Today was all around, a tough day. We had a long, difficult hike in very hot and humid weather.
Our plan was to do 11 miles and hike right to our inn. Ultimately, we hiked 8.5 miles and took two buses with an hour ling wait for each bus. Owen and I were both at our wits end and at each other’s throats. We both agree that the beauty surrounding us was not enough to compensate for the struggle today.
I am so relieved to be lying in our air conditioned room after taking a bath. Once I recover, I will buy a beer and write about the day.
Morning
Owen woke up early. He said that he didn’t sleep very well. It is unusual for him to be up before I am. In hindsight, we should have opted for a 6 am breakfast instead of seven.
Our clothes were still damp with sweat from the day before so it was nice to let them dry out a bit anyway.
We had a very nice breakfast made and served by our host. We packed our bags including our “bento” lunches which were also made and packaged by our host. Then we hit the road.
We ran into a couple from Taiwan who came up the trail from behind us. They were giddy with excitement for the day. They were especially eager to collect the stamps available at each of the shrines.
Owen wanted to get ahead of them so he took off ahead..
I started the morning with hiker’s euphoria. I was on top of the world. What could be better than backpacking in Japan?
After an hour or so, I started worrying a bit about Owen. I know I shouldn’t have. The trail is extremely well marked.
We were hiking down roads and I realized there was no one out there. I never saw a car, or a bus, or even another hiker.
We were way off the grid and we had not had cell service all day.
Then I started getting hot. The trail left the road and started climbing. I started to sweat. The trail climbed more and I sweat more.
The Heat
I soon became soaked with sweat. I mean drenched, head to toe. It was as if I had jumped in one of the nearby streams.
Then the signage began to get confusing.
I had no idea how far Owen was ahead of me.
I know that the heat and exhaustion were a part of it, but I became unnecessarily anxious about Owen.
Lunch
At the top of a climb, I stopped to eat some of my lunch.
Bless the woman who packed this meal.
I ate one of my rice balls and most of the rest. I drank down a liter of water. I began to feel better and worry less.
Detour
i was feeling better until the detour. Apparently, part of the mountain cracked in a typhoon in 2011 and there has been a semi-permanent detour that skirts around the trouble.
Well it was a bitch to climb.
It was exposed to the sun and it was a unending staircase straight up… and up.
Owen was waiting for me around the third flight. He told me that he figured I might be worried about him. I was so tired and sweaty that I barely felt relief. I grunted my gratitude ungraciously, put my head down and kept climbing. I don’t have any pictures of the hellacious climb because in my fugue state, I didn’t notice anything around me. Owen did his best to coach me up the mountain.
At the top, we did our best to dry off, drank some water then plodded down the other side of the mountain.
I caught up with Owen because he had stopped along a gorgeous stream. We thought it would be a excellent spot to take a break, swim, and eat the rest of our lunch.
I jumped right in but then noticed that as soon as I emerged, I was set upon by very colorful “deer flies”. Owen was jumping up and down and racing up and down the river bank. He was howling in frustration, pain, and annoyance.
I dried off as quickly as possible. Ate my remaining rice ball and tried to catch up with him down trail.
There is a local superstition that “Daru” attack pilgrims in this section. Daru are supposedly snake like demons that cause aches snd pains in pilgrims. One is supposed to save some of his lunch in order to help sustain energy if attacked. I didn’t care, I ate every grain of rice.
When I once again caught up with Owen, he was feeling poorly. I asked if he noticed the sound in the last section of forest and he said that it has scared him a bit and that I sounded like to forest was laughing at him.
It was a very creepy section of forest. We had also been absolutely alone in the wild for hours. The ruins of a village did not cheer things up.
I could tell that Owen was fading. He was very cranky. It was time for me to be strong for him.
Endless Hike
We still had four miles to go. It was difficult to be positive about our situation. Then I realized that we could cut our hike short by taking an alternate trail that led to a bus stop.
We both agreed we needed to bus our asses out of there.
We still had a lot of climbing to do.
The climbs and descents were relentless. I again started to despair.
Finally things started to mellow out. The trail wound alongside a pretty stream and we found a cheerful shrine.
There was a long walk still ahead but we eventually made it to the bus stop.
Buses
We took two buses to make it to our inn. Each bus was over an hour wait. We didn’t mind the waits we were so relieved.
No info…
It became clear at the bus stop that in general, people are nit hiking the trail right now. We felt so fortunate that a bus even showed up so far out.
Hostel
We made it to our inn which is more of a youth hostel. It must be one of the only places in the area because the four other we have met on the trail, are all here.
We ate bento box dinners, took an onsen bath, and drank some beer (not in that order).
We also were able to do our laundry.
After a “team meeting” over dinner this evening, we decided to stop hiking. It is not a good time in this heat. We are not even enjoying the beauty around us.
Instead we will hang around in the mornings, travel by bus to the incredible shrines in the area, eat well in restaurants, shop at vending machines and convenience stores, and have fun together.