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| The Trail Starts to Climb |
I arose early the next morning knowing I needed
to be on the trail starting at first light in order to be able to summit and
get to Tokyo for a late afternoon meeting. My plan was to catch a taxi at 4:00
am from the hotel to the train station (where I would put my bag in a locker)
and then have the taxi driver take me to the Shizuoka Sengen Jinja (Sengen
Shrine) where the original trail begins. A great plan until I learned in the
wee hours of the morning that taxis don't operate early on Sunday mornings. My
run to the top of Mount Fuji began with a walk to the train station dragging my
roller bag and then running to the outskirts of town in search of the Sengen
Shrine.
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| 3rd Station Ruins |
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| 2nd Station Ruins |
Once the shrine was found I went in search of
the trailhead. After several attempts of making a walking motion with my
fingers and saying Fuji-san to a number of sleepy eyed monks, I was directed to
the trailhead. I was excited about the first part of the run given that few
people now climb the mountain from the bottom. More than ninety-nine percent of
Japanese climbers start at the fifth-station, mid way up the mountain (there are ten stations from the base to the top of the mountain). In particular, I was looking forward to seeing the abandoned stations where in the past travelers drank tea and rested.
My expectations were met. A trail to myself and
interesting ruins to explore. The run from Sengen Shrine to the Kawaguchiko
Fifth Station was exceptional.
As I reached the Fifth Station I moved into the
clouds and into the billows of people descending from the summit. Most Japanese
climb the mountain at night (resting/sleeping in the upper stations) with the goal
to summit in time to watch the sunrise.
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| The Roped Trail |
Those of us who run trails have different
perceptions of what is difficult, challenging and possible. Yet, we often
assume everyone else is like us. As I
power-hiked up the trail I was reminded we are different – the reminder being
the faces and bodies of those coming down. The expressions of anguish. The
jolting limps. The sighs, ughs and grunts as grim faced trekkers placed one
foot in front of the other. And then there were those whose faces I did not see
because they were walking down backwards due to quads that had failed them. It
felt like the morning of the walking dead. I was also saddened in that the
basic fitness of the general population is so poor – the distance from the 5th
Station to the summit only being 7km!
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| The Last Kilometer to the Top |
I continued to climb passing stations 6 - 10, most of which were closing for the season, with station staff busy bolting boards across the windows and doors. I finally broke through the clouds and was able to see my destination above me reached by a well established trail marked with ropes that switchbacked up the open and barren volcanic slope.
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| On the Summit |
I had originally planned to run around the rim of the crater
before descending. However, the wind was screaming on top filling my eyes with
volcanic dust making it hard and painful to see. Plus, I was cutting it close
on time and felt anxious about catching my bus to Tokyo. I descended.
A few hundred feet below the summit the clouds rolled back making
it hard to see and leaving me wet and a bit cold from all the moisture. I
amused myself of as I modified the words to Twas
a Night Before Christmas - “visions
of Japanese baths danced through his head.”
The thought of a long soak and getting the grit out of my eyes made the
run down to the Fifth Station go fast.
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| Looking Down from the Summit |
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| A Good Day at UTMB 2 Weeks Earlier |
At the Fifth Station I decided to call it a day
and take a bus down to the base. My descending legs were still a bit creaky
from UTMB two weeks earlier and I was stressed about missing my bus. It was a good call in that I had time for a
nice curry lunch with a glass of sake in Kawaguchiko before jumping on a bus
for Tokyo. All-in-all, an exceptionally good day!
