After transferring from amori to shin-amori, caught the train to Tokyo where , given I had a few minutes, I chose to go to the shopping mall to see if I could find some warm clothes. Turns out the malls there open only at 10 and it was only 9:30. So much for that. Onwards to shinjuku - where given it was 10 when I reached, attempted to check out the shopping mall only to learn , here they opened at 11!! Guess I wasn't meant to shop for warm clothes.
Onwards to otsuki , where I transferred to the fujikuyu railway to make my way to kawaguchiko - the entry town to Mt Fuji via the yoshida trail. I kept searching for mt Fuji - along the train ride, my ride to the k house hostel , walk along the lake. And although it was a partially sunny day, mt Fuji remained elusive to the eye all day until the evening gathered.
The forecast for the night and next day told of heavy rain showers. And I was stuck in a dilemma - should I give up my one chance to climb mt Fuji and allow all the hours I had spent to get here to go to waste? Or should I brave the cold, windy rains and freezing temperatures for the glory of having climbed mt Fuji?
To be or not to be ...
In the end, I figured I might as well brave it and headed to the trailhead. The lady at the information center recommended I shouldn't go up alone given the weather. And I was torn between not heeding her advice and going anyways or waiting till daylight to head up and getting to horakuan a day later.
In the end, a Good Samaritan said I cou join their group if i wanted to. And I readily agreed. They were from holland - a father , his long time friend and his young son who had recently completed a mountaineering course. Also along were a Norwegian couple. So off we started into the night with the winds howling at us and the small lanterns of the people ahead of us gleaming from the mountain trails. And soon , the rains joined the gushing winds, along with bursts of sand storms blowing at us as we trudged along, slowly but steadily.
At some point , I fell back from the group and urged them to continue - not wanting to exhaust myself going faster than my pace and yet , not wanting to slow them down.
It was a mental challenge which I think Kili had prepared me well for. And as I put one foot in front of the other , I kept searching for a glimpse of mt Fuji or the sunrise.
Onwards to otsuki , where I transferred to the fujikuyu railway to make my way to kawaguchiko - the entry town to Mt Fuji via the yoshida trail. I kept searching for mt Fuji - along the train ride, my ride to the k house hostel , walk along the lake. And although it was a partially sunny day, mt Fuji remained elusive to the eye all day until the evening gathered.
The forecast for the night and next day told of heavy rain showers. And I was stuck in a dilemma - should I give up my one chance to climb mt Fuji and allow all the hours I had spent to get here to go to waste? Or should I brave the cold, windy rains and freezing temperatures for the glory of having climbed mt Fuji?
To be or not to be ...
In the end, I figured I might as well brave it and headed to the trailhead. The lady at the information center recommended I shouldn't go up alone given the weather. And I was torn between not heeding her advice and going anyways or waiting till daylight to head up and getting to horakuan a day later.
In the end, a Good Samaritan said I cou join their group if i wanted to. And I readily agreed. They were from holland - a father , his long time friend and his young son who had recently completed a mountaineering course. Also along were a Norwegian couple. So off we started into the night with the winds howling at us and the small lanterns of the people ahead of us gleaming from the mountain trails. And soon , the rains joined the gushing winds, along with bursts of sand storms blowing at us as we trudged along, slowly but steadily.
At some point , I fell back from the group and urged them to continue - not wanting to exhaust myself going faster than my pace and yet , not wanting to slow them down.
It was a mental challenge which I think Kili had prepared me well for. And as I put one foot in front of the other , I kept searching for a glimpse of mt Fuji or the sunrise.
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