I continued my annual tradition of doing a solo post hike after Mount Fuji. My only change was that I wore my La Sportiva shoes, as they were so comfortable. Left the slippers back at the hotel.

Torisawa

The train ride from passenger packed Shinjuku and the connecting station of Takao took roughly 90 minutes to Torisawa. I walked out of the station and was pleasantly surprised to find Ougiyama trail signs across the street. No bushwhacking on this hike. Just follow the road.

Torisawa

The road took me under the Chuo Expressway, which is a major road artery connecting Tokyo and Nagoya.

Torisawa

Trail signs intermittently posted in the densely packed residential area kept me from straying into somebodys bonsai garden.

Torisawa

Hmmm, guns are prohibited in hunting area. Just have to watch out for those samurai swords. What do they hunt around here?

Torisawa

Gaining elevation. Still on the road.

Torisawa

The helpful trail signs disappeared and since I had passed a junction earlier, I stopped an old man out for a walk to ask in my mangled Japanese if I was on the right road. Hai (Yes).

Torisawa

The trail signs popped up again.

Torisawa

Beware of bears! Is this what the hunting signs were talking about? Great. Here I am without any bear bells or bear spray. All by myself. Bear bait.

Torisawa

The road bended and soon shadowed a golf course. Fah!

Trailhead

I made it to the bus stop aka trailhead, roughly 50 minutes after leaving the train station, without running into any bears. Safe and sound. Wait, don’t bears live in the woods? Or was that sh*t in the woods?

Ougiyama Trail

A Buddhist statue at the trailhead was dedicated to all the hikers that had unfortunate encounters with bears. Actually, it was of Kannon, goddess of mercy. Erected to honor the residents and hikers that died in 1907 when part of this mountain collapsed. Met a couple also hiking the trail.

Ougiyama Trail

A lot of signs to digest. Let’s see … 1 hour 50 minutes to the summit … Prevent forest fires …. Watch out for bears … What’s that old joke? You don’t have to be the fastest runner. Just don’t be the slowest one.

Tombo

A dragonfly at rest. The predator insect is the oldest known design used on pottery in Japan and called the victory insect by the ancient samurai due to the fact that the insects don’t fly backwards and for their hunting prowess.

Ougiyama Trail

I exchanged “konnichwa” greetings with the couple and passed them on the clearly marked trail.

Ougiyama Trail

Crossing this bridge over a trickling stream that lead to …

Water hole

… a blue bucket of water. Potable?

Mountain Spirit

The trail lazily switch backed up the mountain, passing a small shrine.

Ougiyama Trail

The heat and humidity were off the charts. Soaked in sweat.

Ougiyama Trail

The trail took on a slightly steeper pitch towards the top of the ridgeline, where I turned right for the summit.

Ougiyama Trail

Hiking up the pitched and rooted trail …

Ougiyama Trail

… which soon leveled off …

Mount Ouyigama

… and lead to this panoramic view of the 3,733′ summit. A sign said this was #6 of 12 nice views. No view of Mount Fuji. What nice view?

Mount Ouyigama

Another hiker soon joined me at the summit. He promptly took off his sweat soaked shirt. Reminded me to replace my sweat with sweat. Pocari Sweat.

Ougiyama Trail

I headed back down the ridgeline and met up with the couple that I had passed earlier coming up. Konnichiwa.

Trail

The trail dropped in elevation as I went down into the saddle between the mountains.

Trail

Noticed somebody coming up the trail. Konnichwa. Just glad it wasn’t a bear.

Junction

The trail contoured to the left …

Trail

… and started to pick up the lost elevation.

Junction

I continued straight on the trail for Momokura. Noticed that a lot of trees were banded with white ribbons. Shinto purification? Tree cutting?

Pine cones

Open for ovulation.

Trail

The trail became steeper as I approached the summit.

Mount Momokura

Panoramic view of the 3,290′ summit. A sign said this was #7 of 12 nice views. No view of Mount Fuji. Again. What nice view?

Mount Momokura

The summit had a nice picnic bench with tree blocked views of the surrounding mountains.

Trail

Making my way down the corridor of white banded trees.

Junction

I made a left at the junction that would take me down to Saruhashi station. No time to check out the other 10 nice views.

Trail

The trail gradually wound its way down the mountain and took me to …

Scenic point

… a bench with a view of Otsuki City.

Trail

Butterfly blocking the trail.

Trail

All downhill from here.

Trail

Google translation = Shimowada Saruhashi Eki = Going down the right way.

Water hole

Thirsty? Got steripen?

Trail

I could see the light at the end of the trail.

Mountain Shrine

The trail ended at a small parking lot and another small shrine.

Road

The long road downhill.

Mountain Shrine

Knock. Knock. Nobody home. No time for mountain mediation.

Road

The road took me underneath a bridge and out to …

Road

… ice cold refreshment. Replaced my sweat with sugared caffeinated water. Love the land of vending machines.

Momiji Tree

It would be nice to come back for the “fall” showing.

Road

Back in the ‘hood. Signs keeping me straight.

Satoimo

I was looking for the Hawaiian Plate Lunch Wagon.

Road

Where are the sidewalks?

Road

Almost there. My ride home was on the other side of the elevated bridge.

All pau

I made it to the cover of the Saruhashi train station just as the rain picked up in intensity and duration.

GPS Tracks

My two mountains for the price of one hike covered 9.33 miles with no bear sightings. Post hike meal at Hidakaya. A big bowl of hot and tasty ramen for only 390 yen ($3.90). You can’t beat the price!

Our fourth pilgrimage to the mountain of the rising sun. We arrived in Japan during the sweltering summer. Hot and humid was an understatement. Stick a chopstick in me, I’m done.

Trailhead

Today was Mountain Day in Japan, to provide “opportunities to get familiar with mountains and appreciate blessings from mountains.” With that being said, we packed our bags and left scorching Shinjuku to arrive three hours later in the crisp air of Gotemba New 5th station that used to be the old 2nd station. Must be the new math.

Gotemba Torii

The Gotemba station was a marked contrast to the almost carnival like atmosphere of the more popular Yoshida station where we had started from the previous three years. It barely left a footprint that consists of a small shop, bathrooms, bus stop and an adequate parking lot.

Gotemba Trail

We pushed off just shy of 10am to begin our hike on the Gotemba trail, which has been described as the most physically hardest route amongst the four trails leading to the summit. The starting elevation is at 1,440 meters (4,724′), which is 2,738′ lower than the more popular Yoshida trail. More elevation to climb. More cardio. Huffing and puffing.

Oishi-chaya

Last chance for refreshments and … hiking sticks. The old shop lady was calculating, probably pegged me as a tourist due to my non-native language skills, 1200 yen … (wait, longer stick) 1900 yen… (wait, stamps ) 2400 yen… (wait, flag) … okay, 2900 yen ($29). Domo arigato gozaimasu.

Gotemba Trail

Leaving the conveniences of civilization behind us.

Gotemba Trail

Japanese knotweeds with their red flowers and green leaves offered a colorful contrast against the volcanic gravel.

Mount Futago

Mari passing the twin mountains of Futatsuzuka Uezuka and Futatsuzuka Shitazuka. No detour. Stay on the trail.

Gotemba Trail

The national park covers 474 square miles that includes Mount Fuji, Fuji Five Lakes, Hakone, Izu Peninsula and Izu Islands. No entrance fee. Just a 1,000 yen ($10) donation at the trailhead and you get a shiny button to pin on your backpack.

Gotemba Trail

Clouds rolling down the featureless terrain.

Old 2.5 station

Sitting down at the Jirobo trail marker at an elevation of 1,920 meters (6,300′).

Gotemba Trail

Starting at a lower altitude than from prior years, helped Mari cope with the transition to thinner air.

Gotemba Trail

What’s for lunch? Anpan and Pocari Sweat. Tastes better than it sounds.

Gotemba Trail

Hiking in the clouds. The trail had zero shade. Nature provided shade in the form of rolling clouds.

Gotemba Trail

Trail crew passing us on the way down. Hard hats. Safety first.

Gotemba Trail

On a good day, you can clearly see the summit of Fuji. Cloudy conditions made it less than an ideal day.

Gotemba Trail

Where there are clouds, rain can not be far behind.

6th Station-Goya

Our first hut and it was closed. There are very few huts on this side of the mountain, as compared to the more popular Yoshida trail.

Gotemba Trail

Zig. Zag. Switchback hiking. Zag. Zig.

Gotemba Trail

Hikers were few and far in between on this trail, along with the mountain greetings of “konnichiwa” exchanged between hikers.

Mount Hoei

Mari standing in front of Mt. Hoei, a flank volcano, standing at 2,693 meters. In other words, a pimple on Mt. Fuji.

Gotemba Trail

Mari at the 3,000 meter mark (9,842′).

Hinode-kan

We arrived at the first open hut at 5pm. No bags of rice for sale here.

Waraji-kan

Hey, that flag is bigger than mines.

Yakiin

Every hut has a branding iron specific to them that they will happily impress on your hiking stick. 300 yen ($3) please.

Waraji-kan

High above the clouds. Notice the snowboard-turned-seat in the background.

Sunabashiri-kan

Another hut. Another stamp. Another 300 yen ($3) shelled out.

Sunabashiri-kan

Scenic spot. Once we climbed above the rain clouds and showers, we were blessed with beautiful weather on the mountain.

Gotemba Trail

I hope that’s our hut. This trail was getting the better of me. Lack of sleep was not helping either. I know. Excuses. Excuses.

Akaiwahachigo-kan

Reservations for Saito? We got to our hut sweet hut for the night at 6:20pm. Prince Naruhito, future Emperor of Japan, stayed in this hut in 2008.

Akaiwahachigo-kan

All you can eat curry and hot tea. Free bathrooms. Stacked like sardines horizontally and vertically. Stuffed into musty futons. No prince treatment for us. Mountain hut living at its finest.

Akaiwahachigo-kan

We left the relative warmth of our shuttered hut at 4:14am to venture outside to a 48 degree morning to wait for the sunrise.

Akaiwahachigo-kan

The morning glow of the sun breaking through the clouds.

Akaiwahachigo-kan

Sunrise at 4:59am. Slightly delayed by cloud cover.

Gotemba Trail

Ringing the bell on our way to the summit at 5:33am.

Gotemba Trail

Nothing like cold mountain air to get your blood flowing in the early morning.

Gotemba Trail

Looking back at the sea of clouds.

Miharashi-kan

Multiple choice. Is this hiker a) passed out from the thin air b) shielding his eyes from the unfiltered sun or c) deeply disappointed to find out that the hut is closed?

Gotemba Trail

Monument to all the fallen hikers that failed to summit. Actually it’s meant to recognize and honor the people that created this rugged trail.

Gotemba Trail

Panoramic view looking down.

Gotemba Trail

The final push to the summit.

Gotemba Trail

We summited Mount Fuji around 7:30am.

Mount Fuji Summit

Standing on the edge of the crater as wind gusts threatened to blow us into the maw of the active volcano. Active what?

Gotemba Trail

Neither snow nor rain nor cold nor high altitude will stay your postcard from being slowly delivered from the highest mountain in the land. Summit temperature was a cool 42 degrees. Not counting wind chill.

Gotemba Trail

We left the summit a little past 8am. No walk around the crater this year. Too cold and tired. Next year.

Gotemba Trail

Hiking back down into the clouds.

Gotemba Trail

All downhill. Back to zigging and zagging.

Gotemba Trail

Making our way back down to our hut to get Mari’s backpack. Some huts will allow you to leave your backpack to lighten your load as you hike to the summit.

Gotemba Trail

Goodbye Fuji-san. We will see you again next year.

Gotemba Trail

Last chance to use the bathroom. All out of 100 yen coins.

Gotemba Trail

Panoramic view of the trail going down.

Gotemba Trail

That’s one way of taking the load off your back. Sledding it down the mountain.

Gotemba Trail

We left the 6th hut and the mind numbing switchbacks for …

Osunabashiri

… the start of the “great sand run.”

Osunabashiri

The trail turned into a bed of thick volcanic ash that goes down for 7 km (4.34 miles).

Osunabashiri

Clouds started to roll up the mountain, blocking the promised panoramic view of the mountains and city below us.

Osunabashiri

It paid to have gaiters or spats to prevent the fine volcanic pebbles from getting into our shoes. I saw several hikers stopped on the sides of the trail emptying out their shoes.

Osunabashiri

While at the hut, we heard that there was an injured hiker on the trail. I met this paramedic who was looking for said hiker. Kept on looking.

Osunabashiri

Running down the trail as my feet sank up to my ankles with each stride going down. It was crazy fun.

Gotemba Trail

Mari making her way down, the hiking sticks came in handy to help brake our sometimes rapid descent.

Gotemba Trail

Still no view as we made our way down, passing hikers going up the mountain.

Gotemba Trail

No stopping at the hut. Don’t want to get trapped into overpriced and unnecessary trinkets again.

All pau

We got back down around 1pm. Our bus back to the train station was at 3:35pm. So much time on our hands. What to do? Filled out a survey. Japanese language only. Here comes the rain again. Fired up my Jetboil and boiled a bowl of beef pho and a cup of hot chocolate. Chatted with a fellow American named John who was from Virginia. Contemplated sharing a taxi to the train station to cut down on the wait time. But in the end, we boarded the bus along with a dozen other smelly hikers to the train station that took us back to Shinjuku.

GPS Tracks

Our fourth and hardest hike up Mount Fuji started off cloudy and rainy and ended up with crisp weather, stunning scenery and another epic sunrise. The hike covered 10.44 miles with an elevation gain slightly over 7,600′. Congrats to Mari for finishing her fourth and hardest hike up Mount Fuji. Post hike meal at Coco’s. I come back every year to this restaurant for their Tomato Seafood Spaghetti. Add hot sauce. Broke da mouth.

Determined to get one more hike in before leaving Japan, I found a suitable trail in the town of Isehara in Kanagawa prefecture. Mari kept her mother company and the mountain kept me company today. I slapped on my slippers and caught the two hour sardine packed subway train from Shinjuku to Isehara and then hopped on the Oyama Cable Car bus that left stop #4. Cultural tip: One enters Japanese buses from the back and exits from the front.

Trailhead

I got off at the last stop and walked up a road, passed a couple stream waterfalls and found an unoccupied kiosk that had maps in my language. English not pidgin.

Koma-sando approach

A real hike always starts with stairs. Stairs with words of encouragement.

Shops closed

I was able to walk the souvenir shop corridor unmolested as they were still shuttered. The shop owners are reputedly very aggressive in hawking their stuff. Pays to start early.

Warm up

Half way there. Sweating bullets already. Hot and humid. Glad I had my Pocari Sweat with me ( Japanese Gatorade ).

Shrine with a view

Stopped briefly to enjoy the small waterfall tucked away in the forest.

Only the beginning

Completed all 362 steps. Where do I get my stamp? Cable car to the right. Sorry, closed today for repairs.

How much are the fees?

How appropriate. A fitness school at the base of the mountain. Sign me up.

Yagokoro Omoikane Shrine

Shrine dedicated to the Shinto god of wisdom and intelligence. Hope some of it soaks into my noggin.

Onna-zaka Trail

The women’s trail starts on the left and is a more gradual approach that also boasted of “seven wonders.” Most of the “wonders” that I saw were power lines, light poles, fences and construction activities. Modern wonders.

Kosodate-jizou

#2 Wonder – Child Care Bodhisattva. Legend has it that one day, his face grew child like, so if you pray to him, your children will grow up decent looking. Too late for me.

Tsumekiri-jizou

#3 Wonder – Nail Cutting Bodhisattva. Legend has it that he never cut his nails, but all of a sudden his nails were cut by themselves. Moral of the story is if you apply and work hard, results will happen. I missed the rest of the wonders. Guess I need to apply myself more to the trails.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image of Mae Fudo and Kurikara Doa shrines.

More stairs

Koko Crater has nothing on this trail. Stairs after stairs. Endless.

Oyama-dera

Watch out for swooping hawks. This temple was founded in 755 AD, by a priest that was carried off by a huge hawk and eventually reunited with his parents.

Wash your hands

Soap not included.

Gong the bell

Wake up everybody!

Cable car tracks

Looking down at the empty tracks that parallels the trail going up.

Markers

Stone slabs honoring fallen warrior monks.

Stairs

Marble stairs with chromed railings. Where am I? Disneyland?

Afuri Jinja Shimosha

Click here for the larger image. The lower level was occupied by restaurants, one of the employees couldn’t believe I was hiking to the summit in slippers. Got to represent Hawaii.

Oyama Afuri Shrine

Click here for the larger image. The upper level was occupied by the shrine, statue of the 12 Chinese zodiacs and views of the city below. The holy and spiritual mountain seemed stripped and sterilized by the marbled facade perched here. Out of place. All about the yen.

Five alarm fire

Stacks of old wooden buckets that were once used to fight fires.

Stairs

The steep stairs that goes to the last shrine on the summit.

Trail

Back to nature. Left the steps and stairs behind.

Married couple

A pair of sugi pine trees that are supposed to be 500-600 years old.

Trail

I walked the Oyama trail as it meandered up the mountain side, lost in her silence.

Tengu rock

Legend has it that a tengu, legendary bird like creature, made a hole in this rock with its beak.

Rest spot

Time to replace my sweat with Pocari sweat. Humidity was ridiculously high.

Rocky Trail

I got to test my “climbing slippers” on the assorted boulders and rocks that lined the trail.

Summit Torii

The end is near.

Afuri Shrine

Afuri refers to the high amount of clouds and rain this mountain receives. Lived up to its name, without the rain.

Summit

The socked in summit of Mount Oyama at 4,108′ elevation.

Scenic view

Click here for the larger image of a scattered view from the summit.

Kanpai

Got beer? Or was that sake?

Otoko zaka trail

The men’s trail is steeper and shorter than the women’s trail.

Going down

Passing the restaurants on my way down, the same shocked employee who saw me in slippers, clapped for me, seemingly surprised that I made it back down.

All pau

This area is known for spinning tops and tofu. I went with the non-perishable item.

GPS Tracks

The short and hot hike covered 4.45 miles up and down the mountain, that consisted more of stairs than trails.

I got an excuse to break in my spanking brand new Costco backpack this weekend. Met up with Chris B, Chris C and Thessa to explore the rolling hills of Wahiawa.

Water tanks

We shouldered our 40 pound backpacks and disappeared into the hills.

The hills

The group making their way down the first hill through a stand of eucalyptus trees.

Dry stream

Passing through uprooted trees scattered like so many matchsticks.

Going down

We climbed up a hill, hit a switchback and followed the trail down to our first stream crossing.

North Fork Kaukonahua Stream

Took off our shoes and waded to the opposite bank in clear, cold waters.

Going up

The ample leaves surrounding us came in handy to dry our feet off. Climbing up another hill. Theme for the day.

Group photo

Cameras and monkeys fall out of trees. No monkeys around today. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Follow the ribbon

We followed this ribbon down into a thickly vegetated valley floor with false drops, so we turned around and headed back up again.

Let’s try this way

The trail looped back the way we had come from, so we found another side trail to explore.

Looks like a trail

Let’s see where this goes.

Poamoho stream

The trail dropped us down into another stream. Photo by Chris Chun.

Hills

Climbing up another hill peppered with paperbark trees.

Deja vu

Muttered curses filled the air as I topped the hill only to realize we had looped back again!

Ridge trail

Let’s find out where this ridge will take us.

Kaukonahua stream

We meet again. It the waters were higher, we might as well have gone tubing! Photo by Chris Chun.

Come on down

We crossed the stream and picked up a faint trail that soon disappeared as the uluhe got deeper and denser as we bushwhacked our way up another hill. Losing daylight. Time to turn around and set up camp. We didn’t lug these tents around for nothing.

Campsite

Group photo left to right: Chris B, Chris C, Thessa and myself.

What’s for dinner?

Cup of cramps. All night long. Photo by Thessa Bugay.

Sunset

The day was drawing to a close. No more exploring for today. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Good night

Snoring. Cheese Farts. Eating. Rain. Tree branches creaking. Sleep. Not necessarily in that order. Photo by Thessa Bugay.

Good morning

Wakey, wakey eggs and bakey. Or in our case, leftover MREs.

Back on the trail

We broke our campsite down, packed our bags and headed back out.

Uluhe forest

Nice to look at, not nice to be in it.

Rising waters

Runoff and rain had swollen and colored the muddy brown stream. Photo by Thessa Bugay.

Until we meet again

Recycled walking sticks.

Playtime

The looping hike covered roughly 6 miles of rolling hills, pig trails, hunter trails, hiking trails, ridges and streams. Real easy to get lost in these hills. Post hike meal at Zippys. The eye is bigger than the stomach.

Got an invite to rappel Manoa Falls from Rob and Katy. Never visited Manoa Falls. Never rappelled a waterfall. Double check.

Water Iris

Jose and I waited for the rest of the crew which included Katy, Madeline, Orrin, Reuben and Rob to show up; so we spent our time swatting away mosquitoes and taking a survey about koa forests. Old or new? Old.

Trailhead

We shared the trail with a steady stream of tourists and locals.

Trees

The trail was shaded by a lush forest of eucalyptus, bamboo, guava and banyan trees.

Manoa Falls

After less than a mile, we reached the base of the 150′ falls. Orrin and Rob made their way through the crowds and plunged into the pool to cool off.

Up the trail

We left the popular watering hole and continued up a side trail.

Climbing

The trail turned quickly from horizontal to near vertical.

Top of Waterfall #1

Looking out to Manoa Valley. No crowds up here.

Waterfall #2

We picked up the trail to the right of the falls.

More climbing

More vertical climbing up rocks and tree roots. One tree even had a boulder stuck in the branches.

Going down

Madeline climbing down a roped section. One at a time.

Going back up

Jose climbing up a rock face.

Waterfall #3

We continued the trail to the left of the falls.

Bushwhacking

Good to have an arborist on the hike. Hand saw doesn’t hurt either in helping to clear the trail.

Top of fall #4

Katy and Orrin setting up the rope for the first rappel of the day.

Cast away

Katy throwing the rope over the falls.

Rapelling down

Madeline following Katy down the falls.

Does that look right?

I got recalled from the edge to make sure my ATC was set up correctly. Better safe than sorry.

See you at the bottom

After everything checked out, I rappelled down my first 30′ waterfall.

Next

Reuben making his way down.

Making it look easy

Katy rapelling down.

Rapelling up

Rob making his way back up the waterfall with the aid of an ascender.

Hanging by a rope

Orrin was the last one down using the double rope rappel.

Setting up

Rob and Orrin setting up the next rappel.

Practice makes perfect

Still need more practice. Lots of practice. Photo by Orrin Nakanelua.

Waterfall #3

Jose making his way down to the base of the third 50′ waterfall. The pool was waist deep and cold. Ice cold.

Last waterfall

The guava tree was solid. No worries.

Slippery when wet

Tabis helped to “walk” down the waterfall.

Coming down

Rapelling down the 70′ waterfall. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki.

Two selfies for the price of one

Group photo left to right: Reuben, Katy, Rob, Madeline, Orrin, myself and Jose.

Look both ways

Which GoPro to look at? So many choices.

Skip the trail

Talk of rapelling off the main waterfalls was quickly replaced by rapelling off a tree. Just as fun.

No hands

Orrin lowered me down. He did all the work. I was just along for the ride. Mahalo.

Root down

Jose rapelling down the trail.

Back on the main trail

Thanks to roping down the trail, we were back on the valley floor in two shakes. Aihualama Trail? Another hike for another day.

Manoa forest

Headed back to our cars through the primordial looking forest, guess that’s why they shot some scenes of Jurassic Park here.

Ice cream!

Orrin warming up for his next wedding gig.

GPS Tracks

The hike into the falls and up the falls and down the falls covered a short 2.18 miles. I will never look at a waterfall the same way again! Thanks again to Rob and Katy for the rapelling invite. I may even get my own harness!

I had always wanted to do a loop involving Waikeakua Falls, so Glenn and I tagged along with the Oahu Hiker’s group that was doing such a hike. Well, half of the hike.

Bridge #1

We met up with the group deep in Manoa Valley to start our hike.

Bridge #2

The trail is also known as the Seven Bridges Road.

Manoa forest

Walking under canopy. The road soon split, where we took the left fork to stay on trail.

Bridge #3

Toby was waiting at the third bridge, as he had started earlier in the day to take pictures.

Bridge #4

There are stories that this trail is haunted by a banshee. Nothing heard. Keep moving.

Waiakeakua stream

Waiakeakua means water of the gods in Hawaiian.

Abandoned car

One of two cars slowly being swallowed by the forest. Maybe they ran out of gas?

Bamboo forest

The group making their way through the bamboo forest.

You guys coming?

The trail started to disappear amidst the heavy foliage and fallen trees, but we kept to the right and eventually made our way up a flight of cement stairs.

Queen’s bath

We soon came across this pool of water fed by a small waterfall known as Queen’s Bath. A couple of us partially climbed on the overhead pipe. We then picked up the trail again on the right of the stream at the top.

Bridge #5

This was the last bridge seen or counted. What happened to the other two?

Landslide

The group taking a break at a recent landslide.

Waterfall #1

Khym making his way up the first waterfall. Didn’t even get his feet wet.

Waterfall #2

Time to take the plunge. The water was over waist high and icy cold. Most of the group took the trail on the left to stay dry. Photo by Richardson Mike

Slippery rope

Glenn climbing up. Karen soon followed and gave everybody a scare when she lost her footing and was dangling from the rope. She eventually regained her footing and made her way up.

Waterfall #3

The tallest of the waterfalls at roughly 60′. Photo by Chris Hiona.

Up we go

Climbing up the waterfall with the help of several ropes that were anchored to the trees. Photo by Naomi Bruneau.

Made it!

Glenn making it to the top.

Looking down

We left the group behind as they stayed at the base of the waterfall and eventually turned around. Our group grew by one, as Khym decided to join us as we continued towards the Koolau Summit.

Leaving the streambed

We followed a faint trail to the right to make our way up the ridge. Going left will take you to Manoa Middle Ridge.

Uluhe trail

Fighting the uluhe to gain the summit.

Looking back

View of Manoa Valley. It was a nice clear day.

On the KSRT

Group photo at the top, left to right: Glenn, myself and Khym.

Windward view

Looking out towards Olomana. It was a super nice clear day.

Follow the slippers

We soon turned right and followed the spine of the Koolaus.

Mount Olympus

The summit of Mount Olympus or Awaawaloa was unusually cloud free, it’s actually the second peak in the picture.

Going up and down

We didn’t actually summit Olympus as we followed the KSRT and connected to the Waahila Ridge Trail.

Dirt slalom

Glenn doing a controlled slide down the dirt trail, while Khym took the middle rut down.

Kolowalu junction

We took the Kolowalu trail to loop back down into Manoa Valley.

Fallen tree

When a tree falls in the forest, you sit and stand on it.

Kolowalu trail

The trail eventually connected to the Puu Pia trail which was the way out.

Splash of color

Red ginger flower?

Walking out

We soon walked out onto Alani Drive where Glenn had staged his truck.

GPS Tracks

The loop that took us through rainforest, waterfalls and mountains covered 4.31 miles with good company all the way. Post hike meal was at Peppa’s Korean BBQ. Courtesy of Glenn. Never bet on hiking time!

Wishing to explore the iconic symbol of Hawaii but wanting to stay away from the high heeled hordes that flood Diamond Head daily, I decided to literally borrow a page from a published list that details the many other ridges of Diamond Head.

Full moon

Met up with George and Glenn at the trailhead that was sandwiched in between expensive real estate. Parking is not free.

Abandoned reservoir

Grafitti, trash and shrubbery have taken over. Photo by Glenn Toyama.

Hello?

Looking up, we saw the tourists gawking at the sights below them.

Follow the cable

Cables are laid out on some of the ridges and the entire crater rim.

A ridge too far

Another ridge to explore for another day.

Ratty ropes

Climbing up the rocky face, ropes are present but not needed. Photo by George Vuong.

Looking back

The ridge we had just climbed up.

Good morning Waikiki

The sun was casting its reflection across the waters of Waikiki.

Crowded at the summit

Lots of leg room here. Group photo left to right: Glenn, myself and George.

Down the stairs

We went down the stairs to connect back to the rim.

Fire control station

Looking back at the four level command post that was completed in 1911.

On the rim

George on the ocean side of the rim.

Diamond Head Lighthouse

Keeping the ships away since 1899.

Pillbox junction

The last exposed bunker on the ocean side of the rim.

Coming up

Glenn checked out the lower level of the bunker. No homeless reported. But we did see what looked like several homeless camps in the gullies of the outside crater.

Another bunker

Looking down at one of the two bunkers that are emplaced below the rim on the ocean side.

Looking back at the rim

The sun was slowly chasing the shade away.

Crumbly way down

George and Glenn making their way down the loose and crumbly trail.

Concrete way down

A roughly poured concrete strip goes down from the bunker to Diamond Head road. Read that people use this to run up to the crater rim.

On the road again

We popped out on the road and began walking to the next ridge that would take us back to the rim.

Going back up

Figuring out which ridge to go up. A guy shouted to us that we were going up the wrong way and lots of people have been helicoptered out going this way. Really?

Contouring the concertina wire

The two lower bunkers were heavily ringed with rolls of concertina wire which forced us to contour to the sides to avoid death by a thousand cuts.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image.

Back on the rim

It was getting hot on the exposed rim.

Search light bunker

Looking into the last extant bunker that used to house one of six search lights.

Twin bunkers

Followed the trail down between two former anti-aircraft bunkers that led us to the Kahala tunnel entrance.

Road less traveled

Took a side road that hugged the crater.

Storage tunnel

One of seven storage tunnels bored into the crater walls.

Back up

The road eventually terminated and we followed the closest ridge back up to the rim.

Ala Wai Canal

Looking at Ala Wai Canal, created in 1928 that drained the swamps and created the Waikiki that we know today.

Blown away

It was a windy day on the rim. Claimed my boonie hat. Time to visit the surplus shop.

Scrambling up

George going up a rock face on the rim.

Clear day

The Ko’olau mountain range in the background.

Balancing

George traversing a narrow section of the rim.

Urban sprawl and crawl

A sea of urbanization spilling from the mountains to the ocean.

Scooting the rim

George going across the last narrow rim section.

Scenic point

Views of Waikiki and the Waianae mountain range in the background.

Tourists

We completed the rim loop at the lookout. More tourists.

Claustrophobic?

Glenn felt a little claustrophobic going through the dimly lit tunnel. Lucky it was a short walk.

Traffic jam

It was a chore navigating the crowd of high heels, slippers and dress shoes.

Abunai!

Going out the Kahala Tunnel.

GPS Tracks

Hiking the crater rim covered 4.7 miles under hot, crumbly and fun conditions. So far, explored seven ridges and fourteen more left!

Having done Koko Crater to death, it was time to mix it up a bit today. I picked up Glenn from Koko Crater Botanical Gardens and drove around East Oahu to find a suitable place to ascend up the tuff cone from a different approach.

Trailhead

We parked behind Kaiser High School and found a construction road to gain access to the base of Koko Crater.

Ravine

A ravine presented the least resistance to starting our hike. As we hiked deeper into the ravine, resistance presented itself in the form of thick vegetation.

Out of the ravine

Glenn climbing out of the ridge to escape the overgrowth.

Heavy overgrowth

From the frying pan into the fire. More overgrowth.

Kuapa Pond

Looking back at the now diminished Fishpond Wall. Hard to believe it once covered 523 acres. Something had to give way for Henry Kaiser’s suburban vision.

Koko Crater Puka

Looking up at the puka. Hard to find, as most people walk right over it when hiking the rim.

Lepidoptera season

Butterflies were flittering and fluttering all around us.

Litter

Higher up, remnants from the WW2 bunkers were strewn on the slopes.

Splash of color

Purple flowers amidst a sea of green and reddish brown.

Hawaiian Picker

Glenn found what looked like to be an antique bottle. Maybe not. Dirt makes everything look old.

Rock face

Glenn climbing up the “hardest” section of the ridge.

Summit view

The view at the top, looking out towards Diamond Head.

Four legged hiker

Most of the four legged hikers put their two legged owners to shame on the tracks coming up.

Coming up the tracks

Jasmin took the “easy” way coming up the tracks to meet us at the top.

The less traveled path

We went down the sheeted rock trail that paralleled the tracks on the left. The tracks were bustling with rush hour hikers, while we had the zipper lane all to ourselves.

Koko Crater

Leaving behind Koholepelepe, the original Hawaiian name for this cinder cone, which translates to traveling vagina or fringed vulva. According to legend, Pele was being pursued by the pig demi-god, Kama-pua’a. Pele’s sister, Kapo sent her traveling vagina to lure Kama-pua’a away so that Pele could escape. Looking at Koko Crater on Google Maps, the resemblance to the Hawaiian name is obvious.

Koko Head Shooting Complex

Glenn had someplace to go and Jasmin was tired from her night work. I continued the hike solo by dropping behind the shooting range and followed the highway out.

49er ridge

I soon climbed up a spur ridge dubbed “49er ridge”, this is the same spot where the lava tube goes underneath the road and out to the rugged and rocky shoreline.

Trees, but no shade

The lower part of the ridge was covered by thickets of hard and sharp trees.

Hot, hot, hot

It was a scorcher of a day on the slopes of Koko Crater.

Rock dike

This section reminded me of the arch, but without the arch.

Looking back

Just one of many ridges that leads up to the crater rim. So many to explore.

Rock caves

Interesting rock caves formed by wind and erosion?

Too close for comfort

Scrambling up the ridge, the loud gun reports from the shooting range seemed uncomfortably close.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image.

Going down the rim

Hiking down the open and exposed crater rim.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image.

Dropping down into the crater

The crater floor is home to a botanical garden and horse stables. Come for the tracks and stay for the trees and horses.

Koko Crater GPS Tracks

The fun, short and hot hike covered 3.83 miles. Many more spur ridges and caves to explore on the crater.

Joining me on this hot and humid day to tackle my last segment of the Waianae Summit Trail (WST) were Chris and Thessa. Photo by Thessa Bugay.

Take my picture

There were more bicycles on the road than cars this morning, due to the 112 mile Dick Evans Memorial Road Race.

Farm trail

Where are the farmers? Photo by Chris Chun.

Trailhead

Thessa and Chris in front of the trailhead that lead us into part of the Honouliuli Contour Trail.

Steep

We soon left the trail to begin our push up the steep ridge lined with strawberry guava trees. The carpet of leaves was particularly thick under our feet; fun sliding down, not so fun going up.

Steeper

The ridge is straight up with a couple weak switchbacks thrown in the middle. As we neared the top, the vegetation became thicker and wet.

Pu’u Kaua

Clear and hot day on the 3,127′ summit; with views of the Ko’olau Range, Central Oahu and the Leeward coast and valleys. We tried in vain to spot our friend, Jose on the KST, where he was hiking from Pupukea to Waiahole. Where were the trade winds when you need them? Photo by Chris Chun.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image towards the leeward valleys and Mount Ka’ala.

The fence

The grass was head high at the summit, when we finally pushed our way through, a familiar sight awaited us. The fence line.

Hopping the fence

The fence soon turned left and down a spur ridge. We hopped the fence to stay on the Waianae Summit Trail (WST).

All natural

No fence, just nature.

Rock climbing

This section until the pass contained the most rock climbing found on the WST. Photo by Thessa Bugay.

The fun begins

Making my way down. Photo by Chris Chun.

This way?

Thessa making her way down.

Like a goat

Chris making his way down. Photo by Thessa Bugay.

More rocks

It was like being at an outdoor rock jungle gym. All to ourselves.

Pohakea Tours

A helicopter flew right past us and continued below the ridgeline. I want to be on one of those aerial tours.

Which way?

We worked our way around the clump of trees to continue our hike.

The fun continues

Dropping into the saddle. Photo by Thessa Bugay.

Clear?

Watch out for falling rocks.

Pohakea Pass

We meet again. Took a quick break at the base and inspected what we expected. 80′ of crumbly rock. Is that webbing?

Climbing up

Climbing up the pass, I found out the webbing that was oddly placed was of no help. Photo by Thessa Bugay

Hmmm

The webbing had snapped from the top anchor and fallen onto this rock. A dangerous false illusion of assistance when in fact the webbing was anchored to nothing. Guess it was free climbing for me. Should have joined the VRG.

Chris coming up

Once at the top, I let out an elated whoop. My WST journey was completed. I then secured my 100′ of webbing around the anchor rock and dropped it to Chris and Thessa.

Don’t use the red webbing!

As Chris made his way up the cliff, the old webbing came off the rock. Good riddance. Photo by Thessa Bugay.

Looking down

Sitting on the anchor rock. Photo by Chris Chun.

Thessa coming up

Thessa making it look easy.

Made it!

The top of the pass was extremely crumbly. Dirt crumbly. Nice to have a helping hand.

Leaving the pass

Leaving behind the hardest parts of the hike. Pu’u Kaua in the distance. Still had a lot of ground to cover.

Return of the fence

The fence line came back to greet us, like an old friend.

Steep climb up

Huffing and puffing our way to the top. Photo by Chris Chun.

Follow the ridge, not the fence

Climbing over another fence, meant to keep out goats and pigs. We are not farm animals!

Smoky mountains

Smoke coming from a ridge near Makakilo. Fire was over a week old.

Uluhe hell

The uluhe ferns were thick and tangled. Chris, like the true Spartan he is, bulldozed through the fern nightmare.

Heleakala

Looking at the ridge that connects Palikea to Heleakala out in Nanakuli.

Palikea

The ti leaf plants seem to have dwindled in numbers at the 3,098′ summit. Clear views of Nanakuli and Lualualei Valleys were available for our viewing pleasure.

Doorman

Thessa had wanted to check out the tree snails and happy face spiders at Palehua, but time was running short, so we made our way out of the Honouliuli Preserve. Chris, always the gentleman, opened the gate for Thessa. The fenced area contains a lot of native fauna and flora that are best guided with an experienced eye.

Boulder tunnel

Making our way under some very large boulders.

Are we there yet?

It was turning out to be another long day on the trail.

End of the trail!

Chris and Thessa walking down the stairs that leads to the communications site at the top of Palehua Road. Oh yes, the road. All five miles of paved goodness.

Where’s the fire?

As we were walking down, numerous fire trucks were traveling up and down the road. The smoldering brush fire had flared up again.

GPS Tracks

The 15 mile hike actually ended up roughly 11.5 miles under our feet. We lucked out and got a ride down the rest of the road. As we were driving down the road, a family of pigs were blocking the road and they didn’t take too kindly that they had to move off. One pig even gave chase after our truck. Lucky we weren’t walking on the road. Don’t think we were in any condition to outrun pigs. Post hike meal at Ruby Tuesday. No prime rib? Had to settle for steak and rock lobster. Times are hard. Awesome hike with great friends.

Waianae Journey

Click here for the larger image of my section hikes across the Waianae Summit Trail. Map by Marvin Chandra.

Two fools paid another visit to Mount Fuji to collect our sunrise. Or so we hoped. Last year we had failed to see the sunrise due to a raging storm on top of the mountain. The two hour bus ride from Shinjuku did not look promising as we approached Fuji Hakone National Park as the summit was nowhere to be seen. Fingers crossed.

That will be one dollar

We got off the bus at the Kawaguchiko 5th Station and milled around for about 45 minutes to acclimate ourselves to the 7,545′ elevation. Using the bathrooms on Mount Fuji is not free and the toilets are non-flushing with microbes added to decompose the waste. Get use to that smell.

Can’t see the mountain for the clouds

Not an auspicious start to our hike as our goal was nowhere to be seen.

Horse model

For $3, you too can sit on a horse and get your picture taken. Just like at the State Fair.

Donations gladly accepted

Before Mount Fuji was declared a World Heritage Site last year, it cost nothing to enjoy this iconic symbol of Japan. Now they have a tent set up to ask for ten dollar donations to help with the conservation of Mount Fuji. We gladly donated. A small price to enjoy such beauty.

Here we go again

Deja vu. We pushed off the trail at 10:50am with high hopes as the weather forecast had predicted no rain. They didn’t say anything about the clouds though.

Climbing route

We began our climb towards Fuji-san. Saw a lot of day tourists taking the lower trail.

Play misty for me

The clouds seemed thicker and lower than last year.

Follow the flag

Japanese tour guides often have flags with them so that the group can easily find and follow them. This was no tour guide.

Yamabushi

Greetings of ohayo gozaimasu ( good morning ) rang through the crisp morning air from white garbed monks coming down from their mountain pilgrimage. They were happy. They were finished with the hike.

Easy way down

This guy took the horse ride down. Took a load off his feet and lightened his wallet by $30 too.

Falling rocks

This concrete tunnel was built to protect hikers from falling rocks.

Sixth station

The first station hikers run across is the sixth station, where they are nice enough to pass out hiking maps. I’ll take my maps in English please. Other choices were Japanese, Chinese and Korean. Sorry, none in Hawaiian. Auwe!

That way

The signposts made it quite difficult to get lost.

All smiles

Mari smiling on the trail. Let’s see how long that lasts.

Standing on the berm

Looking down at the hikers coming up the switchbacks.

Lot of switchbacks

Switchbacks make up the bulk of the trails leading to the summit, rarely will you find a straight up trail. While this makes it easier, it also stretches out the time spent on the trail.

Lost and found?

Rows of brightly colored miniature backpacks lined the sides of this switchback.

Huts as far as the eye can see

Huts that offered shelter, snacks and stamps started popping into view.

Two way traffic

The owners coming back to reclaim their backpacks. This trail is usually one way going up. But who’s going to admonish kids going the wrong way? I gave them credit for making it this far.

Seventh station

The seventh station marks the beginning of the roughly dozen huts that dot Fuji’s backside.

Can you spot Spot?

A dog was enjoying an afternoon nap, seemingly unbothered by the passing huffing and puffing of hikers.

Only 3.8km to go

That’s 2.36 miles for metric challenged folks.

Still smiling

Mari developed a slight headache at the beginning and was struggling a bit.

Another hut

Still on the seventh station?

Got snacks?

Every hut hawked shelter, snacks and stamps. Thirsty? Try the Pocari Sweat? Not as bad as it sounds. This year, I didn’t buy a hiking stick and get them stamped at each hut. The novelty had worn off from last year. Besides, the stamp price had gone up from $2 to $3. If you get a stamp from each hut, that would cost you around $60! More money to buy Pocari Sweat.

Back to hiking

If one hikes Mount Fuji outside of the official hiking season of July and August, no huts will be open for business.

Genki desuka?

Mari’s headache wasn’t going away, so she slapped on a nose strip which helped. We saw a couple other hikers wearing the same type of nose strip that probably had headaches as well.

One stick at a time

One step and stick at a time. Slowly but surely we will get to the top.

Follow the arrows

Need medical assistance? Just a stone away.

No reservations required

Most huts require advance reservations. This one had openings.

Snow!

Higher altitudes means snow on the mountains, even in summer.

Getting higher

We were leaving the clouds below us as we climbed higher.

Our first torii

Have we reached the promised land yet? Not by a long shot.

Hiking into the clouds

It’s always surreal to be hiking into clouds.

The finger

Some hikers started yelling “look at the cloud finger!” So I had to turn around and look. Can you see it?

Stay within the chains

A lot of hikers on the trail made for a slow pace. So I veered off the beaten trail sporadically. Not recommended. Safety first.

Smile break

Mari taking one of many breaks to the top. Still smiling.

Eighth station

We finally moved up a number. Thought we were stuck at seven. From the seventh to the eight station, the huts are spaced out every 20 minutes or so. Many opportunities to stop and take a break.

Only 2.7km left

Getting closer or 1.67 miles left to the summit. The air got noticeably thinner and colder. Time to break out the jackets.

Let’s do this!

Ganbatte!

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image.

Above the clouds

Taking a photo opportunity at one of the rest stops.

Air is getting thinner

Time to break out the oxygen tablets.

Sucking oxygen

Mari inhaling compressed air to combat the effects of the thin mountain air and hoping it would get rid of her headache.

One step at a time

Are we there yet?

Gateway to the clouds

Shashin o totte kudasai or please take our picture.

Fuji shrine

I wish I had paid more attention to a guide that was educating her group about this particular shrine perched on the slopes of Fuji. The group was foreigners comprised of Chinese and Westerners, so she was speaking English. Even more so, I should have paid attention.

1.8km to go!

Little more than a mile left!

Our hut for the night

We reached our hut, Tomoe-kan at an altitude of 11,154′ around 5:30pm. Home sweet home. At least for the night.

Damp and cramped

The musty futons from last year had been replaced by tacky, thin plastic sleeping bags that was permanently damp from the cold mountain air. Usually each “room” is shared by 10 hikers. Communal living at it’s finest. Luckily we only had to share it with four other hikers.

Sales pitch with our meal

Nothing like eating your hamburger steak and curry washed down by hot green tea while being loudly reminded that anpan, postcards and trinkets were available for sale.

What time is it?

We woke up at the ungodly hour of 1am to get ready for the final push to the summit. The only good thing about waking up this early was that Mari’s headache was gone. Going to the outside bathroom in the middle of the freezing mountain night is not fun. Thank goodness for those heated toilet seats!

Getting chilly

While the weather was not stormy like last year, the wind chill kept it freezing cold. Stark reminder that we were on top of a mountain. In the wee hours of the morning.

Traffic jam

Snails pace going up behind other hikers shuffling up the mountain to catch the sunrise. Cruel joke.

We made it!

The lion statues and torii welcomed us again to the summit of Mount Fuji at 12,388′ at 3:20am.

A better picture

And then the clouds cleared. Actually this was taken later in the morning when the crowds had thinned out.

Civilization

Twin beacons of hot and cold beverages tempted us with their neon glow. Vending machines are everywhere in Japan, even on top of Mount Fuji.

Wait for it

As we sat and shivered in the freezing wind, we bought $4 cans of hot cocoa to warm ourselves up outside and inside. Some enterprising hikers had brought their own stove with them and were busy cooking up hot ramen. The sun rises at 4:30am. So we all sat and waited with baited breath. Is that the sun we see? Not again! The mythical Fuji sunrise has eluded us again for the second time. Fools we are! After the major disappointment, we retreated into one of the huts to slurp down their $8 pork miso soup and $9 chewy ramen.

Better than nothing

At 6am, we ventured out into the whipping wind to capture our consolation photo.

Is this volcano active?

Peering into the maw of Fuji’s crater. Most people don’t realize that Fuji is an active volanco, with the last recorded eruption in 1708. One study speculates that the 2011 earthquake has made another eruption more likely.

Crater rim

Going clockwise around the crater rim that is known as ohachi-meguri. There are supposed to be eight peaks ringing the crater rim. Last year, we were unable to hike the rim due to a raging storm.

Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet …

Passing the post office. Yes. A post office on an active volcano.

Uma no se

Walking up the “horse’s back”, the slippery and steep slope to kengamine or the highest peak on the crater.

Unmanned weather station

Last manned in 2004. Now a fully automated meteorological station that sweeps for incoming typhoons and heavy rain showers.

Highest point in Japan

Standing on kengamine, the highest peak in Japan at 12,402′.

Snowball fight?

The snow was still pretty thick up on the rim. Took about an hour to traverse the entire rim.

Going back down

After the wind had died down somewhat, we went down the Yoshida trail around 8am.

JSDF

Japanese soldiers coming up the mountain. Part of their training in case Mount Fuji gets invaded by the North Koreans.

Scenic point

The views were definitely better at the lower elevations than the summit. Go figure.

Bulldozers have the right of way

This is how supplies, workers and sick hikers get up and down the mountain.

Sharing the anpan

Munching on the best anpan ( sweet bean filled buns ) on the mountain. Well, that’s what the salesman said! It was actually pretty good and Mari’s favorite anpan in Japan.

Final stretch

It’s all down hill. Just don’t fall down again.

Got 3,000 Yen?

The day was drawing to a close and with no customers, this old man closed up shop and rode his horse back to town.

Almost there

We could see the 5th station where we had started from the day before.

All pau

We made it back down the mountain around noon, happy and disappointed that we missed the sunrise again. Third time is the charm? Perhaps. The Japanese have a saying that you would be a fool not to climb Mount Fuji once, but a fool to climb it twice. So what would that make us if we do it a third time? We will be back for our sunrise to find out the answer!