underplanned mount mito hike: April 20 2024

let us just have a preview of the hiking we did this saturday. yet again, we hiked a mountain and oh boy was it difficult. this time we hiked mt mito, rising at 1524.5 meters.

mt mito is still actually within tokyo right at the border with yamanashi prefecture. the area itself was a bit difficult to reach. we traveled for about an hour and a half by train, and another hour by bus. yes, it was that far, a bit disheartening to hike to be honest. but at least, still accessible by public transportation.

so we reached the area at around 9:15 and started hiking to the peak shortly after. we started at a paved road which turned to a dirt road not long after.

this tunnel somehow unofficially marked the beginning of the real hike. not long after this, we were greeted by a steep incline. i was just glad to do inclined treadmill walks for my cardio workout, that somehow trained my legs for this type of activities.

sadly though, my legs were not in full fighting mode for this hike. this was a bit under planned really. last thursday, while in the middle of our leg day routine, our supposed movie day for saturday was cancelled. we were three exercises short of completing our leg day routine when we decided to do this hike instead. yes, it was rushed. come friday, we planned for the hike route, transportation methods and hike time. yes, that all happened last friday.

now back at the hike, we reached this log cabin after that steep incline. it was not so long before we started and we are here out of breaths. this mountain was indeed of a different caliber. a family was resting when we reached the cabin, they invited us in as they were about to leave. the parents, a grandfather and two kids left whilst singing. it still amazes me how older japanese people still have the energy to climb mountains.

we were always always going up. flats like this in the picture is quite rare in this trail. the trees were also mostly without leaves, some area really looked like that from a horror movie. leafless trees gives of some eerie atmosphere, i was just glad i was in a company of four. i would have panicked if i were alone.

we met people people along the way, we greeted each other konnichiwa or "good day". it is quite customary in japan hikes to greet people you met on the trail. i don't know why or how it started but i think it is a subtle reminder that you are not alone, we are all in this together in this hike. you may be struggling along the path, but we are here with you to cheer you on with just a simple konnichiwa.

i need more of those konnichiwa at this moment. in fact, i think i need more than a konnichiwa. this trail is really something. we are supposed to walk 2.3 kilometers to the peak with a total cumulative elevation of 712 meters.

at one point while we were resting, we asked some two hikers how to read a specific japanese kanji from the trail sign posts. they were such nice people, they replied and made some conversation. the conversation got long enough that the earlier family we came across and passed by came. those two hikers were actually part of that family. they continued the trail and we followed closely. we eventually surpassed them when they rested, and we greeted each other. they passed by us at another point and we greeted each other again. we have made friends on this mountain.

and we finally reached the mountain peak. this installation marked an achievement made, i could spend all my time just taking pictures of this landmark, that is how proud i was to have reached this mountain top. we took a long rest at this peak, we ate our lunch and took our time refreshing and resting. people who reached this area also did the same. and yes, we also saw our friends whom we have made along the way, they were there happily eating with the whole family. we again greeted each other and took turns in taking group pictures with the mountain landmark.

we were looking around enjoying the views until we saw a familiar face. i was not expecting this at all but we saw mount fuji from this peak, the proverbial symbol of japan. the mountain of all japanese mountains proudly stood with its icy caps as if just a short distance away.

of course we had to go down, we were immediately reminded that we still have 4.5 kilometers to hike from this peak back to the bus stop. yes, it was such a long day. let me talk about the downhill part on another post. in total, i made 23 thousand steps on saturday.

do you have a proud mountain hike experience? if any, what peculiar things do hikers do in your experience? and have you also made friends along the way? hope you can share them in the comment section.

as always, stay safe.
AMPING KANUNAY MGA MAANYAG!

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^{all content is by yours truly unless otherwise specified}

^{all photos are taken with a galaxy s23 ultra}

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