Japan
The North Alps -
September 2009
Day 4
| I was in two minds what to do because of the weather, and the fact
that the next segment of the walk was a long one over Yakushidake
at 2,926 m. Sugonorikoshi Goya was at 2,270m, so there would be
a lot of climbing including subsidiary peaks on the way. On the
one hand I wanted to get going, but on the other I was tempted to
rest my leg as my right knee was painful. In the end I decided to
give it a go, and Maeko and myself decided to walk together for
safety, on the understanding that if I could not keep up she would
leave me and press ahead. We started off at 6-45 a.m., but the weather
did not improve and as we started to get higher it became worse.
The first challenge was Mayama , at 2,585 m, but I was already falling
behind as Maeko set a tough pace. It was not that she was going
particularly quickly, but she just plodded on and never stopped!
I bade her farewell and told her to press on without me. I was starting
to get cold and did not fancy being on top of Yakushidake in rain,
so I decided to return to Sugonorikoshi Goya and spend the rest
of the day there. My clothes were already wet so I turned and went
back down. I spent most of the morning sitting around the kerosene
heater drying my clothes. |
Bleak outlook at Sugonorikoshi Lodge
with rain and low cloud
| That evening there were two other “okyakusan”
(guests) at the lodge, so three of us sat around in the shokudo
for the evening meal. There was a red sky in the evening so I was
hoping for a better day the next day. There was nothing to do at
the lodge in the evening…… not even a TV to watch for
an hour or so….. hence I went to bed at 6-45 p.m. with the
intention of getting an early start. |
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