The thousand step challenge
Mt. Fuji lay before me weeks before. I took the challenge easily. I prepared my gear to a tee only to leave the most valuable thing behind on my last day. My adventures always begin this way. So I knew this was the usual extraordinary adventure.
One thing I wasn't told about were the unending stairs of Fuji. We planned to take the oldest trail on Fuji...the Yoshida trail. We had no idea that the forest was a real living forest. The Yoshida trail starts at the bottom of Mt. Fuji. It is the one used by the ancients sages in Japan, so all the way up the mountain there are historical monuments and graves. There are a lot of temples and shrines along the trail. If you want meaning in your hike, this would be the trail to choose.
At the mouth of the Yoshida trail lies a beautiful temple complete with the wood and moss synonymous with Japanese temples and shrines. Once you walk through the temple you have to hike to the next point which is really the beginning of it all. The forest greets you and if you are lucky, like we were, you get to meet some deer that live in the forest. There are bear warnings everywhere, so it is a good thing to hike with a bear bell attached to your bag.
On the 20th of August, I took my test on Mt. Fuji. I had packed my samies, taken extra clothes and even a book for the train back. Little did I know that my own body would betray me. Okay, betray is a strong work...fail me.
I started my journey with a colleague from Nagoya station and we made our way to Shizuoka by shinkansen. This took a little under two hours. It might also have been an hour cause it was so quick. We then had to look for Mt.Fuji station...and this is the confusing part...just cause no-one really goes from the bottom of Fuji. A lot of people start in the middle of Fuji and say they "climbed" mt. Fuji. I guess no one cares about specifics.
Anyway, if you want to start Fuji at the bottom of the Yoshida trail, you need to get to Mt. Fuji station...all the other Fuji stations are just named that cause they are around the mountain. And stick to your guns about the station name cause the lady at the bus station was adamant that Fuji station(a different station...the one we changed trains when we came) didn't exist while the lady at the train station told me I need to take the bus there.
Anyway...whichever part of Japan you come from, you need to get there to start the Yoshida trail. Also make sure to drop into the the tourist center, apart from the staff being very nice ladies...you get some stuff for your trip...to show you climbed all the way to the top.
My first couple of hours climbing Fuji were great. I saw the deer in the forest, heard the birds whisper and it felt like paradise in that forest. It then kept on going and going....and getting steeper and steeper. All the while it was getting dark. I had forgotten my light, still haven't found it, so I had to rely on my pal to keep the light shining. My knees also had had enough or the unending stairs and my body is also not one for climbing stairs, I usually need to take a break every five minutes...which is what happened here. I would also have felt better if I could have just taken my time going up but our team had two different levels...mine being the stair-loathing kind. In all my life have I not agreed with kung-fu Panda as he said "oh, my biggest enemy...the stairs" like in those moments up Fuji.
My knees really were in pain all the way up the mountain and the pain included my psoas. They just had enough of dragging the knees up the stairs about two hours after stating.
So upon reaching the 6th station which was about two thirds up the mountain...I sat down. And chose not to continue up the mountain. That was the best decision I took for my knees...and also no wild bears would really go into the camps...I wasn't free bait.
I waited out the morning in the open super fresh air of Mt. Fuji(really I spent the night outside the camp wearing all my clothes at once...hahahahaha). I waited for morning to show me something I could take home about Fuji. And indeed, in the morning there were rolling clouds obstructing everything...this is what I know mountains to be...clouds. I really wanted to be in the clouds, them covering me, I breathing them in. It's one thing I've always loved about mountains.
I took a moment to do a sun salutation and to view the view at the end of the forest on Fuji. After that it was downhill but uphill. The rest of Fuji needs no mention because it really is just sand and rocks.
