THE mountain & me

A little bit less than two months ago, I put my name down for the Mt Fuji climbing trip after realizing the relationship was falling apart and it would be unlikely for me to be in Nana at this time. So my prescient feeling was right and i, alone, went to Mt Fuji with the other 49 (mostly) international students. Quoting from a tourist i overheard on the peak, there was not quite any mountain in the world like Fujisan which signifies so much to the nation. In short, it is the symbol and the national pride of Japan. The night before I was a little bit worried because I almost fainted in an outdoor concert couple days ago due to the heat and at times, I tend to overestimate my physical fitness. so prior to the trip, I was just praying that I would not suffer from altitude sickness because then I would not be able to check off "Climbed Mt Fuji" from my bucket list. From far, the mountain looks benevolent but it would be a huge mistake to say it was a easy trail. In fact, it was quite a physical challenge but well, the good and bad thing about climbing Mt Fuji is that it is so crowded and people literally have to wait in line to hike up, so those waiting time is actually a good time to rest and there was no pressure to catch up with your peers since people are just going up slowly. And the climb actually becomes fun once you pass through the initial slopes and you got to start using your hands to push your body up. I like that because it requires more body coordination instead of just your thigh and feet. During the hike/climb, I kept thinking back at the time me and K2 were at this mountain at Winters and I got so upset because of the endless stairs up. Then I related what would have been like if K2 was there, and whether I would be able to walk with him shoulder-to-shoulder.

It took us about 4.5 hours to reach ９合目 and by then, my thighs were hurting and my stomach was flat. The first batch of our group (including me) checked into the lodge (the highest one on Mt Fuji) at around 6:30 and a bento was served right after. Nothing fancy and I suspected that they used beef for the hamburger platter but it was not the kind of occasion that I could ask for a substitute. After the meal we were immediately led to the sleeping area which is so small that i can't even turn around without waking the person next to me. Interesting still, the bedding space was not separated by genders so I was sleeping next to a male groupmate. It was a little bit after 7pm when we were asked to go to bed and naturally, none of us could really fall sleep despite a rather long day and knowing that we had to wake up at 2am the next day to catch the sun rise. There was no shower and we were not even allowed to brush our teeth since toothpaste is prohibited so I was quite disgusted by myself.

At something around 1:30am, people are already starting to get changed and I, still exhausted, followed the suit of the others quickly put on my skiing jacket. (too tired and my nose is bleeding (why?)... to be continued tomorrow, hopefully I won't forget the details and my emotional status)

 Continuing from last night...It was still completely dark outside when we were about to took off at around 2:30am. Most people have equipped with some lighting device while I was not prepared at all. So I felt quite uneasy climbing in complete darkness, fearing that any misstep would kill myself. The mist did not help either as the rocky trails got quite slippery in midnight. Following as closely as the person in front of me as possible, I held my head down the whole time and just wished that we reached the top already. The memories of K2 kept coming back to me on the way as I imagined maybe 20 years ago, you walked on the same path to the top and I was just replicating your experience. The fact that I have not let go of him yet bothered me a lot but all I can do now is to comfort myself that at least I had invested in real feelings and it was never easy for me to fall for someone. So to have this mere experience was worthwhile.  Anyhow, at around 3:30am, we finally made it to the tori of the peak!!　やった!!! we all congratulated each other, high-fiveing and taking pictures. 


We were told that the sunrise would happen at around 5:20am so we were just hanging around before then. It was very foggy and extremely cold at the peak so when the stores opened, all the climbers flooded in to get some warm air. They served some hot food like curry rice and ramen, but I did not want to spend a fortune on midnight snacks. So I was just chatting with a friend that I met on the trip and we were just talking about the culture difference between the States and Japan. My broken Japanese has helped to facilitate a pretty interesting conversation so time passed quickly. At around 5am, we stepped outside to the cold and were waiting the sun to come out. Shivering, we hid our face behind the jackets and stared at the watch. It was getting bright but the sun never appeared. We then finally realized the fog was too thick on that morning and we would not be able to see the sunrise. At 6am, the group gathered again we started heading back to the lodge. I guess, precisely because we did not see the sunrise this time, it has given us a reason for me to come back in the future. It is inevitable that we run into some regrets in life and things are not always within our control. As we walked down, the mist disappeared suddenly and we saw that the sun was already high above a sea of clouds. It was only a few seconds before the mist came back again but that very moment was worth all the sweats and pain. After that, the mist was on and off and I was just in awe with the postcard-like view from the top. The very view has captured and boasted our imaginations and I was just grateful being able to witness this natural wonder.

The walk down proved as mentally teasing as the way up though it was probably more physically daunting. My running shoes were not very good protective gears and at around ８合目, my toes started cramping and it was all pain thereafter. The bottom was in our sight but it seemed like we would never get there. My phone vibrated at one point along the way down and at that point, I surprised myself again by how much I wished it was K2. As I saw no missed call so I guess it was really just the alarm clock. My emotional state just sank along with my altitude. なさけない...At around 11am, we made it back to the coaching bus and I just glued to my seat, not wanting to even inch my finger. The driver drove us to a nearby public path/onsen and I let loose myself in the steamy water. After two days of intense physical activities, that was the best healing treatment you could get. The lunch bento, despite visually pleasing, was less than delicious though.

This concluded my two-day trip.