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| Cornwall | Morganeering | Copyright |
The North Alps - September 2009 Day 3
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| After that it is a long ridge climb to the top of Etsuchuzawadake at 2,591m. From here, if the weather is clear, it is possible to see both lodges…… the one you have just left, Goshikigahara Sanso, and the destination lodge of Sugonorikoshi Goya. But don’t be deceived, it is a long way to Sugonorikoshi Goya with many ups and downs and false peaks! After descending from Etsuchuzawadake, a smaller peak of Sugo-no-Kashira is reached at 2,431 m and the lodge looks tantalisingly close from here. The rain and the wind had by now worsened and I was going quite slow with the heavy pack that I was carrying. I stopped to change my top as I was beginning to get cold, and then pressed on to the lodge. The last stretch was exasperating with the false peaks and ups and downs, and when I eventually got to Sugonorikoshi Campsite I could not find the lodge! You are actually walking in bush and bamboo around 8 foot high at this point and it is difficult to see where the lodge is. I was feeling rather tired and this was the last thing that I needed! I finally made the lodge after 8 hours walking, and was wet and tired! There was even water sloshing around in my boots, and the breast pockets of my Goretex jacket had an inch of water in each side. The left hand side had turned in to “Polo Mint Soup” as a packet of Polo Mints had completely dissolved. My digital camera was in the right hand side, and that was dripping water! I stripped off all my wet clothes in the drying room, and headed for the futon for an hour’s rest before dinner! |
Sugonorikoshi Lodge
Sleeping quarters at Sugonorikoshi Lodge
| Sugonorikoshi Goya was quite rustic to say the least. It has a generator to provide electricity for a few hours a day, but in the generator was switched off in the evening and oil lamps were used. The sleeping area was in the roof space, and as the roof was leaking in many places there were plastic containers strategically placed to catch the drips. The place was run by a lodge keeper and an assistant, and they were there on their own for the whole summer. All food, materials and kerosene had to be flown in by helicopter as the lodge was so remote. The lodge keeper told me that it was difficult to offer good quality food as they did not have a refrigerator, but he said that he would try to do a stew for me in the evening (what actually came was the normal meal with two small pieces of fried spam added!). But the lodge was warm and dry, a refuge from the wind and driving rain outside, so I was more than happy! |
"Shokudo" at Sugonorikohsi Lodge
The evening meal
| There was only one other guest besides myself, and that was a lady named Maeko who I had met earlier in the day on the trail. She was actually carrying a tent and cooking gear in her rucksack, but as the rain was so bad she had decided to stay in the lodge that night. She was brilliant when I arrived at the lodge, getting all my wet gear on to coat hangers for drying, and generally helping me. |
The drying area
You have to change from your green slippers to the red slippers when going to the toilet......
the lines on the floor clearly designate the changeover zone!!!
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