What's up, cavecrawlers?
Another day, another mountain (or two).
Location: Tomioka City, Gunma
Starting and stopping point: Parking Spot
Peaks bagged: Kuwagaradake (鍬柄岳) Ogeta (大桁山)
(First-time) peaks #840 and #841
Getting there/getting around:
I drove. There are a few different parking areas. Getting to the parking lot was a bit nerve-racking. It meant driving several km on a very narrow road that is strewn with fallen leaves and branches. The road was so narrow that I don't know what you would do if you encountered a car coming the other way.
The nearest train station is Sendaira (千平) on the Joshin Dentetsu Line which runs between Shimonita and Takasaki.
Map: Yama to Kogen Chizu #21 西上州 妙義山・荒船山
Weather Information: Kuwagara's Weather
Total Time: 2:23 Break time: 3 Distance: 7.1km
Elevation: Lowest: 334m Highest: 831m Total Ascent: 683m Total Descent: 673m
Technical considerations/difficulty: The hike to Ogeta is fairly straightforward. There are some steep parts but no chains or ladders to speak of. The detour up to Kuwagara on the way is another story. That is a large boulder and has a loooong steep section with chains. This part had the best (only, really) views but isn't for the faint of heart. It was a bit spicy.
Facilities: There is one public restroom by one of the parking lots I passed on the way down. There's nothing on the trail.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations: It was fun. You should do it. I wouldn't say it should be at the top of your bucketlist, but if you're starting to scrape the barrel for ideas you might go here.
Today's listening:
Winston Churchill on A Short History Of
Since I had limited time for this hike, I bopped over into Gunma and hiked for just about 2.5 hours.
I was only a few miles from Mt. Myogi but didn't get to see it clearly. 😢
Here's a map and then some pictures.
We interrupt our regularly-scheduled programming for this important announcement.
Nice one, Pat! Kuwagaradake is a mountain that quite interests me, and by the looks of it, it is not far from Sendaira Station. I can confirm that the 'tippy-top' is indeed the true summit. The good news is that the chain also continues all the way there.
ReplyDeleteHi David. You're right. It is near Sendaira Station. I had actually planned to start my hike there (on the pavement). There was just noooo place to park.
DeleteI happened to get stopped by a passing train at a crossing near the station. What are the chances? There is probably just about one an hour that passes. It was a cute, colorful, two-car train.
You are right that the chain keeps going to the tippy-top. I could see it on the other side of that razor ridge I stopped at. When I got to that point, the little voice inside spoke up and said, "That's far enough for today." I reflected that I might be missing out on the best photo op of the day by stopping there. In thinking that, however, I remembered a story a friend of mine relayed of attending a slideshow by a guy who'd been climbing in the Himalayas. That guy said, "This picture is very dear to me. It cost me one of my fingers because of the frostbite I got in taking it." I just felt like that day, going for that picture might have been more of a risk than I wanted to take. Ya know?
Have a good one!