Conquering Mt Fuji

Mt. Fuji is an active volcano, commonly called “Fuji-san” (Fuji plus formal/respectful term for mountain). It’s the tallest peak in Japan, at 3,776 meters.

Great defeat. Great reward.

I taught Fuji-san who's boss, and then she kicked my ass!

Saturday (Jul 21) – Arrive at Kawaguchiko 5th station around 4PM • Warm up hike up to the Safety Guidance Center at 5PM • Start the overnight hike at 6PM… Sunday (Jul 22)– Arrive at the summit around 2:30AM • See the sunrise around 5AM • Start the descend at 6AM • Arrive back at Kawaguchiko 5th station around 10:30am

It took me 8.5 hours to make it to the summit. It was only 3.6 kilometers from the guidance center and then a 3 hour decent. We fell asleep at one point on the trail when we took a break on the way down. That’s what happens when all you get in 15 minutes of sleep in a 24 hour period.

I could proceed to tell you how exhausting it was and how my knees, ankles and feet are killing me. I could tell you about how frozen I was at the top and how I was rained on going down. Although all is true, that’s not what I want you to walk away with...

This one of the most epic experiences of a lifetime. I claimed above the clouds and saw more stars in the sky than I have ever seen camping. Shooting stars, planets, the milky way… all with my bare eyes. I looked up and down the mountain and saw a trail of lights zigzagging across the hill.

Would you do it again? If you asked me yesterday my answer would have been, ‘OH, HELL NO!’ If you ask me right now, I’d say, ‘Maybe’. If you ask me next week, I’d probably say, ‘Sure’…!