The climb to Mt. Fuji (respectfully referred to as Fujisan by the Japanese) began on a Saturday night, as I checked the tent and packed. I awoke late Sunday morning, ate a huge breakfast of all the leftover food in the house, prayed, picked up some food and a poncho and headed to Oppama Station. I proceeded to take five trains and arrived in Gotemba around 3:00pm.
Without a concrete plan or knowledge of how to get to the mountain, I walked toward the bus station. There I saw a group of young Americans get on a bus. They said they were going to the Gotemba 5th Station of Fujisan’s western slope and climbing the mountain overnight. I was not planning on climbing from that station or on the first night, but after a moment of fast thinking, I jumped on the bus.
We arrived at the 5th Station at 4:30pm, and I began to ascend alone. As I climbed, the colors of the grey
rocks, green plants, and blue sky glowed clear through the thin mountain air. There were yellow sunrays breaking through the clouds above me and a lake of thick white clouds covering the valley below me. At one point the valley clouds ascended the mountain and blew a fresh breath of mist onto my skin. It was the first time I felt the consistency of a cloud.
As the sun was setting, I met a nice lone hiker from Kyoto and proceeded to climb most of the night with him. We did not speak much of each other’s language, but we communicated the emotions of climbing well and understood each other.
After the sunset the overhead clouds thinned and the stars came out. They shined clear, filled the sky with great beauty and served as inspiration when I took breaks from climbing.
Such was needed, for the ten hours of climbing pained my body and challenged my will. Along with being steep and completely uphill, the trail was made of small rocks and sunk my feet 2-5 inches on every step. Also, because I was not planning on climbing the first day, I had a large external-frame army pack filled with a tent, sleeping bag, food, clothes and water on my back and a backpack filled with books over my stomach.
At times I struggled and considered going to sleep. On breaks, I saw 5-10 shooting stars and each time I asked for the strength to go on and for protection from a bad fall. From midnight to 3:00am I became progressively slower and took more breaks, but I finished with a charge to the summit and arrived on the eastern edge just as light began to show on the horizon.
Without a concrete plan or knowledge of how to get to the mountain, I walked toward the bus station. There I saw a group of young Americans get on a bus. They said they were going to the Gotemba 5th Station of Fujisan’s western slope and climbing the mountain overnight. I was not planning on climbing from that station or on the first night, but after a moment of fast thinking, I jumped on the bus.
We arrived at the 5th Station at 4:30pm, and I began to ascend alone. As I climbed, the colors of the grey
rocks, green plants, and blue sky glowed clear through the thin mountain air. There were yellow sunrays breaking through the clouds above me and a lake of thick white clouds covering the valley below me. At one point the valley clouds ascended the mountain and blew a fresh breath of mist onto my skin. It was the first time I felt the consistency of a cloud.As the sun was setting, I met a nice lone hiker from Kyoto and proceeded to climb most of the night with him. We did not speak much of each other’s language, but we communicated the emotions of climbing well and understood each other.
After the sunset the overhead clouds thinned and the stars came out. They shined clear, filled the sky with great beauty and served as inspiration when I took breaks from climbing.
Such was needed, for the ten hours of climbing pained my body and challenged my will. Along with being steep and completely uphill, the trail was made of small rocks and sunk my feet 2-5 inches on every step. Also, because I was not planning on climbing the first day, I had a large external-frame army pack filled with a tent, sleeping bag, food, clothes and water on my back and a backpack filled with books over my stomach.
At times I struggled and considered going to sleep. On breaks, I saw 5-10 shooting stars and each time I asked for the strength to go on and for protection from a bad fall. From midnight to 3:00am I became progressively slower and took more breaks, but I finished with a charge to the summit and arrived on the eastern edge just as light began to show on the horizon.
Soon after, I watched the sun slowly rise. The show started with a rainbow in the sky, then golden clouds were added to the horizon and climaxed as the sun rose a perfect yellow sphere, unmarred by the clouds. (Note: I have watched four suns rise in Japan. Twice it rose red and twice yellow. I think the presentation depends on the location of the watcher and thickness of the eastern clouds. If I find more information about this, I will write of it.) There were white clouds in the valleys, covering everything but the black mountain peaks. Glorious Speech!
After the rise, I hiked around the crater of Fujisan’s crown, gazing upon the adjacent valleys in the morning sun and mist. My mind was tired and my body exhausted, and after some confusion I chose the path down the northern slope and headed down. It was wide, steep and slippery and I fell backward many times. Along the way I stopped to pray, strength was returned and I began to march down. The last legs were highlighted by more climbing clouds and views of the bright green forests of Fujisan’s ankle.
Although I planned to spend two nights in the Fuji area, I decided to head home that day. I had ten days of physically taxing ventures ahead of me and took the following day for rest.
Although I planned to spend two nights in the Fuji area, I decided to head home that day. I had ten days of physically taxing ventures ahead of me and took the following day for rest.
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