Mount Fuji

With Ashley and Hazel gone, I climbed Mount Fuji on August 8th, 2011.  It was a long, beautiful day, and in the middle of it I was struck by lightning at the summit.  Pretty interesting experience overall.  The climb up took me 5 hours and 30 minutes, and the climb down was 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Here is the view of the mountain from or starting point, the 5th station.  This is at 7,562 feet.  Snow usually covers the mountain, but mid-July through August there isn't any snow and the temperature is warm enough to climb safely.  It was about 60 degrees at 06:30 in the morning here. 

After a 15 minute walk from the 5th station, this sign shows you where to go, tells you how far you have to climb (6 km) and tells you how long it should take you (385 minutes). 

Dude just climbed for an hour, so naturally he needed a smoke. 

That was one awesome banana.  It was about 65 degrees here. 

Branding hiker's walking sticks.  These each cost 200 Yen, and filled up your stick by the end. 

The stations also served as sleeping huts.  You could rent space on one of these mats. 

A typical resting station.  Busy with people taking a break.

These guys were taking some extra oxygen in those aerosol cans.  I didn't have any, but I don't think I needed it.

One of the last stations.  It looks like it's built right into the sky.

The Torii Gate and the lions greet you just before you reach the summit.

This is the doctor that delivered Hazel.  Pretty unique that she was up there the same day at the same time.

A vending machine at the summit.

 

There at the top was a kind of pioneer town.  A few places would rent you a place to sleep and another place served hot lunches.

This is the crater at the top.  Behind me you can see the weather station that technically sits at the highest point of the mountain, 12,389 feet.

The volcanic rock was a range of colors.

The Fujisan-Do Post Office.  For all your top of the mountain mailing needs. 

A strong rainbow after the storm.  About 30 minutes before this is when I was hit by the lightning.

Back at the bottom, glad to be done climbing.  My left knee was really sore at this point.

And that's the end. I took a three hour bus ride back to the hotel in Tokyo and went to sleep.