Due to recent requests and for those of you who are interested in our Fuji climb, we are finally recording the details for all to see...
I will begin by saying that despite any setback or quirk in our trip, it was an awesome experience - one that will be remembered and treasured for life. That being said, we began our trip by finding two sitters that were willing to join us for the 14-hour drive up to Fuji and then stay with the six youngsters too small for the hike. We went with a family with 4 boys - very good friends of ours. We were very fortunate to find 2 girls up for the challenge - and they earned every penny!
The trip up was smooth - we made a few stops on the toll roads at the rest stops, where you can find just about anything you might need. We rented vans for the trip since the tolls are ridiculously expensive. Tolls are paid for with rentals from the base. Our round trip would have cost $500 per van in tolls alone, so it was a good investment. It's no wonder Japanese never travel too far from home - it's not affordable!
We stayed at Camp Fuji - a very small marine base at the base of the mountain. Our rooms were modest, but comfortable and only cost us $25 a night. We got a lot of good sleep that night and arose early in the morning for our adventure. After a good breakfast, we bid the kids farewell, and the six of us (Dave, Adina, Isaac, Margo, Rick, & Tanner) set off. We drove to the 5th station on the mountain - where most everyone begins their hike. There, we purchased walking sticks that would prove invaluable on the climb (at least for me). We officially began the hike at 8:30 am. It was cool and misty, perfect weather in my mind. I was surprised at the terrain a little - not a conventional "hike" by any means. More of a climb - found ourselves using all four limbs many times. It was very rocky - just a huge, lumpy volcanic rock. A twisted ankle waiting to happen. Very little vegetation. But it had it's own beauty - and the view (when the sky was clear) was amazing. LIke nothing I have ever seen.
We were very well prepared for the hike, for which I am grateful. We each had a Camelback - each of us carrying 2 to 3 liters of water. Plenty of healthy, high-carb food, first aid kits (which we used), warm clothes, ponchos, yen, cameras, hats, sunscreen (which we used too late), change of socks, etc. We are forever grateful to Brent for hooking us up with some awesome Vasque hiking boots - not one blister or wet foot on the hike. THANKS BRENT!
The mountain has stations that you can stop and rest at as you hike. Each station has a bathroom (but it will cost you about $2 to use it), water (which will also cost about $3-5), oxygen in a can (for altitude sickness), and some offer hot food. You also get your stick stamped at each station - they burn the altitude and a symbol into your wooden stick, so by the end of the hike, you have a really cool souvenier. Of course, that will cost you, too. Nothing is free on Fuji!
We climbed the last weekend in August, just days before the climbing season is over. As we hiked to each station, the workers were covering the stations in rocks preparing for the impending snow that will eventually blanket the mountain. No more hikers until July of 2005.
Isaac and I developed a pretty good case of altitude sickness - fatigue, pounding headache, dizziness - but we took some ibuprofen and trudged on. There was absolutely no turning back. By the last couple of stations, Isaac was beat. I felt for him - his head was really hurting. Each time we stopped to rest, he would drape himself over a rock and lay perfectly motionless. He was just completely drained. Probably for the last 2 hours, I pulled him up the mountain. But he was the first to cross through the Tori gate at the top!
Once we reached the top, the weather changed instantly. It went from clear, blue skies to total cloud cover and rain. And the temp dropped to probably about 40 degrees. We went into the station, where there was a small Buddhist temple, got our sticks stamped, changed into our ponchos, got Isaac some oxygen from a man that probably thought Isaac was going to die right there on his floor, and headed back down. There was no view to enjoy, and we wouldn't see the base of the moutain again until we reached it on foot. The clouds and rain stuck with us til we were done, which made for a very wet descent.
We stopped at a station on the way down and had some hot Udon noodles - very good. It really perked Isaac up. It felt like the Twilight Zone, though. We are sitting in this small, wooden room, eating hot Udon noodles, on the side of a mountain, and surrounded by lots of old Japanese men in their socks and slippers who are smoking and chatting, who don't look like they belong there. But we were all grateful for the hot food in our stomachs and the break.
The hike up took 5 hours - the hike down took about 2 1/2 or 3. I felt like the descent was just a controlled fall, at least for me. Isaac's altitude sickness totally disappeared as we descended. My headache remained, but it felt great to reach the bottom of that mountain!
I am very proud of Isaac and his determination to do something that not many 9-year olds could do. He is very active and full of energy and that is what got him up there - that and the promise of some Mt. Fuji dog tags he saw at the souvenier shop. Whatever works, right?!
It was an awesome experience - highly recommended if you ever get the opportunity.
Love you all...More later...my little brother is visiting and we are doing a lot of travelling and sight-seeing while he is here. Not a moment to spare, it seems.
Adina
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