Mount Fuji

Oh right. So I forgot to update my blog... that always happens at the end of my travels. I got back from Mt. Fuji at about 2:30 pm on Friday and had to pack, shower, and organize my things before our farewell dinner Friday night. I hobbled to dinner and then went to bed early enough to haul my things to the Intercontinental (a 10-minute walk, but with my aches, took me 30) to catch my flight home.

So.... Mount Fuji... where to begin!?!?!?! It was the hardest thing I have ever done by far. We left for Shinjuku Station at 4:30 to catch a 5:50 bus. We wound up taking the wrong metro so had to hurry to find out where our bus would leave from (which wasn't as straight forward as you might think. The bus was about 2.5 hours, so Paul and I just visited and watched the sights (which soon became hard considering it got dark).

We finally reached the base of Mt. Fuji and drove to the 5th Station, the fog was incredible... you could hardly see two feet in front of you. We got off the bus at the 5th Station, bought gloves and quickly headed on our way... or what we hoped was the right direction. There were no signs and it was pitch black! The headlamp I had on hardly seemed to suffice for the total darkness. It was so dark, I immediately stepped in a puddle a couple of inches deep, so much for staying dry. The trail seemed to be going down, so I was concerned we were going to wind up at the bottom instead of the top. I stopped some hikers coming the opposite direction and they assured us this was "up" (they probably thought we were crazy).

We were relieved when the trail started going up and we could see lights in the distance of the first station. Our relief for going up would soon be replaced... with utter exhaustion. We weren't even to the first station, and already my legs felt like they wanted to give out. The trail was not very forgiving, with few switchbacks which made it very steep. It was also covered in 6-8 inches deep of lava rock/ash... so it was similar to walking up sand dunes. At this point, we were only 45 minutes into our 8 hour journey and I was strongly considering Plan B. I wasn't sure what Plan B would be... but going to the top seemed absolutely impossible. I considered just going back down the trail or spending the night in one of the huts and waiting for Paul.... but somehow, I kept on going.

Luckily my iPod, for once it its life, decided it would last more than a few hours and actually lasted the entire journey, thank goodness! After we hit the first station, we got a map explaining how to get back down from the top and the map also explained the distances between the huts and suggested times to keep you on track. The trail got significantly harder at this point, with climbing over large boulders, into an almost vertical ascent with nothing to protect you... don't look down. At one point there was a chain-link fence of sorts that you could use to pull yourself up.

The air started getting thinner, and it started raining. Luckily we got to the 8th Station earlier than we thought based on where we thought we were on the map, this was a relief and we allowed ourselves a rest. This is also where we first started to use our oxygens bottles, oxygen water, and pure glucose. It was getting VERY cold too. And I had already put on all my layers so I had no more options.

The trail became slipperly, and I slipped twice... the bruises look lovely on my knees as I type this three weeks later. Towards the top we did meet up with some large groups climbing and we decided to keep with their pace, since we had no idea at this point how long it would be until the top, but figured if they were going to make sunrise, we could stay with their pace and make sunrise as well. Finally... after 8 hours of climbing and utter exhaustion... we made it to the top! JUST in time for sunrise... we literally stepped foot at the summit the instant the sun appeared. It was FREEEEEZING at the top and I was exhausted. I enjoyed sunrise and then slipped inside to a hut where there was a small fire going. I tried to warm myself, and then eventually opted for some ramen soup to help warm me up. We didn't stay at the top too long, maybe an hour, to rest, because it was so cold.

We started back down... thinking the way down would be much easier. Think again! The descent took us about 3.5 hours. It became repetitive, because there were only two huts and the entire trail was a bulldozed switchback trail that was covered in inches of the lava/ash that makes it very slippery. You pretty much have to go down on your heels and the sliding just about kills your knees. We frequently rested at the switchbacks to catch our breath and enjoy being on a non-sliding surface for a few moments. It was very steep as well. We finally made it back to the 6th Safety Station where the trails come together... we thought we were close at this point, but failed to remember the previous night in the pitch black, the walk was actually almost 2 miles back to the 5th Station.

We kept trudging on, and made it back to the 5th Station at 9:30. I was so exhausted I couldn't even eat, but I sat and waited for Paul to have some breakfast. I hadn't been sleepy until this point, but my body was ready to completely give up at this point. Unfortunately the first bus back to Tokyo wasn't until 11, so we had quite some time to kill.

We finally boarded the bus, and I fell asleep, but only for about an hour. Then I just sat there restless until we made it back to Shinjuku... then took the metro back to Akasaka.

It was rewarded knowing that I made it to the top of Mt. Fuji. Halfway into the journey, I wouldn't have guessed it. But I did it!!!!!!!!!

Side note: So in the days following Mt. Fuji, I had trouble walking and both of my legs were swollen. Now everything seems back to normal and the only physical momentos I have of my journey are the pieces of lava rock I took :-)

See my pictures!! http://picasaweb.google.com/lbarteld/TokyoMountFujiClimb

Pictures are worth a thousand words... my facial expressions are pretty priceless.