We couldn't really have asked for better weather on our hike this weekend. Not a single cloud covered the sun and what this meant was we got to see Mount Fuji in all its glory at different parts of the trail. CP7 to CP9 truly exemplifies the saying 'No Pain, No Gain', for I think when the stars align just right, it is the most beautiful part of the trail and at the same time deceivingly difficult. But more on that later... So no Pei, no Jenny and no Yukiko this weekend. Just when I was mentally prepared to sing Karaoke into the wee hours of the Friday night, TY, one of our support crew, sends out an email that he'd like to hike. Feeling guilty as I had done only 2 hikes before, of course I crush all my partying dreams and say that I will come along. Xia, another one of our support crew, jumps in saying that she is interested. Unfortunately TY falls ill right before the day and Xia and I decide to persevere on. When I asked her that day why she still decided to go, she said, "What's our team name again?!" :)
We had no difficulty getting to CP7. And guess who was there to greet us? Good old Fuji-san. Thats when it dawned on me what a beautiful day it was going to be. Xia and I had no difficulty finding our way from CP7-8. We chatted about everything under the sun. I told her about the differences between the different regions in India and she enlightened me on the fact that Canberra is the capital of Australia. Yah, I know you thought it was Sydney :) You should ask her the story of how those people down under choose Canberra. It is rather fascinating.
I'm making this sound like CP7-8 is a walk in the park, but it most definitely isnt. Theres an irritating gravel road in the beginning. Then there are all these confusing signs. When you actually start climbing Mount Furo you realize that the gravel road was ten times better. There are 3 to 4 areas where you go vertically up at an angle of 60-70 degrees. And every time you think you have reached the last one of them, another one shows up just to taunt you. Xia and I didnt say a word through most of the climb up because we were panting hard and concentrating on why we should be taking the next 2 steps. Sounds like fun doesn't it? :)
Pei, we figured out where we went wrong the last time. It wasn't when Raza called. I know we love to blame Raza for everything but this is the only time that it wasn't his fault ;) When you get close to the top of Mount Furo there a sign that tells you to go down. Don't take it. Keep going up. You will come across another sign in 2-3 minutes. This area has an amazing view of Fuji and has benches to sit down. Thats the point from which you need to go down. Now you know!
Of course when you climb a mountain you goto go down and Xia and I loved going down. At one point we came across a patch of dry grass with another stunning view of Fuji. Of course it was picture time! We also came across a group of fellow Oxfam hikers. Some of their team members seemed to be much older than us and in much better health.
It's amazing how people in their 40s and 50s can do something like this. I hope that when I am that old, which I will probably never be ;) , I will have the same urge to get out in the wild and hurt some muscle!
I have to talk about how strong and determined Xia can be. She came in thinking this was only going to be a 20km hike and as she had done about 30kms before, a piece of cake (by the way, I found out that she wants to be a baker of Cheesecakes and Cupcakes in the future!). She had only used her walking sticks once before. And she didnt even have hiking shoes. All this didn't prevent her from being chirpy during the entire trail. She didn't complain once and she was determined to keep climbing up even when the top seemed no where in sight. She had all the right qualities of a good hiker. A beaming smile and rock-hard determination!
So we reveled in little victories like climbing a hard stretch or catching a glimpse of Fuji. We ate lunch sitting on a tree trunk with a cool breeze caressing us. We reached CP 8 in good time. There was another stretch from CP8-9 that is a steep climb but it seemed much easier than the one before. We climbed Mt. Myojin and got a stunning view of Lake Yamanaka sprawled at the feet of Fuji. Of course what is the fun of a hike without getting a little lost. So of course we decided to do just that. We didnt find any of the last four or five signs on our way down. However it seems like all roads lead to the Hirano Bus Stop and we eventually arrived there in good time to catch the bus back. After a bit of anxiety due to not having tickets and the bus being full, Xia saved the day by speaking perfect Japanese and convincing the driver that we needed to find our way back to Shinjuku.
We passed Fujikyu on our way back and I was really tempted to ride those crazy rollercoasters. Someday I will! So that was the end of a very nice hike. We had relatively little issues, burned some calories, built some muscle, sweated up a storm and I bothered Xia with too many questions about this thing they call 'Life' :)
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