Welcome ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, cave visitors of all ages.
How'd you like my clickbait title? It's hard to become an influencer. In my last few posts, I mentioned skinnydipping and you wouldn't believe how many views I got. I'm not sure how I feel about the type of new readers I'm getting, though.
Unlike many internet entities; I'm not lying with my titles. Maybe gilding the lily a bit, but I'm not lying. Keep reading and you'll see what I mean.
Honest. You can trust me. I'm not like the others.
Anyway . . .
I went for a bit of a hike on the Yatsugatake Range yesterday. It wasn't a picture-perfect day, but it was still a great experience.
Location: Tengudake 天狗岳 Nagano
Starting and stopping point: 稲子湯唐沢橋登山口（みどり池入口）
Peaks bagged: Higashi Tengu (東天狗岳) ~~ Nishi Tengu (西天狗) ~~ Neishi (根石山) ~~ Mikaburi (箕冠山)
(First-time) peaks #828, 829, 830, 831
Getting there/getting around: I drove. There are buses to the trailhead I used. They run between the Nitago Onsen and Koumi Station 4 times a day starting in April 22. I guess they run until the snow makes the road impassible.
Map: Yama to Kogen Chizu 33 YATSUGA-TAKE TATESHINA・UTSUKUSHIGAHARA・KIRIGAMINE 八ヶ岳蓼科・美ヶ原・霧ヶ峰
Weather Information: Nishitengu (Japanese)
Total Time: 7:08 Break time: :36 Distance: 16.5 km (just over 10 miles)
Elevation: Lowest: 1,571 m Highest: 26,46 m Total Ascent: 1,386 m Total Descent: 1,386 m
Technical considerations/difficulty: Much of this is above the treeline. There are not a lot of spots with chains or ropes but a lot of this hike is steep and there are a lot of boulders to negotiate. I think the only places where getting lost would be a possibility would be at trail intersections. Most of them are well-marked, though. If you pay attention, you should be fine.
Facilities: There are lots of onsens, huts and waterholes. There are several campgrounds.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations: This is, I'm sure, a great collection of mountains, but I really don't know just what they look like. It was not clear enough long enough over a wide enough area for me to have gotten a good look! The one peek I got of the peak of Tengudake from below was really cool. This is another on a long list of mountains I have to go back to.
I was surprised at the number of onsens and campgrounds in the area. I also was surprised by the number of people I saw. It didn't ever seem crowded, but there were a surprising number of hikers up there.
Today's listening:
Orthodoxy, by G.K. Chesterton, read by David Grizzly Smith
"The only possible excuse for this book is that it is an answer to a challenge. Even a bad shot is dignified when he accepts a duel." Orthodoxy
I have listened to or read Orthodoxy, and a few other Chesterton classics, several times. I find more and more gems each time. He's not immediately accessible. I find that the first 90% of a chapter is usually bewildering and takes a lot of concentration. The last 10% or so when he pulls everything together makes the hard work worthwhile! And, along the way, some of the quotes are just so clever and, well, quotable.
OK.....let's look at some pictures
