As by now I'm sure you're all aware, I'm spending the next few months in Japan, attempting to become the first American woman over 45 to climb the Nihon Hyakumeizan in a single year--as well as the first cancer survivor to climb them within a year after finishing cancer treatment (chemotherapy).
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| On the summit of Mount Bandai. (A mile high, but you'll have to take my word for it.) |
But this journey has quickly become about far more than merely tagging peaks and adding notches to a climbing belt. (Spoiler alert: I always knew it would, and intended it to.) My climbing notes often wax philosophical -- sometimes, downright "woo-woo" -- and yet, I think it's impossible to undertake a project of this magnitude without a great deal of internal dialogue and growth.
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| I WILL BECOME A BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY. (Or perhaps a moth . . .) |
Or, if you did, I think you'd cheapen the journey and deprive yourself of a critical aspect of the journey. As every writer knows, the protagonist's internal arc is actually more important than the physical one (s)he undertakes--and that's true in life as well as in fiction.
However, it's also true that wherever I am, my herd of snarks is never far behind--and since I'm not revealing the bigger side of the lessons learned until I know for myself what those lessons really are, you're going to have to live with reports from the snarky side.
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| Tell me there's something NOT snarky to say about a display like this . . . |
Let's be honest . . . the snarks are more fun anyway.
So here's the snark-cap of my travels since last we met here at MIE:
I have summited five more hyakumeizan--Mounts Nasu, Bandai, Ibuki, Omine, and Odaigahara--bringing my total climbs to 11. (And I'll be climbing number twelve by the time you read this blog.)
Technically, I didn't actually climb Mount Omine, since apparently the world will end if women cross the Great Seal at the base of the mountain--but I took my photo at the highest marker I was allowed to reach, and since that marker lies at the base of the mountain, I'm proud to say I reached the summit in record time.
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| (Non) Summit Photo, Mount Omine |
On Ibuki, I learned that climbing mountains in the rain is a horrible idea--and that hiking through abandoned ski resorts has all the makings of an excellent horror film.
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| I see no way this could possibly go wrong. |
On Bandai-san, I discovered something that moves even slower than I do on the trail (though not by much).
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| The only other hiker I outpaced on the way to the summit. |
I also acquired a new, and louder, bear bell (the third bell on my pack, in case you're counting), so I can jingle up a storm with all the Japanese hikers on the mountain trails.
Chausu-dake, the active volcanic cone on Mount Nasu, taught me that volcanic gases are so nice, you smell them twice: the first time when you hike up the mountain, and the second time about twelve hours later, when you use the bathroom at your hotel.
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| Yay! A live volcano! (And yes, I hiked all the way to the top) |
Fun fact: it smells exactly the same coming out as it did going in. (Which, I'm well aware, is more information than you needed, but now you know--and knowing is half the battle.)
Omine taught me that if you don't let women on the mountain, they'll have time to hike a beautiful gorge,
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| The cataracts at Mitarai Gorge |
ride a monorail, visit limestone caves,
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| Breathtaking limestone formations in Dorogawa |
cross giant suspension bridges,
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| One of at least half a dozen I crossed while hiking Mitarai Gorge. They wobble quite reassuringly underfoot. |
and clock a 29,000 step hiking day--all the while having far more fun than the men standing naked under waterfalls on the mountain.
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| Respectfully submitted in place of the missing photo of naked priests beneath a waterfall. |
In other words: NEENER. (Despite the law degree--or perhaps because of it--maturity has never been my strong suit.)
And Odaigahara taught me to recognize poop.
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| Actual sign on the summit plateau, Mount Odaigahara. |
Because Japan.
(It also showed me some breathtaking vistas, which probably is more in tune with what you'd like to see - so I'll drop a photograph of that instead of something more scatalogically-oriented.)
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| The view from Daijagura, an outcropping on Mount Odaigahara. |
Today I traveled to Nagano Prefecture, in preparation for tomorrow's planned ascent of Kurumadake. I visited an ancient shrine, watched the sun set over a gorgeous lake, and drank dragon spit--as you do, when the opportunity presents itself.
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| Sacred dragon drool for the win. Delicious! |
As you can tell, there's plenty to snark about on this adventure--as well as enough to marvel at, admire, and learn from that it's likely to take a lifetime to fully process. One thing is already clear, however--the choice to pursue my dreams today, instead of waiting for a "someday" that might never come was the right decision for me, and it's the right decision for you as well. Whatever it is you're burning to do, find a way to do it now.
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| The mighty (and sacred) Tenkawa River, Mitarai Gorge, Nara Prefecture |
And don't forget to let the snarks out for some exercise along the way. Traveling is much more fun with their running commentary by your side.
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