The Hiking, Part 1

As usual, things started out uneventfully. The ferry ride was long, but calm. Getting the rent-a-car, buying groceries, picking up our fourth member, and driving to the Hachimantai National Park was unnmarred by complications. The first hiccup was a combination of two factors which were solved together. Firstly, we forgot to fill up our water bottles. Secondly, the road to the trailhead was blocked off. However, knocking on the door of a nearby house, we found people nice enough to let us borrow some water and tell us these important things:

1. the chain blocking the road could be moved, and we probably wouldn't get in trouble for it
2. there is a nice hut at the top of the mountain
3. the top of the mountains are still covered with snow
The first two were well noted, the third went in one ear and out the other.

The actual hiking on this first day was fairly easy. The trailhead started above the tree line, and our hike to the mountain hut was a gradually ascending winding path around to the other side of the mountain. We passed sulfur hills, poked at a dormant toad, avoided sliding down snow-covered inclines, and tread on porous stone that made up the volcanic mountains.

The hut was barely visible across a shallow lake as we and the fog arrived simultaneously at a small plateau near the top of the "Woman's Eye" Mountain. With only minimal trouble from the kerosene stove, we prepared our spaghetti dinner and s'mores for dessert. The day ended early after a few card games when the cold became unbearable and we all retreated to our warm sleeping bags.

Because our car was parked in one spot, the next day's hike was to be a loop, ending us back at the same hut for another night. We left our heavy packs and started our eight hour hike as the sun burned away the fog. We climbed up and down mountains and ridges noting the changing color of the soil: red, black, orange, yellow, brown. Our goal was "Breast/Nipple" Mountain at an elevation near 1600 meters. Other than the pause to eat lunch under an overhang when it started to rain, we reached the summit with no problems. From there, we started our descent to a valley filled with onsen (hot springs) and their accompanying resorts. We even found a natural pool along the way, but it was so incredibly hot that our little toes could only handle it for three seconds at a time.

It was four p.m when we reached the onsen valley. Consulting the map, we determined that if we went just a little faster, we could make it back to the hut just as the sun was setting. So off we went. Over the ski slopes and through the forest we went. Our first trouble came when we reached a beech grove carpeted with snow. The trail was invisible and the trees were not marked. We painstakingly followed one set of footprints coming from the opposite direction.

Our second problem occured when the trail ended halfway up the mountain in the midst of snow covered slopes. Here and there dense islands of dwarf bamboo spanned across the white. An hour later we had scrambled, slid, and pulled our way to meters from the peak in the direction toward which we were sure the trail went. But the brush was unrelenting and the sun was setting. It was cold, and we only had one headlamp between the four of us. It was tough to give up when we knew that our car was a mere thirty minutes on the other side of the mountain, but it was either turn back or be those foreigners who had to get rescued from a mountain. We slid down the snowy slopes like children who lost their sleds.

Two and a half hours later, after retracing our footprints through the beech forest, manuvering through roots and streams with only one light, we emerged at the ski slopes. We paused for an astronomy lesson by our resident astronomer. The stars were absolutely gorgeous - innumerable, bright, and enveloping. This was the last good thing of the evening.

We were rejected by three onsens. No room at the resorts. One even turned off the lights and locked the door when we left.
The nice one let us use their pay phone to call a cab. He drove us back to our car, bearing with us while we unchained the "do not pass" sign from the middle of the road for him.
It was now midnight. We drove to a convenience store for dinner. We drove around some more looking for another hotel to stay at.
We were rejected by three more.
We drove back to the parking lot where we tried to sleep in a cold, cramped car.
The sky became light at 3:15am, and the sun rose around 3:45am. We were hiking back to the hut by 4:15am.

Daily totals:
Distance: 16 miles
Hiking time: approx. 11 hours
Hours of sleep: 2-3hrs. (okay, we slept again at the hut, but...)