Conquering Mountains, Conquering Me
The summer holidays are almost at an end (though these ones have been so busy and insanely hot the word 'holiday' doesn't quite seem to fit), I've moved into my new dormitory, my internet connection is almost sorted (it's taken close to three weeks to get internet into my room - my mobile data has taken an absolute hammering!), and I am getting to grips (again) with my research. All has been going pretty well, albeit at a great rate of knots; there is no rest for the wicked it seems!
On Saturday morning I woke up with a bit of a sore throat and a headache, for which I took some painkillers, and then went to work. Over the course of the day I got more and more fatigued, snoozing between lessons and generally feeling a bit sorry for myself. Getting back to my room that evening I went to be early, because on Sunday it was an early start for myself and a few friends (Fiodar, Viktor and Vindu), as we headed west to climb (another) mountain!
This time it wasn't as famous or tall as Fuji, being a very straightforward daytrip from Tokyo, but all the same, in my condition it was a bit of a challenge. Mt Kawanoriyama is a 1300m tall peak to the far west of the Tokyo area, and is reached by taking a few trains and a bus for about two hours. It is also famous for a nearby waterfall, Hyakuhiro Falls, which we decided we would hike to first. Being drugged up with all manner of pills and potions I had acquired after work the day before, I took off with a spring in my step as we navigated a path that was far more virgin than that of Fuji; often being strewn with fallen logs, huge crumbling sections, and no rope fence running the length. In every way it was a far cry from Fuji, being lush and green, not very populated, and the sound of running water was everywhere. Tokyo has several rivers flowing through it, but they are all guided by concrete embankments and crossed by bridges and overpasses with no signs of nature - these on the other hand looked primordial and more like the New Zealand bush I had left behind.
Reaching the waterfall we stopped for lunch, feeling the cool mist generated by the churning water and watching the sheer power generated made for a great atmosphere. By this point I was starting to feel a little exhausted, but by golly I was committed, even if I would pay for it the next day!
The walk from the falls to the summit was only around 2.3 kilometres, but the ascent was a tortuous one; despite being beneath the canopy, and the day not being terribly sunny, we were soon cooking, and whenever we reached a plateau I called for a two minute break to watch my life flash before my eyes as a little bit of my spirit died inside. Everytime we thought we had almost reached the top having clambered up a steep portion, we would see that there was another (followed by Viktor exclaiming 'Oh for f**k's sake), and me groaning, but still we went on. Fiodar, who has just returned from Russia, was the opposite - starting off he was quite sluggish, still being jetlagged, but as the day went on and his body clock woke up, he got a spring in his step, to our mock frustration.
Eventually though we got there, by which point I was no longer speaking and wanted to die a little bit, but glad we were that we had conquered the mountain, even if it conquered a little bit ofus me in the process! We had had a few delays in our ascent so the day was getting on by the time we reached the top, and we knew we would be making part of the descent in the dark, so after taking the few obligatory photos (for which I had slugged my tripod up the mountain), we saddled up and began to come down the other side.
An hour and a half later we emerged from the bush, Viktor hobbling, Vindu with sore legs, me spent, and Fiodar chirrupy as ever, with an older Japanese man asking if we were ok and directing us to the station, for our trip back to Tokyo. After that it was a matter of falling into the shower and then bed. Monday was fortunately a holiday, and I spent 99% of it in my room, both feeling unwell and sore, so I spent a great amount of time asleep, and then the afternoon half watching some TV.
I went to the doctor today, and he has given me a whole lot of pills and such to take, so over the next few days I expect to regain an appetite and lose my sore throat, among other things. Then it'll be onto the next mountain - perhaps one or two more before it gets too cold!
As an aside, a couple of weeks ago Claire and I met with a family friend of mine, Morgan Dehnel, at the Keio Plaza Hotel for dinner. A lovely time was had, being as it is always nice to catch up with people you have not seen for a year! Other than that I took the opportunity to make the most of the views that Odaiba has of Tokyo city, taking my camera and tripod to the beach to see what kinds of vista I could get - these are not in any way tied to a particular theme/blog; rather these are an addendum that I could have attached to any of the last few!
That about does it for now, semester is approaching around the corner and I am looking forward to having internet in my room (soooooon), but there will be some adventures happening again very, very soon!
Til next time friendos!
Troy
On Saturday morning I woke up with a bit of a sore throat and a headache, for which I took some painkillers, and then went to work. Over the course of the day I got more and more fatigued, snoozing between lessons and generally feeling a bit sorry for myself. Getting back to my room that evening I went to be early, because on Sunday it was an early start for myself and a few friends (Fiodar, Viktor and Vindu), as we headed west to climb (another) mountain!
This time it wasn't as famous or tall as Fuji, being a very straightforward daytrip from Tokyo, but all the same, in my condition it was a bit of a challenge. Mt Kawanoriyama is a 1300m tall peak to the far west of the Tokyo area, and is reached by taking a few trains and a bus for about two hours. It is also famous for a nearby waterfall, Hyakuhiro Falls, which we decided we would hike to first. Being drugged up with all manner of pills and potions I had acquired after work the day before, I took off with a spring in my step as we navigated a path that was far more virgin than that of Fuji; often being strewn with fallen logs, huge crumbling sections, and no rope fence running the length. In every way it was a far cry from Fuji, being lush and green, not very populated, and the sound of running water was everywhere. Tokyo has several rivers flowing through it, but they are all guided by concrete embankments and crossed by bridges and overpasses with no signs of nature - these on the other hand looked primordial and more like the New Zealand bush I had left behind.
Reaching the waterfall we stopped for lunch, feeling the cool mist generated by the churning water and watching the sheer power generated made for a great atmosphere. By this point I was starting to feel a little exhausted, but by golly I was committed, even if I would pay for it the next day!
The walk from the falls to the summit was only around 2.3 kilometres, but the ascent was a tortuous one; despite being beneath the canopy, and the day not being terribly sunny, we were soon cooking, and whenever we reached a plateau I called for a two minute break to watch my life flash before my eyes as a little bit of my spirit died inside. Everytime we thought we had almost reached the top having clambered up a steep portion, we would see that there was another (followed by Viktor exclaiming 'Oh for f**k's sake), and me groaning, but still we went on. Fiodar, who has just returned from Russia, was the opposite - starting off he was quite sluggish, still being jetlagged, but as the day went on and his body clock woke up, he got a spring in his step, to our mock frustration.
Eventually though we got there, by which point I was no longer speaking and wanted to die a little bit, but glad we were that we had conquered the mountain, even if it conquered a little bit of
An hour and a half later we emerged from the bush, Viktor hobbling, Vindu with sore legs, me spent, and Fiodar chirrupy as ever, with an older Japanese man asking if we were ok and directing us to the station, for our trip back to Tokyo. After that it was a matter of falling into the shower and then bed. Monday was fortunately a holiday, and I spent 99% of it in my room, both feeling unwell and sore, so I spent a great amount of time asleep, and then the afternoon half watching some TV.
I went to the doctor today, and he has given me a whole lot of pills and such to take, so over the next few days I expect to regain an appetite and lose my sore throat, among other things. Then it'll be onto the next mountain - perhaps one or two more before it gets too cold!
As an aside, a couple of weeks ago Claire and I met with a family friend of mine, Morgan Dehnel, at the Keio Plaza Hotel for dinner. A lovely time was had, being as it is always nice to catch up with people you have not seen for a year! Other than that I took the opportunity to make the most of the views that Odaiba has of Tokyo city, taking my camera and tripod to the beach to see what kinds of vista I could get - these are not in any way tied to a particular theme/blog; rather these are an addendum that I could have attached to any of the last few!
That about does it for now, semester is approaching around the corner and I am looking forward to having internet in my room (soooooon), but there will be some adventures happening again very, very soon!
Til next time friendos!
Troy
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