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This is Page 1 of 2 - the best of May 2006!
posted: June 2nd, 2006
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The photos on this page cover only May 3rd and May 4th; a 2 day trip to and climb of Mt. Mitsutouge (alone). Click on any thumbnail to begin.

  Mt. Mitsutouge is a difficult mountain - steeper than a cow's face. It's 1,785 meters, or 5,857 feet. The first photo shows the map at the start of the trail. The 2nd photo shows the 3 summits (near the center of the photo). The 3rd photo is Mt. Fuji - from the first rest stop. I climbed alone because Kazuya had to work those 2 days and the weather forecast was for clear blue skies. I took my one man tent and the necessities and set out!
May03_MitsutougeTrail_Map04RC.jpg
May03_MitsutougeTrail
_Map04RC
May03_MitsutougeTrail07RC.jpg
May03_MitsutougeTrail
07RC
May03_MitsutougeTrail_Fuji11RC.jpg
May03_MitsutougeTrail
_Fuji11RC

  In this row I'm already close to the summit - in the first photo you can see the "hut" if you look closely - it's visible just to the left of the rock face. The 2nd and 3rd photos are shots of one of the summits from the porch of the hut - where I stopped for a bottle of Coke! In the 3rd shot you can see people on the summit.
May03_MitsutougeTrail20RC.jpg
May03_Mitsutouge
Trail20RC
May03_MitsutougeTrail_Summit24RC.jpg
May03_MitsutougeTrail
_Summit24RC
May03_MitsutougeTrail_Summit26RC.jpg
May03_MitsutougeTrail
_Summit26RC

  First shot is Mt. Fuji from the summit. The 2nd shot is Mt. Fuji from another summit. In the 3rd shot I'm back at the main summit.
May03_Mitsutouge_Summit_Fuji29RC.jpg
May03_Mitsutouge
_Summit_Fuji29RC
May03_Mitsutouge_Summit_Fuji36RC.jpg
May03_Mitsutouge
_Summit_Fuji36RC
May03_Mitsutouge_Summit_Fuji39RC.jpg
May03_Mitsutouge
_Summit_Fuji39RC

  The first shot shows the "approved" tent area - I didn't stay there - I set up in the woods just a bit below the summit. The 2nd shot is Mt. Fuji near sunset - this was 6:17 PM. The 3rd shot was also taken at 6:17 PM.
May03_Mitsutouge_Summit42RC.jpg
May03_Mitsutouge
_Summit42RC
May03_Mitsutouge_Summit_Fuji49RC.jpg
May03_Mitsutouge_Summit
_Fuji49RC
May03_Mitsutouge_Summit_Sunset50RC.jpg
May03_Mitsutouge_Summit
_Sunset50RC

  The first shot is another sunset shot - 6:24 PM. The 2nd shot shows me cooking my supper - taken by a volunteer at 6:26 PM.
May03_Mitsutouge_Summit_Fuji_Sunset52RC.jpg
May03_Mitsutouge_Summit_Fuji
_Sunset52RC
May03_Mitsutouge_Summit_Supper54RC.jpg
May03_Mitsutouge_Summit
_Supper54RC

  Clouds and fog came and went as the sun rose on May 4th. The 1st shot is sunrise, at 4:59 AM. The 2nd shot was taken at 5:32 AM, about 45 minutes after sunrise. The next shot - a nice sea of clouds was taken at 5:40 AM
May04_Mitsutouge_Summit_Sunrise55RC.jpg
May04_Mitsutouge_Summit
_Sunrise55RC
May04_Mitsutouge_Summit_Fuji_Sunrise62RC.jpg
May04_Mitsutouge_Summit
_Fuji_Sunrise62RC
May04_Mitsutouge_Summit_Fuji_Sunrise66RC.jpg
May04_Mitsutouge_Summit
_Fuji_Sunrise66RC

  The 1st shot in this row - another sea of clouds - was taken at 5:42 AM. The 2nd shot is the final shot from the summit - 5:44 AM. After that I went back to my tent and packed up and headed down. I had barely started down the trail when I saw movement and realized that it was a Japanese mountain goat below me! AMAZING! It's near the center in the 3rd photo.
May04_Mitsutouge_Summit_Sunrise69RC.jpg
May04_Mitsutouge_Summit
_Sunrise69RC
May04_Mitsutouge_Summit_Fuji_Sunrise70RC.jpg
May04_Mitsutouge_Summit
_Fuji_Sunrise70RC
May04_Mitsutouge_DownTrail_MtnGoat84RC.jpg
May04_Mitsutouge_DownTrail
_MtnGoat84RC

  I cropped and brightened this 1st photo (same shot as the 3rd photo in the previous row) so you can see it better. From time to time I could see it's horns, but they don't show in any of my photos, unfortunately. Then, 45 minutes later I stopped and looked at the rocks and saw this huge wasp nest! How'd you like to run into that? It was a good distance off - fortunately. The 3rd shot is merely a cropped version of the 2nd photo.
May04_Mitsutouge_DownTrail_MtnGoat84aRC.jpg
May04_Mitsutouge_DownTrail
_MtnGoat84aRC
May04_Mitsutouge_DownTrail_BeesNest93RC.jpg
May04_Mitsutouge_DownTrail
_BeesNest93RC
May04_Mitsutouge_DownTrail_BeesNest93aRC.jpg
May04_Mitsutouge_DownTrail
_BeesNest93aRC

  The 1st photo is 2 of the 3 summits from near the wasp's nest. The 2nd shot is Mt. Fuji again - from the same place as Row 1 - 3rd photo. The 3rd shot shows the 3 summits from way down the trail near a creek which I took a break at.
May04_Mitsutouge_DownTrail_94RC.jpg
May04_Mitsutouge_DownTrail
_94RC
May04_Mitsutouge_DownTrail_Fuji98RC.jpg
May04_Mitsutouge_DownTrail
_Fuji98RC
May04_Mitsutouge_DownTrail_3Peaks03RC.jpg
May04_Mitsutouge_Down
Trail_3Peaks03RC

  This 1st shot shows some nice spring color - red maple and other color too - from even further down the trail - in fact this shot was on the road. The final photo shows a carpet of flowers taken from the road on the way back to Mitsutouge Station. And, that's the end of the Mitsutouge adventure.
May04_Mitsutouge_DownTrail_Colors01RC.jpg
May04_Mitsutouge_Down
Trail_Colors01RC
May04_Mitsutouge_DownTrail_Colors02RC.jpg
May04_Mitsutouge_DownTrail
_Colors02RC

Thanks so much for taking the time to look, please go to page 2 now for a continuation, starting with May 8th. Go To Page:


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