Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Mt. Fuji 2009

We just got back from hiking Mt. Fuji!  We hiked up the Fujinomiya Trail in 4 hours 2 minutes on the 4th of July.  The mountain was absolutely breathtaking ... and I'm SO glad we did it.  But I'd never do it again :)  Here is the mountain the day before we hiked from Camp Fuji:
Us in front of the mountain:
This was from Station 5 (start of the hike):
This was right before station 6:
We had clear skies for a little while!  I had to get a hat because it was raining when we started:
We were able to get brands on our sticks at station 6 & new 7 (and at station 7 on the way down):
Michael at station 6:
On our way up to station 7:

Taking a rest and refueling at station 7:
Some nice Japanese boys took our picture:
... but I had to return the favor:
We got lucky it was so clear for awhile on our way up!!
Michael at station 8:
The trail was closed after station 8 ... but we went up anyway.  We weren't going to come back, and we weren't leaving without getting to the top!
This was where we hit the snow line.  From station 9.5 to the top it was a little scary.  I had a little bit of a breakdown ... but I pushed through!  We weren't prepared to hike through snow.
We made it to the top though!!!
Michael at the top:

Me at the top:
Nothing was open ... and it was COLD!
WE DID IT!
The crater at the top of Mt. Fuji:
There were a few markers at the summit:

Here is the weather station that conducts research at the top of Mt. Fuji:
It took us almost as long to get a taxi as it did to get to the top!  We waited for 3 hours before a cab could come pick us up.  Michael had this bus driver call a cab company.  We're still not sure what he said on the phone, b/c the cab company called back at least 8 times.
This was the gorgeous sunset after we got back.  Truly one of God's wonders ...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love you and miss you both. Mom

mo said...

Congratulations on climbing this..and not giving up!

Mary and Sean said...

Thanks for the pictures and info about the snow! We're hiking it at the end of the month, so this is great in helping us to prepare!