26 ~ 27 August, 2011
14
Gotemba (5th Station) >> Summit >> Yoshida (5th Station)
[Gotemba route with Travis and Yumi]
14
Gotemba (5th Station) >> Summit >> Yoshida (5th Station)
[Gotemba route with Travis and Yumi]
This was my climb on the Gotemba route and I was climbing with Travis and Yumi who were doing their first climb. After arriving at Gotemba Station we took a bus to the 5th Station. The 5th Station is very different from the 5th Station on the Yoshida trail with not much more than a small car park and a trailer which acts as a shop and information center. There were just a handful of people who arrived on the bus with us and they were soon gone up the trail. We had a quick look around but before long we were also heading slowly up the trail.
The Gotemba route starts at the lowest elevation of the four main routes and the lower part of the trail turned out to be a largely featureless zig-zagging trail with wide open views looking back down the mountain. The sunshine was quite strong when we arrived at the 5th Station but about an hour into the hike we could see clouds starting to gather and a light mist which seemed to be following us up the mountain trail. We stopped to take regular breaks as we continued up, coming 2 or 3 rest huts along the way. Five hours or so later the terrain changed from the shingle like surface to a more rocky stepped trail and this seemed to continue on and on buta few hours before we finally reached the very top.
Yumi and Travis had sensibly booked themselves into what I believe is the only hut on the summit which provides a place to sleep. I was equipped with a tent. I had never slept in a tent before and the reason I had a tent with me was because a few weeks later I was planning to make a start on the 1200km 88 temple Shikoku Pilgrimage. I figured if I could survive in a tent on Mt. Fuji I could probably survive in one as I made my way around Shikoku.
I had seen people pitch tents on the summit before but as we had hiked up Yumi had told me that pitching tents was actually one of the things not allowed on Mt. Fuji. It was only around 6 o'clock but it was already starting to get dark and it had also started raining. With nowhere to stay I decided to pitch my tent anyway. Near to the rest hut was a shrine and in front was a qudrangle with walls providing protection from the wind from 3 sides, so I decided that would be where I would pitch my tent. I was probably the most sheltered spot from the wind at least but the rain that night was relentless. The inside of my tent was full of damp and condensation but I managed to stay reasonably dry, definitely much drier than the unlucky hikers who made it to the top and tried to take shelter near to where I was.
I didn't manage any real sleep and around 4 the next morning I looked out and saw that it had stopped raining so I got myself up and packed everything away and waited close to the the hut were Yumi and Travis were staying, hoping they would come out soon so we could make our way to the very top near the weather station. Early mornings on the summit are usually very cold and after a sleepless damp night I was in need of warming up. I decided to walk around to keep myself warm and headed up towards the weather station which is accessible up a very sharply inclined path and waited with a small handful of people. I hoped that Yumi and Travis would make their way up the weather station too but sadly it was not to be. By the time I got back down to the hut again I could find no sign of them and they, despite their best efforts had been unable to find me. Mobile reception is limited on some carrier networks and I happened to be on one such network. Anyway I was happy enough to know that they would have seen a nice sunrise from near their rest hut. I continued back around the summit and joined the descending trail on the Yoshida route.
A few hours later I was back at the 5th Station and with no way of contacting Yumi and Travis I made my way back down into Kawaguchiko on a local bus. After exchanging messages with Yumi and Travis, who were still some hours behind me, I went to a local hot spring to clean myself up and then headed back home on the train.
The Gotemba trail is the longest of the 4 and although not particularly steep, it was more challenging than I had expected it. It was made harder by the fact that I was carrying about 5kg more than I would normally carry with tent, sleeping mat and sleeping bag. It was also the second Mt. Fuji summit birthday. Three years earlier I had celebrated my 40th on the summit.
The Gotemba route starts at the lowest elevation of the four main routes and the lower part of the trail turned out to be a largely featureless zig-zagging trail with wide open views looking back down the mountain. The sunshine was quite strong when we arrived at the 5th Station but about an hour into the hike we could see clouds starting to gather and a light mist which seemed to be following us up the mountain trail. We stopped to take regular breaks as we continued up, coming 2 or 3 rest huts along the way. Five hours or so later the terrain changed from the shingle like surface to a more rocky stepped trail and this seemed to continue on and on buta few hours before we finally reached the very top.
Yumi and Travis had sensibly booked themselves into what I believe is the only hut on the summit which provides a place to sleep. I was equipped with a tent. I had never slept in a tent before and the reason I had a tent with me was because a few weeks later I was planning to make a start on the 1200km 88 temple Shikoku Pilgrimage. I figured if I could survive in a tent on Mt. Fuji I could probably survive in one as I made my way around Shikoku.
I had seen people pitch tents on the summit before but as we had hiked up Yumi had told me that pitching tents was actually one of the things not allowed on Mt. Fuji. It was only around 6 o'clock but it was already starting to get dark and it had also started raining. With nowhere to stay I decided to pitch my tent anyway. Near to the rest hut was a shrine and in front was a qudrangle with walls providing protection from the wind from 3 sides, so I decided that would be where I would pitch my tent. I was probably the most sheltered spot from the wind at least but the rain that night was relentless. The inside of my tent was full of damp and condensation but I managed to stay reasonably dry, definitely much drier than the unlucky hikers who made it to the top and tried to take shelter near to where I was.
I didn't manage any real sleep and around 4 the next morning I looked out and saw that it had stopped raining so I got myself up and packed everything away and waited close to the the hut were Yumi and Travis were staying, hoping they would come out soon so we could make our way to the very top near the weather station. Early mornings on the summit are usually very cold and after a sleepless damp night I was in need of warming up. I decided to walk around to keep myself warm and headed up towards the weather station which is accessible up a very sharply inclined path and waited with a small handful of people. I hoped that Yumi and Travis would make their way up the weather station too but sadly it was not to be. By the time I got back down to the hut again I could find no sign of them and they, despite their best efforts had been unable to find me. Mobile reception is limited on some carrier networks and I happened to be on one such network. Anyway I was happy enough to know that they would have seen a nice sunrise from near their rest hut. I continued back around the summit and joined the descending trail on the Yoshida route.
A few hours later I was back at the 5th Station and with no way of contacting Yumi and Travis I made my way back down into Kawaguchiko on a local bus. After exchanging messages with Yumi and Travis, who were still some hours behind me, I went to a local hot spring to clean myself up and then headed back home on the train.
The Gotemba trail is the longest of the 4 and although not particularly steep, it was more challenging than I had expected it. It was made harder by the fact that I was carrying about 5kg more than I would normally carry with tent, sleeping mat and sleeping bag. It was also the second Mt. Fuji summit birthday. Three years earlier I had celebrated my 40th on the summit.