Mostly Japanese Mountains: Naguri/Nariki area Mt. Bono, (棒ノ嶺) Mt. Iwatakeishi (岩茸石山), etc.

I hiked in Saitama and Tokyo a bit today. The skies weren't clear enough for any good views, but fairly fresh snow and empty trails made for a nice day.

Crampons were a necessity today.

Here's my trail today.

I started at a parking lot near Nagurigawabashi and hiked up to Bonorei (Mt. Bono). From there, I hit three or 4 more peaks before the last one, Mt. Iwatakeishi. From there I descended to Route 202 and then walked along Route 53 back to where I'd parked. I walked about 5 km on the pavement today, 16km in total.

The hike took a little more than 6 hours. The snowy parts were slow. The pavement allowed me to make up time.

I don't have anything super-beautiful or insightful to share so I'm tempted not to blog about this hike but have decided to just to give the information about the trails.

This was my starting point near Nagurigawa Bridge. There is a bus stop nearby. I'd assume the bus comes from Hanno.

A shrine by my departure point.

The beginning of the trail was paved.

I liked this rock.

Leaving the road.

This boulder is called Iwatakeishi. Not to be confused with Iwatakeishi Mountain which I'd climb around noon. This is where I put on my crampons. I needed them for the next 4 hours or so.

Today's highest point was Mt. Bonorei. Here are some pictures of it from today and from October.

Today

October

Another spot today

The same spot as the last picture. I think this was in October.

Mt. Iwatakeishi. It was standing-room-only last time I was here.

Basically the same spot last April.

On the way down.

This cafe is popular with bicyclists. It's at the beginning of a hill that bicyclists ride up for training.

I don't like to descend the same way I go up that much so I often will hike in a circle. This sometimes means I need to close the circle between different trailheads by walking along the road. Today was one of those days. I don't mind it that much. I'm still walking in the woods.