The Journey to the top begins.
Supplies packed and backpacks on we made our way to the beginning point of the hike. The starting point was picturesque. The autumn colour was beautiful… The golden glow to the trees was already a highlight to the start of the day.
The start of the hike already proved to myself that I wasn’t quite as fit as I originally thought, it was steep. As we made our ascent we climbed up large exposed roots from the forest floor and climbed up and over fallen tree trunks. There was rope to help pull yourself up the steeper points.
It was a popular hike with many locals taking to the track, the sounds of faint bells ringing in the distance was a reassurance we were heading in the right direction. Many Japanese hikers have bells attached to their bags as a deterrent against wild bears that roam the forests.
The floor was frozen beneath our feet – the photo above, shows the muddy tracks locked into place.The sun was out but it was cold. The higher we climbed the cooler it became with the average temperature sitting around 2-4 degrees.
We had been hiking for 4 hours and we made it to the first vantage point. The smell of sulphur was beginning to fill the air as we got closer to the top of Mt. Yakedake which was a active volcano.
At the first vantage point we took a break and sat down to enjoy the view with a small snack before tackling that last leg of the hike to the top.
The smell at the top was really unbearable… mainly due to me being allergic to the sulphur. So I wore a bike mask to help defuse the scent. We had hiked for hours and had reached peak of Yakedake, 2444.5 metres, and the view was amazing. From the top we could see the town Kamikochi which is where we were heading the next day.
We gathered our things and started our descent back down. Along the way we saw some native mice and the evening light shinning through the forest made this hike all the more magical.
A perfect end to the day.
We then drove a hour away to view the sunset from a mountain in the next valley. We ate chocolate covered macadamia nuts and had a beer in hand.
Until next time, happy gardening! ©BMHPhotographyTheGardener’sNotebook2018
