Mostly Japanese Mountains: The one that got away . . . again!

This is the second time I failed to bag Mt. Takatsuma.

Maybe it's time to hire Quint. 🎣

The other day, Mrs. Caveman invited me camping. ⛺ All she needed to say was, "Do people go camping even in this (fall🍁) season?"

Being the sensitive spouse I am, I intuited all she wanted to convey. ie, "Remember that place we went camping in the rain☔ last month and you couldn't hike because it was too wet? Let's go there again this weekend."

To which I replied, "Mrs. Caveman💖, you always have the best ideas.💡"

(She really is a trooper to put up with me.)

Unfortunately, although the weather cooperated this time, my physical condition didn't. We went to the Togakushi Campground on Friday with a plan for me to hike Mt. Takatsuma on Saturday. Mrs. Caveman (who is an artist) would hang out in the campground sketching while I was climbing. Things looked great on Friday. The weather was spectacular and we had a nice day of sightseeing/leaf-peeping before setting up. The problem started in the middle of the night in the tent. I woke up around 1 a.m. with a pounding headache and didn't sleep a wink after that. By the time the sun rose, I was not in the mood for any physical exertion and I thought it better to stay out of the mountains in case I was coming down with something serious.

We packed up and came home soon after breakfast. Thwarted again.

In case anyone is interested in doing the hike I was planning on, I will (re)post the template comments I'd started in anticipation of this hike. It's one of the 100 Famous Mountains, so you should climb it if you want to say you're living your best life.

I'll also put up some pictures I took on our little jaunt. We dropped by Lake Nojiri on the way up and it was a picture-perfect day for fall colors. And, it was warm, too. (Global warming gets such a bad rap. I don't mind it. Heck, maybe England will again have vineyards someday.) Lake Nojiri has a boat tour. (25 minutes, ￥1,400) They discovered some elephant fossils in the lake so there is a museum. We dropped into the Naumann Elephant Museum after the boat ride. When we got to the campground, we took a walk and encountered some animals that are actually still alive.

Pics follow the template.

Location: 高妻山　Mt. Takatsuma Togakushi, Nagano

Starting and stopping point: 戸隠キャンプ場 Togakushi Campground

~~Peaks bagged:~~

~~(First-time) peaks~~

~~Getting there/getting around:~~

I drove. Mrs. Caveman and I spent the night at the Togakushi Campground and I left our car there. There is free parking near the trailhead for daytrippers. Checkout is in the morning, but if you get the basecamp plan, they'll let you check out at 4:30 for just another 500 yen.

It is possible to get there by public transportation. From Tokyo, take the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Nagano Station. (Or you could take the bus from Shinjuku to Nagano Station.) Change to the Nagano Togakushi Bus Line for the Togakushi Camp Ground. Depending on your choice of routes, it should take between 4 and 6 hours and cost between 6,900 yen and 10,000 yen each way.

Map: 山と高原地図18 妙高・戸隠・雨飾火打山・高妻山・信越トレイル

Weather Information: Japanese weather forecast

~~Total Time: Break time: Distance:~~

~~Elevation: Lowest: Highest: Total Ascent: Total Descent:~~

~~Technical considerations/difficulty:~~

~~Facilities: Togakushi Campground~~

~~Thoughts/observations/recommendations:~~

~~Today's listening: Bible in a Year~~

Here are some pics.

There are still some Cosmos at the lower elevations.

Lake Nojiri 野尻湖 Shinano, Nagano

Mt. Myoko (妙高山)

L. Mt. Kurohime (黒姫山--"Black Princess") R. Mt. Myoko

Uga Shrine on Biwa Island

Lake Nojiri Naumann Elephant Museum 野尻湖ナウマンゾウ博物館

Mrs. Caveman is the one with the little nose.

Cave art.

Cave refrigerator paintings dug up at the archaeological site.

Giant deer from way back in the day in Nojiri looked like this.

Teeth. Mandibles, to be precise.

More prehistoric cave paintings.

It looks like it was fun back then.

Artistic rendering of how Bam Bam made tools from elephant bones.

In the last frame, he says something like "I did it." or "It's finished!"

Good job, Bam Bam.

This rack gets the Caveman's seal of approval.

I know where to do my clothes shopping now.

Togakushi Campsite and Ranch 戸隠キャンプ場・戸隠牧場

I was a bit surprised to see this guy in November.

The mountains I've yet to trod.

Sigh.

Home away from home.

69 degrees Fahrenheit is 20.5 degrees Celsius. It was balmy.

I don't know what this is, but it's cool.

Walking through the pasture, we encountered a bunch of these guys.

As the crow flies, this is only 30 km or so from where the famous snow monkeys

are so these must be the same kind of monkey.

When I spotted these monkeys lollygagging across the pasture, I remembered my days in the army. I had this strange urge to call in a fire mission on troops in the open.

It would serve them right for not taking advantage of cover and concealment.

Back to the campsite for some grub.

The campground is well-stocked. You can buy or rent anything you don't have. They'll even sell you the meat/ingredients you need for a barbecue. It's super expensive to buy their food, though. We supplied our food from the supermarket for about 10% of what we would had to pay them. I bought the grill just the other day from a recycle shop for ￥1,000 yen (about $6~7). It must have been bought and returned. Hence it ended up in a recycle shop. It's a win for the caveman.

By the way, if you're in Japan and you have a jones for western sausage, you might want to check out what's on the grill. I get those sausages at in the frozen section at Gyomu Supa. Being in Japan, I've always been on the hunt for sausage or bacon that suits my taste. These are the best I've found so far.

You're welcome.

According to my hiking app, my little walk with Mrs. Caveman marked my 365th day of spending some time in the woods of Japan. (Usually it is more strenuous than a walk around a pasture,

though.😄😄)

I kind of like that. I'm very blessed to be able to do this kind of stuff so often.