2009年7月22日水曜日

One Helluva Night on Fuji-san


Last weekend, a friend and I hiked Mt Fuji from the Kawaguchi fifth station. From the start, the weather was rainy, and visibility was poor. Due to the long weekend, countless people came to climb Japan's highest peak (3776m). The sight reminds me of the long pilgrim crowds in Mecca. The hut at the eight station was so full that people had to sleep in mummy-pose on long co-ed bunk beds, shoulders pressed against shoulders of people sleeping next to me. When we started to hike again at 1am, the crowd was already reaching its peak. It is amazing how people can put up with such conditions. After another two-hour crawl to the top, we passed the ninth station. After passing the torii gate, about 100m from the top, the traffic simply stopped. After another half an hour standing in the cold and with not much oxygen to breathe, we finally decided that we had enough and started our descent. Thick clouds blocked the sun completely from sight so there was no chance that we could view the sun rise (ご来光). Needless to say, my first hike to the top of the world's most selfish mountain was not a pleasant experience.

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