Japan Mount Fuji

“Yet as a orange hue rose on the horizon, we nestled together and sat against the volcanic rocks to watch the sunrise. As the dawn lit up our surroundings we became aware just how far above the cloud line we’d trekked and how steep the volcano was! I hadn’t even noticed the rock was red either! Other trekkers stopped and waited for the sun to emerge from beneath the clouds and there was an expectant energy among all the tired and weary walkers.”

“Climbing at night was a new experience for me and had more perks than I’d expected. It was a new moon and a clear night so the sky was filled was millions of stars. Just looking up for a minute was long enough to see a shooting star or two, an added bonus to our trip! Then there was the neon lit city below which looked fantastic from such a height. And most memorable was the long line of head torches slowing moving up the mountain behind us.”

“It was like trying to climb an endless sand dune: Hard to get good purchase on the path, and you spent a lot of extra energy and calf effort just to propel yourself up. Not my favorite experience, though it did get a bit better once I figured out a good rhythm for my breath, footsteps, and poles.”