Fuji

Again, sorry for the lack of posts lately. Just been busy, tired, fighting off a cough, etc. No good excuse, really.

Our Mt. Fuji climb turned into an adventure of the not-quite-so-epic kind. The forecast called for an 80% chance of rain, followed by a 100% chance of heavy rain in the morning. We decided to try anyway, seeing as we'd all gotten the time off. We started from the shrine in Fujiyoshida

around 3:30 pm and by 5:30 pm, it was raining. By 6:30, it was pouring. And then it got worse. We found a few shelters to wait out the worst of it.

By the time (9:30) we had reached the 5th station (midway between top and bottom) we were soaked and the wind had picked up quite a bit. We stopped at a rest hut to dry out. $10/hr for rest (incl. hot stove and tea), $50 for overnight. C decided that enough was enough, and that 5th station was the last station. M and I decided to keep going once we had dried out. We headed out around 11:00 and climbed past 6th station. Unbelievably, it began raining harder, and got really windy. Keeping warm was getting difficult. We stopped in a bathroom just to rest and warm up for a minute - which turned into about an hour - had a nice time trying to talk with the four Japanese hikers also trying to dry out in the bathroom. A guy from one of the huts came in, and we ended up staying there overnight. In the morning, by the time it had stopped raining and we were up for hiking again, there didn't seem to be enough time to make the summit, and still make it down to get C and catch the last bus down from 5th station. So, since M was leaving Japan in a week, we decided that he'd head up,

and I'd go back for C. And I didn't really want to pay for another night on the mountain. And I want to hit the top of Fuji to watch the sunrise. I went back, met a very worried/relieved C, and we headed down. M ran up and ran down, and actually caught the last bus. I need to get into shape. But Fuji and I are not done. Rematch when the weather's good. Probably next season.