Caveman hikes the 💯 Famous Mountain, Mt. Takatsuma (高妻山), Nagano/Niigata.

Konnichiwa Cave Critters and Cave Curious.

Caveman here.

Astute perusers of this space will recall that--despite twice driving all the way to the base of Mt. Takatsuma and spending the night at the campground there--the Caveman was denied ascension of Mt. Takatsuma both times.  The first time by rain, the second time by illness.

Takatsu--高妻山--means "Tall Wife" in English.  Mrs. Caveman, while being very high in my estimation, is, shall we say, vertically challenged?  This situation has made me wonder if the "Tall Wife" might be jealous of my short wife and of how my affections run toward her rather than toward one as monumentous as herself.  Maybe that is the reason Mt. Takatsu had played so hard to get.

No matter.  The Tall Wife is vanquished.  Long live the short wife.

The queen is dead.  Long live the queen.

Take that you, you mountain you.

Yesterday I drove up to Takatsu to do the hike on a day trip.  I was a bit iffy about doing this trip on that day because the weather was questionable.

I really was on the fence about going there until the very last minute.  The weather reports varied widely and I was tempted to stay local and hike something less noteworthy since it was possible there wasn't going to be anything to see anyway.  On the other hand, I didn't want to put this one off too long or it might have ended up out of reach until the snow's melted in around June of next year.  Even on the trail I was tempted to turn back.  By the time I got to the first peak, the snow had picked up and it was white as a sheet up ahead.  With another 400 meters to climb in elevation, I imagine that the weather might turn nasty.  I had just made my mind up to turn back when the sun came out--for about 1.5 seconds.  That was enough to spur me on.  

I'm glad I did.

Here are the details.

Location:  

高妻山　Mt. Takatsuma Togakushi, Nagano

Starting and stopping point:  

戸隠キャンプ場 Togakushi Campground

Peaks bagged: 

Mt. Gojizo 五地蔵山 and Mt. Takatsuma 高妻山

(First-time) peaks 

#835 and #836

(100 Famous Mountains) peak 

#29

Getting there/getting around:  

I drove.  There is free parking near the trailhead.  The trailhead is inside the Togakushi Campsite.  The campsite just closed for the season but you can walk through to the trailhead.

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: 

Search for 山と高原地図 妙高・戸隠・雨飾 火打山・高妻山・信越トレイル on the Mapple web site to get the latest Yama to Kogen Map.

Weather Information: 

Japanese weather forecast

Time

Total Time: 7:28  Break time: 1:02  Distance:  13.1km

Elevation  

Lowest: 1,173m Highest: 2,352m Total Ascent: 1,498m  Total Descent: 1,498

Technical considerations/difficulty:  

As you can see from the picture, there was snow.  It was fresh and wasn't deep yet.  I was glad I had my crampons.  Snow remains on Mt. Takatsuma into May, so keep that in mind if you want to bag this one.  

The hike is fairly steep and the level of ascent is noteworthy.  This hike is comparable in distance and change in elevation to climbing to the top of Mt. Fuji from one of the usual routes.

I climbed up to Takatsuma on the east side and that section was fairly straightforward.  There are some spots with chains, but not too many.  It is just steep and rocky.  I came down to the west, passing by Mt. Jizo and the Ichifudo Refuge Hut (一不動避難小屋) on the way.  From the refuge hut to the bottom has a few more exciting spots--nothing too challenging physically but a wrong step could really ruin your day.    Also, that trail crosses over and through a stream several times.  I was glad that I was doing this at the end of the hike and not at the beginning.  My feet were absolutely soaked from the stream and it wouldn't have been pleasant to go tramping around in the snow with my boots and feet in that condition.

Facilities:  

Togakushi Campground  (This closed at the beginning of November.)  

Inside the campground, there are few restaurants.  This soba restaurant seems to be open year-round.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:

This is another in a long list of mountains I've climbed which I wouldn't be able to pick out in a line-up if my life depended on it.  Visibility was pretty poor all day, so I have no idea what this mountain or the ones around it look like.  That isn't to say that the views weren't cool.  The snowscape was great to see.  I would like to get back some clear day, though.  Maybe in summer.

Today's listening:

Bible in a Year

New season of "For You The War is Over!"

The hike started at about 1,200 meters in elevation.  After going up only about 100 meters, the snow flurries started.

I know what I'm asking Santa for this year.  Boots.

(I hope Mrs. Caveman saw that.)

Come to think of it, pants and gaiters would be nice, too.

We'll see if Santa really loves me and wants me to survive the winter.

This is a refuge hut.  The sign says something to the effect that it is for emergency use only, not to plan on using it for regular hiking situations.

🍺☺This toilet was sponsored by Asahi Beer!☺🍺

The Oharasawa (大洞沢) stream below the refuge hut was very pretty--but also very wet.

This part was a bit spicy.  The picture really doesn't capture it well.

That's all for today.

Want to see another of the 100 Famous Mountains?  Check out Kobushigatake

Want to see more from this area?

Mt. Amakazari

Mt. Myoko

Caveman, out.

 

Caveman bikes and hikes. Golden Week 100 Meizan, Mt. Tateshina, Nagano

Location:  Mt. Tateshina, Nagano

Starting and stopping points:  Bicycle from Saku City to Ogawahara Pass.  Hiking started and finished there.

Peaks bagged: Maekake 前掛山 Tateshina 蓼科山 Futago 双子山

Getting there/getting around:  I used my bicycle to get to the trailhead via the Tateshina Skyline.  That road is still closed to cars due to snow.  I think it opens in mid-June.  Many people come to Tateshina from the western side where there is a gondola nearby.

Map:  Yama to Kogen Chizu 33 YATSUGA-TAKE TATESHINA・UTSUKUSHIGAHARA・KIRIGAMINE 八ヶ岳蓼科・美ヶ原・霧ヶ峰

山と高原地図 八ヶ岳 蓼科・美ヶ原・霧ヶ峰 2024 

**Please note that the publisher makes updated maps every year and therefore this link might become obsolete.  If you copy and paste the Japanese characters into Shobunsha's Mapple Siteyou should be able to find the latest version.

Weather Information: Mt. Tateshina weather

Total Time:   10:52 Break time: 1:18  Distance:  bicycle: 51km  hiking 10.3km  

Elevation:  Lowest: 672m Highest: 2530m 

Total ascent/descent 2,466m/2548

Ascent:  bicycle: 1,594m      hiking:    872m

Descent: bicycle: 1682m     hiking:      866m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  It's not a terrifically difficult hike.  Alltrails says that is moderately challenging.  I guess so.  The most taxing part of my day was the bike ride to the trailhead.  That was 25 km riding uphill.  On the hike, there are not many areas with chains or ropes.  There is still quite a bit of snow on the trail.  I probably should have brought my crampons.  I myself am not a fan of walking poles but I saw many people putting theirs to good use descending down the snowy trail.  Much of the hike is above the tree line and the ground surface is boulders or rocks.  Some of the rocks are loose and you really have to watch your footing.

Facilities:  There is parking and a public restroom at the pass but they aren't open for the season yet.  There are a few huts (hutte) on the way.  You can get a meal or some hiking stuff on the way.  There is a campground by the Futago Ponds (双子池).

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:  Wow.  What a great start to Golden Week for 2023.  I really enjoyed this trip.

I think I want to come back here in the winter some year.  There is such a great 360 degree panorama.  All the Alps are visible, as well as other prominent mountains.  I really would like to see that on a crystal clear day.

Here are some pictures:

The bike rides

The hike

I live in Saku City, Nagano.  I can see 3 of the 100 Famous Mountains from home; one of them is Mt. Tateshina.  For my first assault on Tateshina, I decided to take my bicycle to the trailhead on the Tateshina Skyline.  During Golden Week, there is a hot air balloon festival here in Saku and I was treated to views of the balloons from the moment I stepped out of my house.

Very cool!

The Tateshina Skyline is a really beautiful mountain road.  I didn't see more than a handful of cars.  There are a few farms along the way and many cottages/summer homes.

It is a loooong, unrelenting uphill slope, though.  On flat ground, this ride would take me about 90 minutes.  This took me nearly four hours.

This was ominous.  It says "road closed ahead."  I didn't see anything about road closures in my research!  I decided to press on and just see what would happen.

The truth is out there.

What is this place, the Japanese Area 51?

No, it's nothing like that.  That dish is a deep-space research facility called JAXA.  JAXA

The road was open to cars just to there.  Beyond that, they haven't opened up the Tateshina Skyline because all the snow hasn't melted yet.  (99% of it has.  I was fine on the bicycle.)

By the time I reached the deserted parking lot at the Ogawahara Pass, my legs were like rubber.  I seriously questioned whether I could hike after that.  Actually, the hike was almost less taxing.

There was more snow on the trail than I'd anticipated.  

This was my first glimpse of Tateshina from the trail.

This is the Ogawahara Hut (大河原ヒュッテ).  Several trails intersect here and the trail from here to the top got a bit crowded.  Until this point I had only seen one or two people.

This hut (and the facility at Futago Ike) is linked here.

The top

I live in that valley.

I am a big fan of pictures like this.  I just learned that there is a Japanese word, "komorebi" that means "sunlight filtering through lush, thick leaves."  I love komorebi.

There are two small ponds side by side which are called 双子池 (Futago Ike)--that means Twin Ponds.  There are campsites by the lake and a hut nearby.  Futago ike mountain cabin 双子池ヒュッテ

The smaller of the two ponds.

Did I mention that I like komorebi?

I took this shot of Tateshina from Mt. Futago just before descending down to my bicycle.

From there, it was all downhill.  Quite literally.  According to my app, I burned 931 calories on the bike ride home.  I doubt that very much.  Gravity did all the work.

Update for 2024

I made a similar trek in May of 2024.  Check that out here: 2024 bike/hike to Otake

More real soon.  Make sure you subscribe.  Leave a comment.  Tell your friends.  Etc.