Decision, decision... - July 31

I woke up at 5:30ish, decamped and headed up to the hut. The weather forecast was the same - rain, wind and thunderstorms later. This was my last chance to hike out if I kept going, I was pretty much committed to the last 23 km or so of up and down, plus sketchy long drop ladders and chains.

In the end, I decided to head out. My knee was sore from two steps outside the tent, and while I think I could've made it, pain every second step detracts from the enjoyment. So I took the "early exit" which was still 10 km or so (but downhill). And while it's always a bitter hike away from your goal, in the end I think it was the better choice. The morning's ibuprofen wore off after 3 hours (on schedule) and the next dose lasted for less than an hour. (As I write this, my knee is gradually feeling better, but it's been almost a week).

Anecdote: Often in Japan, Japanese people start talking to me in Japanese, and then look confused when I don't understand, or reply in broken Japanese. On the way down, I met a guy coming up, who asked me something about time and the hut I'd passed a ways back (his Japanese did sound strange, but I thought that was just my difficulty in understanding). So I told him (in simple Japanese) how long it had taken me. Then he said he didn't speak Japanese, he was Korean, and did I speak English! Funny being on the other side of a (somewhat) familiar situation.

As I was smelling less than fresh from being hot, wet and sweaty over the past few days, I stopped for a quick and very cold rinse in the river (not the one in the picture). The river smelled a bit funny, but it was better than the way I'd previously smelled...Finished walking down the road, and caught the bus to Matsumoto.