"The greatness comes not when things go always good for you. But the greatness comes when you're really tested, when you take some knocks, some disappointments, when sadness comes. Because only if you've been in the deepest valley can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain." - Richard M. Nixon   "Our way is not soft grass, it's a mountain path with lots of rocks. But it goes upward, forward, toward the sun." -Ruth Westheimer

ou know, 0230 was awfully early to be leaving for any kind of trip, but if you’re going to spend 10 hours on top of a mountain, 0230 doesn’t seem all that bad. It was a 3 hour bus ride from the New Sanno Hotel. As we approached Fuji we could barely make out the massive mountain in the dark, except for the string of tiny lights zig zagging near the top of the summit. The lights were from hikers trying to reach the top of Fuji for sunrise. Ken & I were talking about doing this hike next year. An hour had passed since we’ve seen the lights, it was now 0515 as the bus pulled in to the parking lot of the 5th station. This was where we started our hike, I can already feel how thin the air was. The weather was clear, except for a few whispers of clouds; you can see for miles. We donned our packs and started our ascent. The 6th station was to be our first goal, not too bad, "I can do this", I thought. 20 minutes had passed, "Oh God, this sucks!" I screamed. The first leg of the trip, I thought was hard, I was still getting use to the altitude. Ken didn’t seem to have any problems, that he was letting on. The road seemed to go on forever, but just before I decided to give up, "We’re here", Ken said. "Are we at the top?" I hoped, "No, it’s just the sixth station" Ken said, "Shit" I said. We rested for about 5 minutes while a Japanese person type branded our walking sticks. The walking stick is a 5 foot plain stick everyone buys as a reminder of their death march up Fuji. Bells, & a small flag would be tied at the top, and several brands from each station falls right under it. There are about 19 – 20 brands you can get for your stick, which cost about 200 yen each. Onward to the 7th station, that’ll be an hour please. An hour of walking, up hill; Ken was starting to complain. The trail itself was not hard, it was the altitude that made it a challenge. And the switchbacks were of no help. Mt Fuji's ill-famed altitude sickness had claimed it's first victim of the day. (An American) he was parked on the side of the trail clenching to his can of oxygen as if it were his very livelihood. He was in pretty bad shape, we didn't know if he made it to the top, somehow I doubt he did. I could see the 7th station, it didn’t look that far from where we were, looks can be deceiving. It was wonderful when we finally reached the 7th station, how many stations were there you ask, 9 main stations. That wasn’t including all of the little stations that dotted the trail between the 7th & 8th stations. And there were more between the 8th & 9th stations. Now that we had our sticks branded, it was time to move on, I hope you’re in the mood to climb; why…? Lava rocks! Not just rocks, boulders. Yes, this was much easier. As a matter of fact it was easier. Because now instead of a steep switchback to climb, it was a straight shot up. We reached the smaller stations with little exertion. Six small stations later, and we were finally at the 8th station! Only 160 minutes till we reach the top, can you just feel the excitement. Now the climb to the 9th station goes back to the switchback, these seem harder. OK, it’s now time to go home, I’m tired of this up hill shit! But I need to reach the top, there is something waiting for me up there, accomplishment. You know, the rest of the climb was just like the beginning of the climb, so I’ll save you with the trivial details. WE MADE IT TO THE TOP! Accomplishment! 3776 meter worth of accomplishment. I was so happy, I wanted to drop to my knees and kiss the ground; but I didn’t. We then decided to wandered around for a bit, it was like a little market on the top of Fuji. They were selling food, beer, clothes, and little touristy souvenirs. I was not about to buy anything up here, they wanted 2,500 yen for a t-shirt!  It's a good thing we brought our own food.  I had this overwelming urge to visit the little girls room, I was going to explode! 100 yen to use the toilet, but not just any toilet; retched, puke, stinky vile…. I’m going to be sick! It was worse then seeing a pig with it’s nose in the toilet, Yes I actually saw a pig with it’s nose in the toilet. I think I can hold it in till I get to the bottom. In fact, I KNOW I can hold it until I get to the bottom. We wondered around some more, then ate lunch, the clouds that followed us up the mountain caught up with us. Every once in a while the clouds would part long enough to see in the creator. That was something to see. It was kind of scary to be up there, knowing that even though Mt. Fuji is an extinct volcano, you’d never know. That, I think, made the climb more exciting. Now it’s time to climb down, 3 ½ hours, down. The climb down, thought was worse. The steep descending switchback trail was made up of loose gravel which was a pain in the butt to climb down. I kept losing traction and fall on my butt. After about two hours we came across two Japanese gentlemen sitting along side the trail with their horses. They offered to give us a lift down for 10,000 yen ($100.00), for that much money, I can walk. Like I said before, I won’t bore you with the assorted details, we made it to the bottom in one piece. It felt great to be at the bottom! I got myself a victory ice cream. While we waited for the rest of the group to come off the mountain, it started to rain cats & dogs. Perfect timing! Carol, Ken, Clark, & Scott Fuji-san This hike will be a breeze Carol, Ken, and a statue; nice bells Sumimasen, what are you doing to my stick? Ken climbs Fuji Stick branding Big lava rocks! Here are a couple of site you can visit to learn more & see more of Mt Fuji Virtual Mount Fuji - A guide to climbing Mt. Fuji Guide of Mt. Fuji - Includes a live Mt. Fuji cam Fujiyoshida - A complete tour of Fuji & the surrounding area     <== Back to Our Adventures