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Interesting last hike of the season. Yesterday, it rained like hell all day. Big, dollopy rain that never stopped and as we broke into about 1,500 meter elevation the temperature dropped significantly, the wind howled and the rain threatened to turn to snow. By the time we got to the hut on the other side of the summit everyone and everything was soaked through (no matter how high priced the gear) and everyone had been bone cold for hours. Parts of the ridge route we had taken was nothing short of treacherous. All ended well. Once in dry clothes and gathered around a heat source in the hut, everyone's spirits were high, beer and sake flowed freely. We ate dinner like we had never seen food before. There were 5 of us. All experienced hikers to include a guide with over a decade of experience and one special forces guy keeping us safe from the rear.
Today was beautiful. The sun burned off the clouds early and once we hiked back up to the summit we all just stood in awe. We were at the highest point at the 3 corners of Tokyo, Yamanashi and Saitama and stood there feeling like Gods for a few moments. A few snapshots later it was time to scurry down the mountain. 3 hours or so into the descent I rolled my left ankle stepping down a knee deep ledge into loose shale. The guy behind me said "Stop" in a voice that brought everyone to a screaching halt. There I sat embarrased as hell and self-evaluating my ankle. I stripped off my pack, dug inside and found the ankle brace I had stuffed inside. The type that has steel rods up the sides and laces in the front. I got it on, put my boot back on, tightened everything for all it was worth and was ready to go. As I was getting myself together, the leader came and sat beside me and expressed his disappointment. He told me "You got lazy. You can't do that here. Yesterday, you climbed smart and strong all day. Now, you stopped paying attention. Not good. You can be a leader. You are big, strong and smart so people look at you. Don't dissapoint the team." He got up and walked away. That was all he had to say. (Typical Japanese in that sense.) My ankle felt like it was hanging on by a thread - just dangling. In my head, I cursed and swore for the next 90 minutes but I never dropped pace and set my foot intelligently and with confidence (my ankle rolled 2 more times because it was weak but the brace held it in place). Once at the bottom, the special forces guy said to me "That was impressive. I watched your ankle roll over and I thought you snapped it. There is no way you aren't hurting."
So, a little embarrased, a little ashamed and a little smarter for my troubles. I'll take it.
Today was beautiful. The sun burned off the clouds early and once we hiked back up to the summit we all just stood in awe. We were at the highest point at the 3 corners of Tokyo, Yamanashi and Saitama and stood there feeling like Gods for a few moments. A few snapshots later it was time to scurry down the mountain. 3 hours or so into the descent I rolled my left ankle stepping down a knee deep ledge into loose shale. The guy behind me said "Stop" in a voice that brought everyone to a screaching halt. There I sat embarrased as hell and self-evaluating my ankle. I stripped off my pack, dug inside and found the ankle brace I had stuffed inside. The type that has steel rods up the sides and laces in the front. I got it on, put my boot back on, tightened everything for all it was worth and was ready to go. As I was getting myself together, the leader came and sat beside me and expressed his disappointment. He told me "You got lazy. You can't do that here. Yesterday, you climbed smart and strong all day. Now, you stopped paying attention. Not good. You can be a leader. You are big, strong and smart so people look at you. Don't dissapoint the team." He got up and walked away. That was all he had to say. (Typical Japanese in that sense.) My ankle felt like it was hanging on by a thread - just dangling. In my head, I cursed and swore for the next 90 minutes but I never dropped pace and set my foot intelligently and with confidence (my ankle rolled 2 more times because it was weak but the brace held it in place). Once at the bottom, the special forces guy said to me "That was impressive. I watched your ankle roll over and I thought you snapped it. There is no way you aren't hurting."
So, a little embarrased, a little ashamed and a little smarter for my troubles. I'll take it.
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