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posted: August 31st, 2011 |
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This page begins with August 2nd on our balcony. Then it jumps to August 6th - the first day of our 2011 Vacation - and features a climb of Mt. Gassan (1,984 m = 6,509 ft) and the sunset of that day. Then we progress to August 7th - the descent of Mt. Gassan. This page will end at 10:14 AM on the 7th and page 2 continues from that point. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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| Begin August 2nd |
We've had this hornet's nest on our balcony for most of the summer. Here - in the first shot - you can see what appears to be our innocent looking balcony. Oh, in the 2nd photo - what is that brown round thing?
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Oh, it appears to be a Hornet's nest - specifically a Vespa mandarinia japonica - The Sparrow Hornet - Suzume-bachi in Japanese. It's called the "Yak Killer" in most Asian countries. The 2nd shot shows how riled up they get by just getting some soap from the soap container to start a load of laundry. Ultimately we called City Hall and they came and removed it - for free.
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| End August 2nd, Begin August 6th |
On Friday, August 5th we started a week long vacation. We took a night bus from Tokyo to Sendai, arriving there at 5:30 AM. Then we took another bus at 7:05 AM and got off at the Nishikawa Bus Stop at around 8:30 AM. Then we took a 3rd bus at 9:10 AM, which took us to the starting point for climbing Mt. Gassan (1,984 m = 6,509 ft) in Yamagata Prefecture. We arrived there at about 10:15 AM and then we took a lift as high as possible on the mountain. Then we actually started climbing the mountain at around 10:45 AM. In this row are the first 3 photos on the climb. In the first photo you can see Pedicularis chamissonis var. japonica (the pink flower) and Hemerocallis dumortieri var. esculenta (the lily). The 2nd shot shows only Pedicularis chamissonis var. japonica. The 3rd shot shows an overview of the area. By the way, we also climbed this mountain in August 2008 - you might want to review those photos before continuing. You can find that climb
HERE starting in Row 6.
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Here are some Hemerocallis dumortieri var. esculenta (the lily) flowers in the first shot and an overview of Pedicularis chamissonis var. japonica in the 2nd shot. The 3rd shot is looking up towards the summit, but you cannot see the summit from here. By the way, we will take the upper trail, not the lower trail which shows prominently in this photo.
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The first image here is a Tone-mapped image of 3 exposure-bracketed photos. Photomatix-Pro was used and the Details Enhancer Option was selected. We'll cross ABOVE that snowfield you can see. The 2nd shot shows the trail off in the distance and you can see lots of white-robed people on the trail. They are religious people who come here to receive some basic training in being monks and nuns. This is a very sacred mountain. The 3rd shot is a nice little patch of Geum pentapetalum.
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Here are 2 shots of Cirsium nambuense - A Thistle, followed by another shot of Pedicularis chamissonis var. japonica, with a cloudy mountain as a background.
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The first shot here shows many kinds of flowers, but primarily Hemerocallis dumortieri var. esculenta. The 2nd shot shows the same, with the addition of Pedicularis chamissonis var. japonica. The 3rd shot shows some beautiful examples of Gentiana nipponica.
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Here is more of an overview shot of the Gentiana nipponica in first position. The 2nd shot is Ligularia hodgsonii and the 3rd shot is Prunella prunelliformis.
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As in 2008 - we also found a type of Edelweiss here (Leontopodium fauriei). In 2008 it was the first time we had seen/found Edelweiss. Now, if you do a search for Edelweiss from our home page search box you'll find that we have found it several times/places since then. You'll also find Edelweiss photos on pages 118 and 174 of our book Outdoor Photography of Japan: Through the Seasons (see the "Our Books" link at the bottom of this page).
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Here is a shot of Gentiana nipponica in first position. A shot of Kazuya on the trail in 2nd position and a cloudy scenery shot in 3rd position.
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In first position is an overview shot of Prunella prunelliformis. The 2nd shot is another shot of Edelweiss (Leontopodium fauriei) and the 3rd shot shows the trail.
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Here are 3 shots of Edelweiss (Leontopodium fauriei) - an overview, closer and then even closer. You can also see Gentiana nipponica in all 3 shots.
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Here is an overview shot of Leontopodium fauriei - Edelweiss. The 2nd shot is an unknown flower. The 3rd shot shows that snowfield you saw in Row 5 - now we are above it and it is steaming.
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In the first shot here you can see Ligularia hodgsonii (Yellow Flower) and Geranium yesoense var. nipponicum. The 2nd shot shows a closer shot of the Geranium. The 3rd shot shows the summit hut (the lower building) - we had reservations here and spent the night. The highest building on the mountain is a Shrine.
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Around this area were MANY Adenophora triphylla var. hakusanensis flowers. The 2nd shot is for the interesting colors. The 3rd shot shows the Shrine. We went inside of this shrine back in 2008, but we did not feel like paying to enter it again.
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Some clouds whip past the Shrine in the first shot. Kazuya standing in front of the sign for the summit hut in the 2nd shot. The 3rd shot shows more Edelweiss - Leontopodium fauriei.
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Now we have completed our supper at the hut and sunset is approaching very quickly. There were too many clouds to be able to see the actual sunset, but we had some fairly decent colors. In the first shot you can see Mt. Chokai to the left of the Shrine. We'll be climbing that peak in 2 days.
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Here is a 1/2 moon and the sunset colors. These are the final 2 shots of today.
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| End August 6th, Begin August 7th |
Now it's August 7th and we have to get quite far today, so we leave the hut at about 5:20 AM. The first 2 shots on this page show the shadow of the mountain which we are on - Mt. Gassan. The 3rd shot shows the hut where we stayed, from very close to the Shrine.
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The first shot shows some great colors - Geranium yesoense var. nipponicum (The Pink Flower) and Ranunculus acris var. nipponicus (The Yellow Flower). The 2nd shot is a scenery shot showing some strange clouds in the valleys to the east. The 3rd shot shows Kazuya on the trail.
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Here are several flowers - Adenophora triphylla var. hakusanensis (Blue Flower), Ligularia hodgsonii (Yellow Flower) and a Cirsium nambuense - A Thistle. That is followed by a scenery shot in which you can see Mt. Chokai in the distance - we are on our way there now and will climb it tomorrow. The 3rd shot shows Leontopodium fauriei - Edelweiss - growing all by itself so you can see the leaves very well.
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A scenery shot, a flower shot and me on the rocky trail.
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These 3 shots all are of Gentiana algida - a rare White Gentian. We saw a similar plant in Daisetsuzan National Park in August of 2010, but it was not the same as this. That one was Gentiana algida f. igarasii and you can see a photo of it HERE for comparison.
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Here is the final shot from our descent of Mt. Gassan - This is a fairly good shot of Mt. Chokai (2,236 m = 7,336 ft). We will be at its summit tomorrow night.
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From the parking lot of Mt. Gassan (a different place than where we started - we climbed on a trail from the south and descended on a trail to the north) we took a bus to Hagurosan Shrine. These 2 shots are of that Shrine. This is a very historic shrine and if you desire to know more, I am sure that you can find a good deal of information about it through an internet search.
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| End Page 1, but August 7th continues on Page 2 |
| Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 2 for the continuation of this date. The final shot on this page was taken at 10:14 AM, the following page will continue at 12:24 PM. |
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