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I went on an awesome adventure with several friends yesterday!! We hiked Mt. Takao and then went to an amazing tea garden restaurant. It is a most especially triumphant adventure because I survived to tell the tale. I only mention this because the fabulous (and I truly do love her) person who set this up said that is was a very pleasant moderate hike. I now suspect that she would consider K2 slightly challenging.
There's no better time for hiking in Japan than in the fall. We were just a tad early for the really spectacular fall colors but it was not too hot and not to cold and the leaves are already turning, so...perfect in my book. I should have suspected things were not as I anticipated when we got on a cable car to go half way up and it ascended nearly vertically up the mountain. When we arrived where we were picking up the trail we hit a fork that separated into two paths. One was labeled the "men's trail"and the other the "ladies trail". All you feminists out there just settle down, you're in Japan now. Besides, now that I've taken the ladies trail I'm quite certain the point is that it's much harder than the men's!
I would like to say that I struggled because I was trying to keep up with much younger and more fit women, but one of them was 70 so that escuse doesn't really hold water.
I kept telling myself that it was good to push a little, but after I while I was concerned that it would be emergency medical personnel pushing me on a stretcher before the end of the hike. It wouldn't have been so bad, but every time we came to a bend in the road there seemed to be more mountain, and as if the mountain wasn't enough of a challenge we reached the shrines and temples.
Do you know what the Japanese really like to do with their shrines and temples?? They like to put them at the top of massive flights of stairs. I was determined to succeed and make it to the summit, but I lost count after the first 40,000 steps because my brain was oxygen deprived. This was not from the staggering altitude as the summit was a mere 1,995 odd feet. It was because my lungs and heart had finally burst.
I was just mentally running through my last will and testament, when reached the summit where an apologetic Sally told me she had forgotten about all the stairs. That's odd, because I am positive I will NEVER forget those stairs!
After doing a week kneed victory dance (we were especially excited because you could see Mt. Fuji) and taking a few pictures we headed back down the mountain. Sally had mentioned that we would be taking a different trail back down; a lovely rustic trail that encouraged you to commune with nature. It was everything she promised. It was beautiful! A splendid forest which we descended through over perilously sloping paths covered with gnarled roots that threatened to grab your ankles and throw you over the edge.
My knees did not enjoy this hike as much as I did, but I feel certain that after a few weeks they will speak to me again. After crossing a very cool suspension bridge, I vowed to go home, throw out any left over Halloween candy away, and start going to the gym six or seven times a day until I could tackle Mt. Takao without dying.
The reward for our efforts was a sumptuous meal in a stunning tea house restaurant. The concept behind this is that based on the number in your party you are assigned a private tea house where you are served a stunning traditional meal cooked at your table over two small grills. I have no quips, no complaints, no sarcastic remarks other than to say that the women in our group have clearly gotten to know me well enough by now to be reluctant to let me near the hot coals.
Our meal took longer than expected and we ended up making a mad dash back to the train station to catch the train in time to get back for family obligations.
I find myself incredibly grateful that I have amazing friends who are willing to drag me up mountain trails that I have no business being on, encouraging me all the way. We headed back to Tokyo as the last light slid beyond the horizon. I will definitely be going back again...eventually.
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