearly was nearly in sight.
Mood: Even more sleepy
9:00 AM
The bottom of the 5th station. The climb was over. Then we had to
wait for another three hours for the bus, but we kept ourselves busy
shopping and eating breakfast
So, to cut a long story short, I survived. Will I try to climb the
mountain again? Maybe next year, when I've forgotten about the whole
experience and am stupid enough to try again :-)
Next week: Sumo!
~Blake
