Today I climbed the small mountain of Sougadake in Kurobe with my friends Chika and Kylie. We began at 8:30am but I had to get breakfast from a "konbini" (minimart) because I was in such a hurry to go I forgot to eat my oatmeal. The rest of the day I was worrie
d I had left the burner on (I didn't)! Silly Johnny
We started at the tiny Unazuki ski town in the gorge and drove past the giant Japanese Statue. I was driving the old trusty Suzuki Alto. Soon we were above the clouds and were able to catch glimpses of the valley below. There were rocks scattered around the windy mountain roads, warning me to keep one eye on the mountain and the other...somewhere else.
We reached the top after a short while and entered the trail. Kylie, a girl from Arizona who is here on an artist's Visa, immediately noticed many types of clay which any hoyploy would have mistaken for dirt and would have quickly trampled underfoot. I however, being so cultured, noticed it as slightly miscolored dirt.
We were mostly alone while hiking, probably because the official
"hiking season" is over. Does that apply to humans and animals alike because I didn't see very many of either.
At one point Kylie fell off the trail and could have carreened to a bad injury but was quick enough to grab onto a tree as she was falling. It gave us a good startle so we took a break and ate some cookies. She only received some minor cuts and scrapes.
An hour and a half later we summitted and were covered in the mist of the clouds, reminding me of the previous week's adventure, Mt. Hakusan. We took a lunch break, an event I had been talking about since that morning because I had made a Marionberry jam and natural peanut butter sandwich (in Japan they usually sell processed jam and peanut creme...), a bag of sea salt and vinegar Kettle Chips, and a grapefruit. It was arguably the best part of my day apart from going to bed which could be better (I'll let you know).
After our descent we drove back into Nyuzen and went straight to our favorite sweets shop, Amataro. This little Mom&Pop desserts shop serves everything from "American" sundays to the best shaved ice this side of the rice fields. The restraunt owners, a nice older couple, asked me to bring them some lemon-flavored candy from the U.S. so I presented them with America's finest, lemonheads. They were so happy they gave us free rice cakes, tea and nori (seaweed). It was awesome.
After, I went for an onsen or natural spa and then came home. The end
difficult however. Opting out on heavier foods, Not bringing your 50+ gadget leatherman, and having only one pair of underwear (Sorry Tim). Thus the scrutenous code of ultra-light backpacking, where packing becomes an art. My finished work: a thirteen-pound pack.
