Hikeling to Kagenobu in February

I don't think it would be proper to say spring has sprung yet, but it is certainly coiled and ready!

Yesterday was a national holiday and I spent the night before planning and prepping for a long hike to a high, cold, snowy mountain.  My plans were dashed near the end of the night when I realized that one of the trails I'd planned on using was closed.  I had to pare back my plans.  When all was said and done, hikeling to a nearer mountain made the most sense.  I took my bicycle to the area behind Mt. Takao and headed up Mt. Kagenobu.  This was probably my 3rd or 4th time there.  

This was my bike route:

I rode along the pavement past the last bus stop.  That is the Kobotoke Bus Stop which is a 27-minute ride from Takaosanguchi Station on the Keio Train Line.  There is a parking lot a bit further down the road near the trailhead.

When the pavement ran out, I rode up the logging road/hiking trail . . . 

. . . until ice and snow made that untenable.  Then I got off my bike and put on my crampons to hike the mile or so left to get to the top of Kagenobu.

Kagenobu, similar to its neighbor Takao, offers great views--without the crowds of people that gather on Takao.  This is Tokyo in the picture below.

I think this was the first time I've been up there that these places have been open.  They serve food, drinks and sell t-shirts and the like.

They aren't in evidence in any of the pictures that I'm posting but there were a lot of people on the trails yesterday.  I think Tokyoites are itching to get outside more.

Lake Sagami in the adjacent prefecture, Kanagawa.

Some of the hills of Kanagawa:

On the way home.  Looking back where I'd been.  I think this was a bridge over the Asakawa (Asa River).

Thanks for dropping by the cave.

Keep your fingers crossed.  I'm really hoping go overnight somewhere while there's still snow.