It puts the lotion in the basket. Or, July in Yamanashi. Mt. Takigo, Mt. Hamaibamaru

Do you like that title?  I'm just experimenting with clickbait.

Hello cave dweller.  (Now that I think of it, you probably are living like a cave dweller because of COVID.  Stop it.  Get outside.  Get a life.  Even if you do it like I do--with nobody around--please get outside.)

Yesterday I got on my scooter before 5 am to ride nearly three hours to a trailhead.  I'm glad I got such an early start because the weather was gorgeous--until about 9 or 10.  Then it got cloudy and Fuji and all the distant mountains disappeared for the balance of the day.

I started at the Yunosawa Parking Lot (湯の沢駐車場), way up in the hills.  It's at the end of the mountain road.  It's so far up there, that there is an emergency hut next to the parking lot.  One thing I really like about having a scooter is that I can get to trailheads that trains, buses and cars can't.  

Getting there entailed riding west on Koshu Kaido past Otsuki and through the Kai Yamato Tunnel.  Then, just past the Michi No Eki (a roadside spot selling local produce and goods to tourists) turn right and right about 15km up winding mountain roads.  It was while I was on this road that Fuji made its only appearance of the day.

I chose today's route because I wanted to connect trails I've hiked in the past.  There was a gap on my map between Yunosawa Pass and Mt. Oyagamaru.  The first map was a hike I did a few weeks ago.  The second is where I went yesterday.

Notice the Kaiyamato Michi no Eki in the top left of the first picture.  That is just outside the entrance of a long tunnel from Otsuki to Koshu.  On the first hike, my path took me over that tunnel.  

Yesterday

Like I said, the sky was only blue so long.  I was able to get this shot of 3 of my favorite mountains.   They are all fun to climb and they all have great views. 

BTW, you can see a watermark for Peakvisor on the picture.  That's an app I use for mountain identification.  It's really cool.  I took the picture, though so I think I deserve the bigger watermark.

I startled Bambi's girlfriend this morning.  

This video is better.

I'll never forget the first time I heard a deer bark.  I had no idea what it was and it scared the living daylights out of me.

The clouds may have obscured the view of the mountains, but the flowers and butterflies made up for it!  Between the Yunosawa Pass and the first mountaintop going south, the path wanders through a few hundred meters of wildflowers.  They are beautiful and they attract lots of butterflies and honeybees.  That spot is 湯の沢峠花畑。  (Yunosawatoge Hanabatake)

As usual, after a day like this, my dogs deserved a break.

That's all for today.  God-willing and if the creek don't rise, I'm going on a really special trek next week.  Stay tuned.