Northern Alps編② 1 to 3 Oct. 2014
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1 Oct. Karasawa - Yokoo - Yarigatake Hut
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2 Oct. Yarigatake Hut - Sugoroku-dake - Mitsumata Hut
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3 Oct. Mitsumata Hut - Kumonodaira Hut
1Oct. Karasawa - Yokoo - Yarigatake Hut
My next destination is Yarigatake, one of the most famous mountains in Japan. The mountain is very sharp and stands like a lance(Yari means a lance in Japanese).
You can go to Yarigatake through knife ridges from Karasawa but I had a huge backpack and I wasn't sure if I could make it safely. So I chose to go via Yokoo and Yarisawa. This route is easier and more popular.
I encountered with some monkeys, probably a family. A small baby was hanging on the belly of the mother. The mother patted the baby some times. I was amazed by their behavior and watched them, maybe too long, they browbeat me.
There is a long uphill before Yarigatake. It was very tiring but I was happy to be there in such a nice day. The sky was deep blue and the beautiful leaves trembled in the breeze.
At the hut on the shoulder of Yarigatake, I saw a huge field of the clouds. The entire valley was filled up with the clouds. What a view.
I put my tent at the campground beside Yarigatake Hut.
2 Oct. Yarigatake Hut - Sugoroku-dake - Mitsumata Hut
The day started with beautiful sunrise, again.
Today's destination is KurobeGoro Hut in Kumonodaira. I wanted come to Kumonodaira for really long time. Kumonodaira is located in the middle of Northern Alps and it takes at least 3 days to come whichever route you take. "I'm going to Kumonodaira!" I was so excited. But the weather got worse.
A few hours later I started, the wind picked up and the clouds surrounded me completely. Visibility was terrible. I hardly saw 20 m away.
When I got to Mitsumata Hut via Sugoroku-dake, I had lost my body heat and was exhausted. I didn't want to walk anymore. I stayed here.
I put my tent and hiked up to Washiba-dake next to the hut when the rain ceased. I could not see a good view due to the clouds but this is one of my favorite peaks, I don't know why.
I was so tired that I didn't feel like cooking by myself. I had a dinner at the hut. There were 2 or 3 hikers at the hut and I sat at a table with them.
In the kitchen, a lady was working and a baby was on her back. I imagine that it is not easy to raise children in this place but the environment should be good for the child. The baby sees beautiful scenery and have good air, water and food. I hope they all be happy.
They served venison stew. In Japan, the number of deer is increasing and it has become a big problem. They increase very fast and affect the balance of ecosystem, for example, they eat flowers and young shoot of trees. So the hunters make big efforts to control them to maintain the balance.
Now, more deer is hunted but the market for venison is not very big in Japan and it's not easy for hunters to sell deer. So it's not unusual that the hunters just kill deer and leave the bodies. But we should not make light of any life, if we need to kill them, we have to thank them and make the most of their life.
The owner of this hut also thinks so and they use as many venison as possible. I love the philosophy of this hut.
It rained for all night long.
3 Oct. Mitsumata Hut - Kumonodaira Hut
It seemed that there were some holes on the bottom of my tent, the floor became like pool and everything got wet...
I put away my tent and headed to Kumonodaira Hut. It's only a few hours away from Mitsumata Hut. It kept raining. The trail sank in the water, the trail became river...
After 3 hours of walking in the river, I got to Kumonodaira Hut. Kumonodaira is a flat wet land and there are board walks. If it was sunny I would see the mountains surrounding the wetland but all I could see was clouds.
The hut is very comfortable and the staffs are so kind. They even held a movie party after dinner. What a nice hut! We watched "Bagdad Cafe" together.
