Weather, Schmeather, We Came To Hike Asahidake and We're Going to Hike Asahidake!
Written by Kyle on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 in Japan
Feelin' amused
One of the main reasons we went to Hokkaido was to get away from the city a bit and do some outdoor activities. It's an excellent plan when the weather is nice and the skies are blue. It's a not so excellent plan when it is constantly foggy, cloudy, and rainy. Unfortunately, we got the latter.Feelin' amused
Is that a bear? Nope, just a tree.
No worries, though, we just did what we wanted to do despite the weather. Especially when you only have a short amount of time to do something (in this case, a week), there's not too much time to wait out the weather or to moan about how it could be better. We did moan a bit, but we got out there and braved the elements.
Our first trek took us from our onsen (hot spring) in Asahidake to another onsen a couple of hours away. Well, I think normally it is a couple of hours, but given our conditions, it took us around three. I think our first sign that this was not going to be the most relaxing of hikes was the fact that there was no map. Instead, we got a hand drawn map by the guy at the tourist center and some instructions in broken English.
The trail is around here somewhere...
Secondly, one of the instructions that he gave us was to ignore the construction cones that warn not to go that way. They must be there for a reason, with the reason probably being that they haven't maintained the trail in a while. That means no nice, manacured, easy-to-follow trail for us. That also means wading through streams and having plants rub against our legs and smack us in the face.
Does that sign say "Enjoy your hike"? Probably not.
If that wasn't enough, all the rain plus northern latitudes means more mosquitos than we can handle. At one point, we all had probably 10 or more bites on us, sometimes with one bite on top of another. The positive side of the mosquitos was that it kept us moving because if we stopped, we would be eaten alive.
Luckily, when we finished our hike, we were greeted by a nice and completely empty italian restaurant. Being as we were probably the only guests of the day, the owner didn't mind that we were covered in mud and plant parts and he let us take a seat immediately to order some food. After the italian food, the sun actually peeked out for a couple of hours and we were able to get some great shots of a waterfall nearby.
Can you guess which picture is the italian food?
While it was sunny, we were also able to get the next-best thing to a bear sighting. Scary, huh?
"I told you to clean the dishes!"
Not content with one day of sloshing through the bad weather, we chose to also climb a mountain the next day. I mean, why not? It helped our motivation that Asahidake is an active volcano (we love those!) and that we would be at an altitude with less mosquitos.
Some lakes surrounding the mountain
Fortunately, part of the way is covered by a gondola (which the Japanese like to call a "rope way"), so we didn't have to go all the way up by ourselves. Also, despite the clouds and fog, it didn't rain, so at least we were able to stay dry during our ascent.
Some views from the gondola, I mean, rope way.
The path itself was easier to follow than the day before, mostly owing to the fact that if you walked too far left, you fell off a cliff, and if you walked too far right, you fell off a cliff. Even if you are blind, though, you can easily follow the sounds of fellow hikers' bear bells or the chatter of Japanese all the way up the mountain. (Side note: people wore these bear bells to scare away bears, but I don't know how many bears like to climb baren volcanic mountains)
At the top, there were brief moments of clarity where we could actually see into the mountains that surrounded us.
Mostly, though, it looked like we were somewhere in the middle of a cloud.
When you're given lemons, you make lemonade. When you're given shitty lemons, you make shitty lemonade...and then you drink it, because shitty lemonade is better than no lemonade.
Comments on "Weather, Schmeather, We Came To Hike Asahidake and We're Going to Hike Asahidake!"
Stunning volcano photo. And, since you e-mailed to say that you were safely back in Korea, it appears that Bessie resisted peeking over the edge....thus averting disaster. Although the weather wasn't the best, the experience was awesome. Of course, I prefer sharing this particular journey from the comfort of my home, avoiding the mosquito rampage, dampness, and mud.
Great hike in very challenging conditions. Thank you for documenting the trek with beautiful photos. You could have used some of that Sapporo festival beer to relax on this hike! I like the ropeway car and mountain photos best of all. What a wonderful summer vacation destination.
Awesome photos! Great job capturing such contrasts. Love your "Ode to Lemonade Gratitude" :)
Beautiful!
by Susan at August 04, 2009 11:28 AM