In summer 2002, I had a few hours of free time in Tokoy, and
decided to climb Mt. Fuji, a 3776-meter high mountain, nearly perfectly shaped
volcano.
Finding the proper starting point through a maze of trains and
busses was not easy without any knowledge of the local language, but
finally I was at the starting place:
As can be seen, the day was rainy. When I started walking, it rained
extremely hard for a few hours. Everyone had rain gear.
Because of some past knee trouble, I decided to buy a walking
stick, but decided against acquiring "oxygen bottles". I'm pretty
sure this is NOT the same kind they are using on the Everest...
The walk is not hard at any particular place, at worst there
are a few stairs. The ground is a mixture of black and red material,
apparently of volcanic origin.
But it is a long, long walk. I started in the afternoon
while I stayed for a few hours in a hut to get some tee and sleep, I barely
made it to the top in time for the sun rise.
This is how trash get disposed of from the huts:
During the walk, it became night and a lot colder. At the top
there was clear weather, but harder wind that I have experienced anywhere
else; the wind carried small stones and kept pounding me in the face
with them. The last few hundred meters of vertical were for some reason
very tough for me. But finally I made it to the top, and was there
just in time to see the start of the sunrise.
From the top one can also peek into the crater of the volcano. While the
outside of the mountain had no snow at this time, there was some in the inside.
Then it was time to get down. The walk down is easy, but also very long,
and tough on your feet and knees.
See also other Jari's pictures.