Mitake-san & Otake-san, Japan

     October 2010 was my first trip to Japan and as I write this in September 2011, it looks like it won't be my last.  This was no vacation, but three weeks of work.  Long hours and stressful situations.  During 22 days I had 2 1/2 days off.  The work day started at 08:00 and finished up usually by around 19:45 or 20:00.

     A lot of walking was done on my days off, with the exception of one.  Two of the very fine human beings I worked with took me on a tour of the countryside around Mt. Fuji.  Not climbers themselves, we settled for the shops at the end of the road.  I was extremely pleased with the gift of their time and attention.  I cannot say enough about the Japanese people.

     I had a Sunday off and there were no Western co-workers about on that day.  Two left on Friday and another would be arriving very late that evening.
    Having the full day off today so I thought I'd leave the city for the hills.  Tokyo is very very large and lies in a huge bowl.  Mountains to the North, mountains to West and to the South.  There are mountains to the East as well, but those are in California, Washington, and Oregon.  Except for Mt Fuji, these mountains tend to be around 2000ft to 4000ft, much like in Virginia.  The great thing is that some of these mountains are less than 2hr train ride from downtown Tokyo.  Mt Takao is 20 minutes from my hotel (Tachikawa) by train.
    I did a little research and found that Takao would be very very busy and all but one path was paved.  What mountain has paved trails?  I absolutely crave solitude in the mountains.  I demand it.  So, there is Mitake-san (Mt. Mitake) at 800m (2600ft) which has a shrine and a village at it's peak.  Hmmm... paved.  But, leading from the shrine are a handful of trails that lead to other peaks.  The largest in the area being Otake-san at 1266.5m (4155ft).

    I set the alarm for 06:20 to make an early start. Rain was forecast for later in the day and I wanted to get up and down before the rain.  Plus, the trains run less frequently the further from Tokyo you get.  At 06:20 I tried really did try, but went back to bed for another hour.  No worries.  Took the train from Tachikawa to Ome. At Ome changed trains to a local line to Mitake.  Side story:  Starting from Tokyo station or Shinjuku station you are in downtown Tokyo and the buildings are monstrous.  Small buildings are 9 floors.  As you travel by train west you see the large buildings melt to smaller, but still most buildings are 6 to 12 stories with a smattering of 3 to 4 story apartment buildings.  1 or 2 story buildings are usually schools or some such.  As you get past Tachikawa and are closer to Ome (heading West) there are fewer buildings over 5 stories, but still most are 2 to 4 stories.  But now, occassionally the train passes a neighborhood of single dwelling homes.  Wouldn't know it though as they are crammed together like a tin of Oscar sardines.  Hey, that sounds good.  After Ome, things change dramatically.  There are far more trees and the smaller moutains are just on the otherside of the river, maybe 1500 meters wide. They do not rise gently, but are very steep and heavily wooded.  One of the stops after Ome you go through a tunnel (driving through a spur of a short hill).  On the other side the landscape is suddenly a mountain village.  No large buildings and houses are stuck on any piece of flat land.

     The train stops at Mitake station.  Across the street and a block away is the bus that takes you to the cable car.  The cable car takes you from 400m to 800m and is not cheap (about $6 one way).  Mitake is a small town and the best way I can think to describe it is that it reminds me a bit of Ontario just down the road from us.  Ontario may have a little more flat space.  Ontario, except that the buildings have that Japanes roof style.  A few still even have the timber and thatch and are in good shape.  Most have ceramic or metal roofing.

Trail Map near shrine

     That $6 on the cable car is some of the best cash you'll ever spend.  The 400m climb to the summit of Mitake-san would be an incredibly difficult climb and would be entirely on pavement.
      Pavement, yes that's the thing.  Roads in mountain towns in the US tend to be a bit winding, but they allow the space for two vehicles to pass one another in the opposite direction.  Not so in Mitake.  Most of the time the road is barely 12 feet across.
     The bus stops below the cable car station, so there is short 200m hike up a steep hill to get to the cable car.
     The weather today.  Well, it started out cloudy and about 60F.  Supposed to be sunny, but that didn't happen.  As the train approached Mitake the clouds were beginning to become thicker in the mountain valleys.
      So, the cable car ride is short, but really quite necessary.  At the top there are two gift shops and an open courtyard.  Most of the signs are in Japanese and only a few sprinklings in English.  Well, there's one road and two directions.  Down or up.  So, up I go.  The others on the cable car seemed to want to look through trinkets instead of getting into the woods.  I need the trail.  I'm not in my hiking shoes to shop.  The "road" is a concrete path barely 7 feet wide and has grooves cut in it.  The drivers are pretty friendly and are on the lookout for tourists.  The village at the summit is very small, perhaps 30 houses.  They all butt right up to the road and each other.  After 20 minutes of walking on the main thoroughfare through the village you come to the shrine.  Most of the stones are newish and all are in Japanese.  Have no idea what they are about.  The famous Samurai armor was not on display today.  Walking through the shrine there are two paths that are part blacktop, part gravel and these are the trails that lead out to other peaks. 

Mitake village

   By this time the weather had turned to drizzle, but under the canopy of cedar and other trees little rain made it to the trail.  The hike from Mitake-san to Otake-san took me 1:51 minutes and it was as difficult a climb as any of the others, save the return from Lost Lake in Olympic.  Never stopped going up.  There were two main shelters along the way.  Only one was open and that was because it has only two walls.  Just a place to sit and rest.  Before the final ascent to Otake-san there is a workhouse and a small prayer temple.  Both locked.
     The last half mile to the summit is rock; slippery sharp black rock.  That last bit took some thinking.  But, if the old folks could do it, so could I.
     At the summit there is a post with the altitude.  Behind the post to the North are further mountains.  I saw nothing but gray.  There were no features of anything, tree or otherwise beyond 200m.  Fantastic.

Summit



Bridge on trail




Crossroads - last sign in English


     Coming and going I met perhaps 30 people along the trail.  That's busier than I'm used to in Mountains, but for Japan that is absolute solitude.  Most everyone was dressed in expensive North Face winter and rain gear.  By the time I was half way into the climb the rain was a bit more steady.  Actually, outside the canopy it was coming down pretty good.  There was no way to not get wet.  The temp was probably around 55F or a little less.  That is December temps for Tokyo and it showed in the people.  I was so warm on the climb (from working hard) that I was in t-shirt and shorts with my rain jacket hung off my pack.  There were people I met with full rain gear.  One guy was wearing alpine hiking boots!  I probably looked as strange to them as they did to me.   At one point on the way up I dropped my light pack and sat on a rock.  I had picked up some kind of cookie at a store the night before for a snack on the hike.  I could not really tell what they were.  The package was in Japanese and the girl behind the counter spoke no English.  Oatmeal raisin.  Wow!  When I say "like grandma use to make" I'm spot on.  I sat on the rock, soaked in rain and sweat, smiling.. thinking about Grandma Dorothy and Grandpa Karl (miss you!) eating cookies.  What did those Japanese think about that site?!?

     On the way back down I changed shirts and then wore my rain jacket.  I wasn't working as hard and the rain was really coming down.  Even under the trees the rain was steady.  The amount of standing water on the trail tripled from on the way up.  Those rocks on the way down.  Boy were they slippery.  Took 1:25 to get back down to the cable car, but that first half mile off the summit took about 20 minutes.  Scary.

     I freely admit I'm very bad with knowing my trees and plants.  The scenery, despite the mist and drizzle, was still fantastic.  The woods, steep hills were sites to behold.  I won't long forget it.  I hope that in December 2011, when I go back, I have another day off.

Mountain forest

Mt. Rainier - Towards Indian Bar

     Late July 2010 and I'm back in the Pacific Northwest.  I absolutely love the Pacific Northwest.  I've hiked on Rainier three times (including this hike), Mt St Helens, Olympic Natl Park, North Cascades.  There is no place in the world better than the Pacific Northwest as far as I'm concerned. 
     Driving out of the airport and getting out on to I-5 I feel as if I've returned home.  I've never lived there, only visited and only in the last 9 years.  Somehow, something simply calls to me.  There are four reasons I haven't moved out there.  Those reasons will remain my own.

     All but one of those hikes I did myself.  This hike on Rainier was to be the second with another person and the first trip out to my "home" with my wife Ruth.  Things hadn't been so good for us so there was quite some trepidation heading out on this vacation.

     The planned hike was to start at Box Canyon and hike up to the Cowlitz Divide and make it as far as we could.  Our ultimate goal was Indian Bar, but we knew that was a stretch goal.  When I first thought I was going on my own my goal was Ohanapecosh Park.  I would have needed excellent weather and to really push the pace.  On my own that was possible, maybe 70% likely.  Together there was no way, so Indian Bar was the goal with a 80% likelihood. 
     The snow about 6000ft refused to melt that Summer and the day before we left I gave Indian Bar a 60% chance.  Figured we make it up to the high point right before Indian Bar.

     We woke to a beautiful sunny and cool day on Rainier.  The temp at 08:55 was right around 58F and the sun was out in full force.  We'd have a comfortable hike up through the canopy to the ridge.  We made sure to pack sunglasses and an extra shirt (two for me... boy  I sweat easy).  The ridge would be warm and sunny.
     08:55 we left the parking lot at Box Canyon.  Took a 5 minute side trip to check out the canyon, got a bit confused on which trail was the trail we needed.  Backtracked for another 5 minutes and then got on the real trail up.  The first mile is pretty easy to Nickel Creek.  We hit Nickel Creek at 09:39. 

Mike and Ruth at the start

     I'm going to make a statement here that will get me in trouble when Ruth reads this, but she knows where I stand on the issue.  Any moderately dedicated hiker will smile and shake their head in agreement with me, though.   Very important ----   be sure all your electronic devices such as GPS and Camera are all set and ready to go at least a day ahead of time.  There are few things more frustating to a hiker than to have their partner constantly stopping on the trail to learn how to use their GPS or adjust the settings on their camera.  The first mile took almost an hour.  We were stopping every 100m because something wasn't understood or wasn't quite right.
     I carry a cheap GPS in my pack.  I make sure the batteries are good before I get in the car or on the plane.  It stays in pack, turned off.  It's there for emergencies.  I hike on trails.  They are already on the map.  Only once in the North Cascades did I end up on an unmarked trail, but I didn't feel the need to worry about whether I could upload it into my computer.
     I have a decent, small, digital camera.  I use two settings that I can find in less than a second.  I stop quickly to take a picture and then keep moving.  I do take a good number of pictures.   An 8 hour hike in the mountains will yield about 50 pictures.  I keep moving though and do not take a lot of time to frame them.  I'm out there to hike and have memories, not win a contest. 

     Nickel Creek is about 3480ft.  A wood bridge made from a cut tree runs across and there is a campground tucked on the East side.  This is a great place to stop and soak your feet as we did on the way back down.  It is also your only source of water until you hit snow pack.  We had to stop at Nickel Creek for a nature call, fiddled with the GPS, fiddled with the Camera.  At 09:50 we were moving again.  Been on the trail almost an hour and had gone only a mile.  No way to make Indian Bar now.  We would run out of water and probably daylight, unless we really did well on the climb up.

Nickel Creek

     The climb up starts at Nickel Creek and it is what you would expect of Rainier.  Switchbacks.  Constant switchbacks.  Some were tough, some were not, but the climb never let up.  Our pace slowed considerably, down to less than a mile an hour.  I used to be a runner before two back surgeries.  Now I hike.  I'm 25 pounds heavier than I used to be and have sciatic issues that make a lot of things difficult.  One thing I can do is put one foot in front of the other and climb.  I can typically maintain a 2mph average on climbs and 3mph on the flats.  Downhills kill my knees.  I am slow, slow, slow on steep declinations.  Ruth, well, she's not a climber.  Those switchbacks took their toll.  She'd recover nicely with just a minute or two, but the switchbacks were punishing.  She's a gamer, though, and kept pushing.

     We met a couple that was coming down.  They were on Day 10 of the Wonderland Trail circuit and had one more day to go after this one.  We wished them well and pushed on.  About 10:47 we hit 4200ft and then at 11:00 on the button the GPS registered 4400ft.  Okay, maybe GPS isn't so bad on a hike.  We dropped packs and took a 10 minute break.  I try to break every hour for 5 minutes.  Get the pack off, stretch my legs and get my lower back a rest.  Gratefully the weather and terrain allowed for this.

     The climb up is all in the forest.  Again, don't know my trees, but I like what I see in those Northwest forests.  There were no grand views of picks on the climb up.  We could hear the creek down below and small run-offs trickling down the mountainside but, with only a couple exceptions, couldn't really see them.  Still, the sounds, the green, the smell of the pine, decay. 

    By 11:22 we'd hit an even 4600ft. and began to see small snow patch off the trail.  Shortly after that, at 11:32 we hit the Cowlitz trail junction.  We'd been moving for 2.5 hours and only gone 2.7 miles.  We re-assessed our goal and decided we'd hike until 14:00 and then turn around.  No chance of making Indian Bar or even close to that.  I was a little worried about water.  I don't like to take from snow cover if I don't have to or even streams.  Day hike.... shouldn't need to have more water than you can pack in, but we were going to be close.

Ruth!

     After the junction the heavy climbing is over, but the terrain is rolling and twisting, giving the legs and cardio a continued workout.  11:55 sees 5002ft.  12:10 we dropped the packs again for 20 minutes.  12:37 we broke 5450ft and the snow cover was nearly 100%.  We would have to walk on a snow pack and duck under branches, the pack being 3 to 4 feet deep and 20 to 40 ft long.  Then the pack would end in a 4 foot drop-off back to trail.  The trail, there, covered in ankle deep water.  20 years ago this would have been fun.  Now? Let's say we found it... interesting.

The trail is in there somewhere

     At the Cowlitz junction we met a couple that passed us as we stopped to take pictures by the sign.  They were moving at a good clip going towards the top of the ridge.  Their goal was to get to the "high point" which is a little before Indian Bar.  As we started hitting the rolling terrain we met them coming back.  The wife/girlfriend was completely freaked out and wanted to "get off this hill."  I asked her partner about her attitude.  He said she just couldn't deal with the snow.  It was just too difficult.  The little packs of snow were tough, no doubt.  But certainly not insurmountable.  She should've stayed on the trail.  Still, once you're freaked out up there you best be getting back down or somebody's getting hurt.

     At 12:59 we broke out of near constant tree cover and got glimpses of Bald Rock out to the East.  13:30 brought the first unobstructed view of Mt Rainier and saw us still around 5450ft.  Felt like we'd been climbing, but we'd been dropping as well.  Up on the ridge the view of Rainier was spectacular.  Very few clouds and beautiful blue sky.  Using the binoculars we tried to spy some climbers we'd been told would be on a face we could see.  No such luck.  If they were there we were not expert enough to catch them.

     We broke for a long lunch about 14:00 at a good spot.  We had a great view of Rainier.  A little shade under a copse of trees when we wanted and excellent views of St Helens and Adams to the South.  A couple hundred meters further up the trail I could see the high point.  The approach to the high point was completely snow covered.  The distance was about a half mile but would likely have taken us 45 minutes just to get there and another 45 minutes to get back.  I liked the idea, but we were done to 1/3 water.  Ruth was pretty beat.  I was worried about daylight should something go wrong on the way back down.  We decided a long 30 minute break to eat sandwiches (and drink a Coke!) was the order and then back down.  As I said, the view from where we were was outstanding and we took a lot of pictures there.  One of them has me with no shirt (drying it out) and wearing Ruth's bra.  If you pay off my credit card I'll let you see that one.  Maybe I should pay off your credit card instead.  We'd reached an altitude of just over 5500ft.  Actually, on going up to view the approach to the high point I likely cracked 5700.

The trail continues to the high point.

    We started back down around 14:35.  We hit the junction about 16:24.  On the way down to the junction we met a Ranger who was out with a couple of hand saws.  She was out clearing the path from fallen trees from the Spring flood.  Doing a great job I might add and I told her so.  She wasn't impressed and simply did not seem to want people on the trail.  I have a soft spot for the Rangers and honestly believe they do us a great service.  I've had better conversations with them than this time around.

     We hit Nickel Creek at 17:22.  I was completely out of water and had been for about 45 minutes.  I was a bit parched at that time.  But, with only a mile left I figured I'd pass on the creek for water.  Besides the pills need about 30 minutes to kick and we'd be back by then.  I really should have filled a bottle with snow at the top.  We stopped for about five minutes to soak our feet (and dunk my head).

     At 17:22 we made it back to the parking lot.  Tired, out of water, and still married.
    Ruth turned out to be a great partner.  Need to work on the electronics.  Actually, here in 2011, still do...
     The following couple of days saw us driving up the back forest roads to take pictures of St Helens.  A helicopter ride over St Helens, and generally just out viewing the scenery.  The helicopter ride is horribly expensive, but frankly, worth going into a little debt for. 

     Someday I'm going to make Ohanapecosh.