Second Training

February 22, 2009 we went for our second training. The members joining the hike are Chika, Hana, Jenny, Raza and myself. We planned to walk from CP4 to CP6, approximately 22 kms. Since I did this part last year, I attempted to cheat the boring part out (flat cycling course running for 4-5 kms.) We changed our starting point to Kintoki Trail Entrance. Basically from flat straight to uphills.

We took the 7.40 a.m. bus from Shinjuku to Sengoku. Actually, we were not sure which bus stop we should get off so we decided to take the further one for the same fare. We got off the bus and again I lost my direction. We asked a man on the street for direction and were pointed to walk to completely opposite direction. Luckily, we found tourist infomation center. So we were back on track and actually backtracked our walk to the trail entrance. The hike started from 10.10 a.m.

I forgot to mention that the weather was very nice. We got a beautiful Mt. Fuji view from the bus. Jenny took a few pictures. Here is one sample.

ok, back to our hike. Raza joined us today to observe how tough we train. So he is not really a hiker. After a few steps, he was calling for a break. I was glad since I can use that opportunity to fix my walking sticks. After that, we just kept walking up and up and up. Then, I heard one said why we kept going up. Today we supposed to train for downhills. Well, how can we go downhills if we don't go up? So keep walking.

We made a few stops to take pictures (actually to rest) but it's ok since the view is so magnificent. I have been in Japan for so many times and lived and have lived here for a while. I have to admit that I never saw Mt. Fuji so beautiful like today. This is a good sign for our team.

We reached the top about 2 hours after. We all were so hungry that we finished our lunch in 15 mins. We took a few pictures and here we go again. This time we are going down. The trail was so muddy. It rained the day before. I think we all slipped except Chika as her pants look clean. Not fair.

At one point, I took a wrong turn. I was so concentrated on going down that I didn't look around. I started to climb up on rocky path and I thought to myself why I went up. Luckily, Jenny caught me. How I can do this by myself. I, alone, might end up my hike in Kyushu.

When we are close to CP5. We got another good sign. We heard some drum sound like in an old Japanese movie when they have some kind of celebration. I guess monks knew that we are approaching and wanted to welcome our team. CP5 is at one of the temple.

Since Raza has an important appointment in Tokyo (to get his BB), he and Jenny had to leave early. Chika, Hana and I continued. CP5 to CP6 was very boring. We just walked on the forest road (pavement) for 8 kms. It took us an hour 40 mins to reach CP6. At the end towards CP6, there are a lot of tea plantation. It looks nice but I'm too lazy to take my camera out. I made a mental note to myself that I need to buy a camera bag that I can hang my camera outside so I can grab it anytime I want to. I always carry my camera like weight. It will just sit in my backpack all day long. Interestingly, I still change my camera every one-two years. I don't know why.

altogether today we hiked around 20 something kms for 6.5 hours. Next time we will do it better. Even that, I am quite happy with the time we walked. Until next training.