Mt. Fuji

Vicki's Version:

As you would expect, the culture amongst those folks in the airline industry out here is full of discourse about travel: where people have been, where they want to go, what they've heard from other travelers about when to go, what to do when you get there, etc. It's basically what we all are living for out here. So a couple months ago, we were all hanging around the pool one evening when someone mentioned hiking up Mt. Fuji. A few minutes later, Matt and I were hooked--we were going to climb this famous mountain. Boy did we have starry eyes--we really had no idea what we were committing to, but we were steadfast in our stupidity. We were in pretty good shape. Ha!

The official climbing season on Mt. Fuji runs from July 1 thru August 31--it's summer time, and really the only time it's safe for novice hikers to try to reach the summit (any other time of the year you need special gear, a knowledge of how to use this special gear, etc.). Matt had the last few days of July off, so we scheduled our ascent for July 28 (Matt's b-day). On July 26 we packed up the essentials: flashlights (most people hike up in the dark to see the sunrise from the top), ponchos, gloves, granola bars, jerky, hiking boots, yen, etc., and at about 6am on July 27 we were on a Continental flight bound for Tokyo.

We arrived at the Narita airport around 9:00am. We quickly learned that getting around in Japan is pretty easy, although not exactly easy on the pocketbook, especially if once you get to the airport you want to actually go other places besides the airport. Whether you take a taxi or an "airport limousine" (which is actually just a big yellow bus) it's gonna cost ya. So we hopped on our 10:00am "stretch" to the Shinjuku station in downtown Tokyo. Very quickly after we arrived in Shinjuku we located an information desk with a sign that said "English" prominently displayed above it. As you can imagine, a welcome sight, given our extensive two-word Japanese vocabulary. True to it's promise, the young woman behind the desk spoke excellent English and was able to make us a reservation on the next bus to the Fuji Go-Ko area.

For reasons we will probably never, ever understand, our bus to Fuji Go-Ko looked like Thomas the Train had thrown-up all over it.

Fuji is surrounded by five lakes (Fuji Go-Ko means Fuji Five Lakes). Most people who wish to hike it stay in the Kawaguchi-ko lake area, since it's an easy bus ride up to the Kawaguchi-ko 5th station (the mountain trail is divided into 10 stations), which is the spot where most people begin their ascent. But given the fact that most visitors stay in this area, that the hiking season is a brief 2 months each year, and the fact that the average number of hikers tops 300,000 annually meant we had to stay somewhere else. We ended up staying in the nearby quaint mountain town of Yoshida.

Although the trail starting at the Kawaguchi-ko 5th station (2300m) is the most popular, there are actually several trails up the mountain. When planning this trip, we took it as a given that we would also begin and end at the Kawaguchi-ko 5th station, even though we knew there were longer more strenuous options. Somewhere between Guam and Tokyo one of us nutjobs suggested that we should hike up from the very bottom of the mountain, on the Yoshidaguchi trail, and the other nutjob agreed this was a good idea. I'm only using the word nutjob because although we like to hike it's not something we do very often (maybe once every two months), because running 25 min. 3x a week hardly prepares you for hiking up a mountain, and because the summit of Fuji is 3776m (12388 ft.). Sure, why not.

Our first glimpse of Fuji, from the town of Yoshida, the evening of our arrival.

Even though the weather report had declared rain, the next day we got up around 8:00 to sunshine so we decided to go for it. First, we needed to take care of breakfast, which I had arranged for us with our online reservation...the thought being that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, esp. if you're going to scale the side of a mountain. No description was given, I had just checked the "yes" box next to 'breakfast'...a small, seemingly innocuous little gray box in the upper right-hand corner of my screen. We were shown to the small hotel dining room, with high hopes for some sort of bread products and coffee. Looking on the bright side, we can chalk up that breakfast as a "cultural experience". Here's what was on our trays: cold, smoked skin-on fish with a thick brown sauce, pickled beets, a barely-poached therefore very slimy cold egg floating in a not-so-tasty-looking brown sauce, head lettuce with cherry tomatoes, pickled cucumbers, rice and miso soup. Not exactly IHOP. Matt looked up at me with a look of pained revulsion. We didn't want to be rude, so we did our best to make everything look nibbled on. I was SO proud of Matt for choking down as much of it as he did, because even though he has proven to be very adventuresome when it comes to food, this little meal was beyond both of us. But now we know first-hand what Japanese breakfast is like, which I do think is cool.

So it happened this fast: we had breakfast, got our packs, stopped by a mom and pop sporting goods shop for a hat (after having listened to the guy rifal around in the back for ten minutes before he emerged with this canary yellow and rainbow striped gem of a ski hat, we're pretty sure it was the only ski cap they had in stock, and that it had been there since 1972), and suddenly we were walking towards the base of the trail at Sengen shrine. We stopped at the entrance of the shrine to say prayers for a safe climb, give an offering (you throw yen through a metal grate in the floor), and purchase some hiking sticks (at the 5th-10th stations there is someone who will brand your stick to show how far you've made it, for the bargain price of 200 yen, or two bucks a pop), and we were on our way.

A big part of why we decided to hike from the base was that if you start at the 5th station, you miss a lot of the prettier part of the climb, so for the first four hours we were mainly in a wooded forest. Right off, we had a little problem. Or more accurately, I had a little problem. See I've "hiked" in that Matt and I have driven to 3-4 hour trails, gone for a nice, occasionally laborious trek, and then come back, climbed in the car and taken off, usually for a comfortable hotel. I have not hiked with a pack that is supposed to last me for 24+ hours. This sucker was starting to produce a walnut-sized knot in between my shoulder blades, and it had started bothering me walking around back in town, before we had even officially started the climb (yes, I felt like a wuss). So of course I was thinking, yeah, if it's bothering me now, it's gonna hurt like a %#@* after seven hours. As I realized my mistake in not factoring in the added strain of a 5-10 lb. pack on my back when I agreed to this climb, the words "oh *&#@" were going through my head. I was worried about telling Matt, although I knew I had to, because I so wanted to be his wife the badass. I wanted him to at least have the option at social gatherings to introduce us as Matt and his wife, badass, if he felt so inclined. And here I was, not even an hour into this 12+ hour commitment, with a gnawing pain in my back. Well, I finally came out with it, there was some stressful back and forth about whether this was a very good idea after all, and we finally ended up switching packs and shoving on.

And thank God we did! One of the coolest realizations I took away from this experience was just how awesome the human body is. That whatever you think you're capable of, you're actually capable of fifty times more. That hash run we did on Guam couldn't hold a candle to this challenge.

The fact that the mountain was divided into stations helped move the ascent along, giving us small achievable goals to aim for. Between the 2nd and 3rd stations we passed the Nyonin Tenjo, or Women's Holy Ground, the spot which up until 1832 was the highest women were allowed to go. The steeper the trail got, the more I found myself kind of zoning out, which I guess is bound to happen during strenuous monotonous challenges, so I tried to constantly force myself to be aware of my surroundings and soak it all in as much as I could, since I knew without a doubt I would never, ever, EVER attempt this a second time. We kept a pretty constant pace, only stopping briefly to eat a power bar and recharge our engines a little.

Our goal for the first day was to reach our hut at the highest point on the 7th station (almost the 8th station). We arrived about 6pm, and I was so happy to be there I swear to God I almost kissed the floor. My legs ached like crazy but I felt great we had made it that far. I've never been so grateful to see a Western-style toilet as I was at this moment, esp. since I was not expecting to have the option--if you're not familiar with Eastern toilets, they're basically urinals in the ground that you squat over, and there's NO WAY my thigh muscles could have handled it. I seriously would have had to pee on all fours or something, and I can't imagine I would have enjoyed that much. No one in the hut spoke English, so they ushered us around as best they could and pointed to a spot on the mats near a big pot that we could warm ourselves by. A English-speaking guide named Chris came over and introduced himself and gave us the low-down on where we would sleep, when we could resume the hike, etc. We ate dinner: half a Cup-a-Noodle, the BEST Snickers of my life, a granola bar, some water. Sleep was all we could think about, so we made a B-line for our sleeping bags. The sleeping arrangements are basically an over sized bunk bed: a row of sleeping bags on the floor and a row of sleeping bags on a wooden loft above them. You just crawl in and sleep in your clothes. You had to sleep boy-girl...even with limited English, it was clear there would be hell to pay if Matt didn't sleep where the blue pillow was and I didn't sleep where the red pillow was. Getting actual sleep is tricky--there's constant noise from people passing outside, people shuffling in and out at all hours, and in my case, a person falling off the ladder right next to my head (poor guy!). But it was enough to get us ready for the next leg of our hike.

Video hiking up Fuji--if I walked any slower I would have been standing still. It was so freaking hard!


We thought about getting up at midnight with everyone else to reach the summit for the sunrise, but we decided to "sleep in" until 4:00 instead. We needed the rest, and this way we avoided the groups, usually of 30-50 people, that can create actual waiting lines up the mountain. My main concern was "will I be able to move my legs". I'd never put my body through something like this before, so I seriously didn't know how they would respond to the abuse. They moved, but my legs have never hurt so much in my life! I also started to feel a little nauseous, which made me a little worried about altitude sickness (people get it pretty frequently). Luckily, half a power bar and water cured me, and we headed for the trail.

Breakfast at the 9th station--Udon noodles

One of the smaller, rainbow colored tour groups.

"Ralphie", the Asian version. ('I can't put my arms down!!')

I hope the length of this blog entry conveys the never-ending nature of this hiking experience. Even after all we had achieved, there was still a lot to go. After four hours of scrambling over steep volcanic rock we finally made it. At first we didn't realize we were actually at the top, and after all that work we didn't want to celebrate until we were absolutely sure we didn't have more work ahead of us. So Matt went inside one of the "shops" to ask if we were at the 10th station. When he came out and confirmed that indeed this was the 10th station and we had kicked this mountain's butt I started jumping up and down. Of course we weren't actually "done". We still had the one-hour hike around the crater at the top, plus the four-hour descent. The views were outstanding--it was so amazing to be at such an altitude that we were looking down on the clouds. I kept exclaiming this thought to Matt and asked what he thought, and he was like, yeah, I kind of see a lot of this, flying planes for a living and all. Right. Anyway, we were both stoked to have made it. During the climb it had popped into my head many, many times that I might not make it to the top, so it felt so awesome to finally be able to celebrate the knowledge that my sorry butt had in fact climbed to the top of Fuji.

Hiking through a cloud near the summit.

Couldn't have made it without my stick.

I fell in love with the Japanese on this trip! From the time we got there, 99% of everyone we encountered offered warm smiles and hellos and help when we needed it. If you said hello, you always got a hello back (I've walked past people in my own neighborhood and had them completely ignore me when I greet them or smile). I love their off-beat and courageous fashion sense, their hip haircuts, their desire to take pictures with complete strangers, and their compulsion to capture every single life experience, no matter how seemingly insignificant or mundane, permanently on film. They are certainly different from Americans, but I think it's amusing and interesting. I felt really at home in a place full of upbeat, enthusiastic people, who don't care that their zest for life may come off as dorky. I just kept thinking--I fit in really well with these people!

It looks affecionate, but really Matt's just holding me up to keep me from collapsing into a heap.


Matt's Version:

Uhhh, yeah. Heres my two cents. Climbing Mt. Fuji is one of those experiences that will stay with me forever. We got a little ambitious climbing the entire route from the bottom, but we persevered and I was really proud of Vickis ability to challenge herself and put mind over matter and reach the summit. It was two really full days of high altitude hiking and we were pretty much physically and emotionally spent by the end. Using a bag of rice as a pillow was a first, but we were so tired it didn't matter too much. We were very fortunate to have good weather. The clouds looked quite ominous as we neared the summit, but we stayed dry and a few hours after sunrise they burned off and we had a pristine view from the top.

Visiting Japan has been something I've always wanted to do since we were little kids when we had Japanese foreign exchange students stay with us. We didn't allow any time to do much else but climb Fuji on this trip but it definitely sparked our interest in other areas of Japan that we hope to visit soon. We found the people in and around Fuji to be very welcoming and hospitable. Below are some of the pictures we took along our route up Fuji-san.


The Sengen Temple at the bottom of Mt. Fuji marking the original beginning of the trail. This is where we started our trek.

A cool picture of Vic just after sunrise.

Hiking up just before sunrise. Only 3 hours to go to the summit. I can't believe she's smiling.

I was glad to have my new ski hat, even if it had been in the little shop owners back room since 1980.

Probably the cheepest birthday dinner Vicki will ever have to spring for. It was actually quite a nice and welcome meal after our long day.

This is what I look like after paying $5 for a really tiny hot chocolate and having to pose in front of it before consumption. It tasted oh so good. A nice refresher to propel me up the mountain. The cup o noodles at $6.50 was out of our price range.

Above the clouds on Fuji.

Vicki and Matt reach the summit of Mt. Fuji after 10+ hrs of hiking and about a 10,000 feet ascent. The highest point in Japan at 12,434 feet. I feel for the guy that had to carry that slab of granite up there.

Palau

Matt's take:

We went to Palau for about a week. We were fortunate enough to get 3 full days of diving and a day of kayaking and snorkeling. A really great trip. The pictures below can't begin to compare to the reality of how beautiful these islands are. It's rare that I would want to go back to a place so soon, but we are thinking about going again in August, its that pretty and that awesome of an experience. The diving is unparalleled to anything I've ever seen above or below sea level. We dove in some pretty cool sea caves and this one place called Blue Holes, which are basically 5 blue holes that go down about 80 feet then open up into a gigantic cavern to the sea. It was unreal. One of the most unique and memorable experiences of my life. The visibility was 100+ feet every day. There is much more sea life in Palau compared to Guam because the reefs are a bit more healthy so it supports more life. The fish are bigger in general and there are more of them on every reef. Every dive we were accompanied by sharks. Mostly little white or black tip reef sharks, but Vic did really good. The biggest one was only about 6 feet, so we felt pretty safe. There were lots of sea turtles and all sorts of pretty fish. At Palau's most famous site (The Blue Corner) there is a Giant Napolean Wrasse that was about 30-40 lbs that let us pet it and scratch its sides. It was unreal for a fish to allow us to play with it so much. Usually most fish dart away really fast, especially if you don't have food, but this Wrasse was just as cool as can be and loved to play with us. It was very atypical. He is somewhat well known throughout Micronesia and pretty used to divers, so I was glad to get to play with him for a bit. The whole experience was very memorable and I would recommend to anyone interested in the diving trip of a lifetime to head to Palau.

We found that most people that visit Palau are pretty hard core into diving. It was a bit strange to be there with so many experienced divers since Vic and I are pretty new to it. So, on our boat each day were dive masters from around the world taking the trip they've always dreamed of. Vic and I feel very comfortable in the water together and its a new experience that I'm really glad we can share. We haven't gone out and bought all the nerdy equipment, but its tempting. You can really get bogged down with gadgets when it comes to diving. Its pretty funny to see what some people hook on to themselves.

Overall we went on 9 dives and spent our last day snorkeling before our flight home. Normally I would be a little apprehensive to dive in some of the places we went (like caves and shipwrecks) but having the other dive masters and instructors as a part of our group put us at ease. One of our last dives was down to a Japanese supply vessel that was sunk during WWII. It still had all sorts of stuff in it from the war. Like a few airplane engines, lots of ammunition and some depth chargers that we didn't get too close to. (you never know) The whole ship is considered a museum so it has been relatively untouched since it sank. I'm not that into WWII stuff but its hard to avoid out here, there is just so much of it.

One of the more unusual things we did was snorkel in this place called Jellyfish Lake. Appropriately named for the thousands of jellyfish that float around soaking up the suns rays. Luckily over the years (hundreds) they have mutated/adapted (i don't want to get into a debate here) but the point is that they don't sting and are safe to swim with. The Japanese especially like this kind of attraction. It was the most formally organized thing we did. And I'm pretty sure I ran into more Japanese kicking legs than jellyfish. First of all, when you go snorkeling, its ok to remove your life jacket. And does 50 people getting pulled around a lake by a boogie board with a 100 foot rope tied to it really qualify as snorkeling? Also, when you are in a really cool and beautiful place, its ok to put down your camcorder and look at the place with your own eyes. This is not a part of the Japanese mindset. Plus there is this crazy fascination with giving the peace sign in every picture they take. For a culture so filled with honor and respect they are the most silly and goofy group of people I've ever seen. It can be quite strange and its just the tip of the iceberg. I'll stop now because I know that as Americans our past is full of annoying the world, but may I formally submit that the Japanese and Chinese have officially taken our place. I apologize if you are Japanese or think differently, this is just part of my experience.

Aside from that, we had a wonderful time. We were mostly on our own with our own dive boat in quite a bit of solitude. I guess that's why when we came across a bunch of other people it felt so inundating. At many times it felt like we were the only people within hundreds of miles civilization. There is not much else to do in Palau aside from the water sports, so our top side experience was pretty lax. But we ate at some good spots, had lots of fresh tuna and pretty much went to bed at around 8pm every night. The entire trip was almost as fun as watching the Showbiz ventriloquist wolf.

Our friends from Guam, Steve and Katrina, were with us throughout the whole trip and we really had a good time. They actually spent a few days on Yap before we met up in Palau and had some really authentic experiences. Check out their blog to hear all about it. Below are some pics of our time in Palau. But again, they don't begin to reflect the reality of this beautiful place.

My attempt to be artistic with air, water, land and umm....air.

Surface Interval after lunch and between dives on the island of Ulong. (where we were repeatedly told they filmed the last survivor) I saw lots of Survivor T-shirts on Palau, I guess many of the locals were a part of the crew who helped with the show.

With hundreds of tiny islands, most of the water is pretty calm, which makes for good snorkeling and I can imagine awesome water skiing and wakeboarding. I really was craving a ski or wakeboard but I couldn't get them to bring one along.

The water is even bluer (if that's a word) than this picture reveals. A truly pristine playground.

Vic's take:

I also really loved Palau. To me, it was comparable to Kauai in it's seemingly untouched beauty and simplicity. I was especially excited for this trip because of all the diving we had planned--I am a brand new scuba diver, I just got certified out here on Guam (post coming soon), and I couldn't wait to try out all my new skills. Besides the class dives, I had only gone on one other dive at Gun Beach on Guam with Matt before this trip. I knew it would be babtism by fire, in that we'd be going to maximum depths and that I could expect to see sharks on pretty much every dive, which we did. Some people have a healthy fear of sharks; I have more of an irrational trepidation. But people kept promising me that reef sharks are different than all the other sharks, that they "hardly ever" (is this supposed to be comforting??) attack humans, etc., etc. Even though these statements did not do much to quell such a lifelong horror, there's no way I could pass up diving in such a famously spectacular spot, so I decided I'd just have to get over it. And make Matt hold my hand. And carry a knife. Only kidding, but we did consider it.

It was one of the most exciting things I've ever done. It's just so much fun--after every dive we did I couldn't wait for the next one. The Blue Holes were incredibly exciting--I really had no idea what to expect which made it even more thrilling. Sinking down and down through this blue tunnel with coral, and sea fans, and fish on all sides and all you can hear is your breath going in and out of the regulator and you keep wondering how much deeper you're going to go. You look up and see a circle of light and you watch as it gets further and further away. And then when the tunnel opens up into this huge underwater cavern, oh my God, it's just incredible! You realize you had no idea such a place existed, and now you're seeing it first hand, not in some National Geographic magazine or on Animal Planet. You are there. I'll never ever forget it, and I just felt so very very lucky to get to see it. I could have spent the whole dive right there in that cave. It was exquisitely and breathtakingly beautiful. I literally felt my chest tighten up and my breath quicken I was so struck by it.

The sea life was equally amazing...even the sharks. We saw hundreds of different fish, including some unusual ones like the clown triggor fish and unicorn fish (it looks like it has a big prosthetic nose sticking out from it's face) as well as lion fish. The giant clams were so much fun--people would stick their arm inside and get it caught--it was funny to watch them do it, but I wasn't taking a chance with my arm. The sharks really didn't end up being that big of a deal--they were exciting to come across but not scary per se, and after the first one I didn't even need to hold Matt's hand anymore. Mostly you'd see them swim by at a distance and then they'd disappear out of sight. There was one encounter that, as it turned out, gave both Matt and I a little scare--we were swimming along with the reef on our left when suddenly we noticed to our right, about 20 yards away and at our eye level, this six-foot gray reef shark, looking right at us. He just sat there staring at us. That time I got a little sick to my stomach. But after a few minutes he took off in a different direction and we were cool. During that encounter I held onto Matt with both hands. Oh yeah, and at one point during the dive I came within 30 ft. of a banded sea snake which is apparently the most venemous sea snake in the world. Thank God you can pee your pants underwater and noone notices.

I guess the only drawback about the diving being so good is that we didn't spend much time on land, learning about Palau and the local culture, which is something we always try to priortize any time we travel. But like Matt, I would go back in a heartbeat, so maybe we'll get the chance...but we're both so hooked on the diving that if we get the chance to go back you can bet that's probably what we'll end up doing!

Below are some of our amateur cinematography skills. Enjoy!!!

Some underwater shots:

Giant Clam, dont get your head stuck in one of those.

Snorkeling at Jellyfish Lake.

Starfish and coral.

Guam Flying

My July 4th was quite uneventful. I would have given many a treasure to be (I can't believe I'm saying this) at the O'Fallon Fest with you all. It sounds like you had a splendid time and I wish I were there too. My 4th was almost nonexistent in fact, it lasted about 4 hours because I crossed the International Date Line early that morning and it then became the 5th all of the sudden. I flew a trip called the "Island Hopper" which is pretty much the most interesting, most demanding and most rewarding trip we have. Its a four day trip starting in Guam, and as the name suggests, it stops at 5 islands between Guam and Hawaii. By the time you arrive in HNL you are pretty beat after flying 6 legs over 16 hours but you are then rewarded with a two day mini vacation which is quite nice, except you have a continual dread while you are there that you'll have to do it all over again just to get back to your own bed. Its an extremely small price to pay for a few free days in Hawaii to do with as you wish.

The flying out here is very different than anything I've done before. In fact I think its the polar opposite side of working in the airline industry than I'm used to. The people out here are pretty different. I have met some really interesting guys to work with and some strange fellows who seem to be running away from their past. Company wide, Guam is known as a good place to hide out. Most things are handled in house and there is never a sense that management is around. There is a general feeling of quietness and relaxation, nothing ever gets done hear in a very timely manner and I'm beginning to be OK with that. Since the trips are more productive than those on the mainland I get more days off than I could ever hold in Newark. To answer the age old question, I don't have a "route" that I fly, but I do find myself in Manila quite a bit. Its an all night flight but a productive trip. Over the past few months I have seen most of the cities we fly to out here. The Japan trips are pretty funny. There is a lot of saluting and bowing and waving as we taxi away. Its just funny to compare it to the States where we are lucky if the guys come out to park us at all. They don't like it when we arrive early and interrupt their domino game. But the Japanese are on the ball. They have lots of pride, honor and respect oozing out their pores.

Back to the Island Hopper. Once you leave Guam, you are out of radar contact until you reach Hawaii and are pretty much given free range to get to each island as you wish. You do have to let the controllers in San Fransico (because they control the non radar airspace out here) know what your plan is, but other than that, its pretty easy on the communication and navigation side of things as compared to the heavily controlled and crowded northeast that I'm used to. There are never any delays and its very rare to ever see another airplane anywhere. From the pictures below, you will see that some of the places we go are pretty remote, often we are the only service to these islands. Many times there will be kids and families waving to us just outside the airport perimeter. It's sometimes an island affair to come out and welcome us to their little speck of land. I'd imagine it's how things used to be in the 50's and 60's during the golden age of aviation when people still thought it was a big deal to fly. Many times I feel like I've stepped into the past as I arrive on these little communal islands. But as I said, the flying is challenging at times. The runways are short and often wet and we are usually at max take off and landing weights. Meaning there is little room for error. The scenery is unique and pristine. I feel very lucky to have a front row view of the places I've been to. If you are so inclined and want to enhance your geographical prowess look up the following islands. On the hopper we go from Guam-Truk (pronounced chook)-Ponapei-Kosarae-Kawajalan-Majaro-Hawaii. Its a fun and grueling trip at the same time.

This is Kwajalein. Its an atoll. Which apparently means skinny.

This is Pohnpei. This runway is short.

This is Kosrae. They sell really good peaches there that look like limes. At just over 5600 ft, its the shortest runway in the system and due to the mountains just out of frame, the wind whips around and can be somewhat tricky at times. If anyone has any questions about the flying or anything else I suppose I could muster up the energy to retort. Coming soon, Vic and I are planning on a little summery of Guamisims that should give a little insight into this island. There are a lot of peculiarities.