New boot goofing or bare-footing? Pick your poison. 200 Meizan, Mt. Ogura.

Location:  Mt. Ogura, Kitaaiki, Minamisaku, Nagano

Starting and stopping point:  Kitaaiki Parking Lot

By the way, this parking lot is by the 長者の森 Campground.  ("Choja no mori" Campground)  I was curious about the name of this place.  The "no mori" part just means "forest."  That's easy to understand.  The "choja" part is the puzzling part of the name.  By itself, "cho" means long, and by itself, "ja" means person.  It's the same "ja" as in "ninja."

Together, though, what does the compound word mean?  Consulting my favorite Japanese-English dictionary was illuminating.

There are four possible translations of choja.  While the first three that appear in the dictionary are auspicious, the fourth is downright scandalous.  😆 👢👯  

(n) (1) (ちょうじゃ only) millionaire; (n) (2) one's superior; one's elder; one's senior; (n) (3) (arch) virtuous and gentle person; (n) (4) (ちょうじゃ only) (arch) female owner of a whorehouse in a post town

"Millionaire" to "madame", OK.  I think the progression is usually in the other direction.

By the way, if Mrs. Caveman asks, let's just tell her choja means millionaire and leave it at that, ok?  Thanks.

Peaks bagged: 前衛峰 (Zeneimine) ~~ 御座 (Ogura) ~~ 前御座 (Maeogura) 

(First-time) peaks #842, 843 and 844

Getting there/getting around:  I drove.  There is a municipal bus from Koumi Station to Sanzunki (三寸木バス停) Bus Stop for 100 yen.  From there, it is a 45-minute walk to a trailhead.  That isn't the same trail I used, but it's in the general vicinity.  n.b. the same place that contained that bus information recommended staying overnight if using public transportation because of the time needed.

Map:  Yama to Kogen Chizu #21 西上州　妙義山・荒船山

Weather Information: Mt. Ogura's weather forecast

Total Time: 5:47  Break time: 1:07  Distance:  11.5km

Elevation:  Lowest: 1,240m Highest: 2,112m Total Ascent: 1,235m  Total Descent: 1,235m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  It's steep and there are some places with chains.  Most of it is below the treeline.

Facilities:  The Chojanomori Campground is seasonal.  I was the only person there.  I assume that during the camping season public restrooms are available.  On the mountain, the only facilities I encountered were the refuge hut just off the peak.  There is no restroom there.  There is no water on the trail.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:　　Mt. Ogura (御座山) was the target for this hike.  A few months back I spied it from Yatsugatake and thought it looked cool.  It is cool.  Mt. Ogura is one of Japan's 200 Famous Mountains.  The mountain's name is, like many Japanese mountain names, difficult to read and to understand.  Most Japanese people won't know how to read this unless they look it up in some mountain glossary.  The name is similar to the word used for the emperor's throne and is said to have been named as a place where gods would come and sit. 

Today's listening: 

Bible in a Year Hard to believe that this audio trip through the bible will wrap up in a few weeks.  I've read the bible through a few times.  Listening to it was a bit different.  And obviously less labor-intensive!

Fighting Through Dunkirk, Pt. 1  I love the Fighting Through podcast.

I know how Julia Roberts felt when Richard Gere took her shopping on Rodeo Drive.  I had two new pairs of boots arrive yesterday!

(The Columbias on the left are my go-to 3-season boots.  I go through a pair of these each year.  I get about 400 km (250 miles) out of them and they don't cost much more than $100.  The Salomons are a new addition.  They are serious cold-weather boots.)

Yesterday, when I laced them up, I was new boot goofing like Lt. Jim Dangle.

On to the hike.  This is at the beginning, at the Choja no Mori trailhead.

Even though it was unseasonably warm, the ponds in the area had some ice.  I saw one pond with ice thick enough to walk on.

Nice day!

The Ogura Refuge Hut

The silver thing seems to be rescue apparatus.  That's good to know.

Mt. Kitadake, near the middle of the picture, is Japan's second-highest mountain and is in the Southern Alps.

Mts. Gongen and Akadake, on the right, are at the southern end of the Yatsugatake range.

This is looking south from the peak of Ogura.  Those are some of my favorite mountains.

(They're all my favorites, truth be told.)

Looking west toward the Northern Alps

Looking north.

Looking east

At the top of Ogura, I was enjoying my new boots when I spotted this group and their unusual footwear.  I thought it strange that they removed their shoes for a break.  Not so.  They hike without boots!

It turns out they are really into not wearing shoes and have a business spreading their message.  Their business touches on ecotourism, sustainability, barefoot walking/running, etc.  They do much more than I could hope to explain in this space.  Their website is here.  (Japanese)

Michizukuri

I have to say that I have met some really interesting people in the mountains!

This is the peak of Mt. Maeogura.  No view from here.

I dropped by the big peak one more time on the way back to the car.

One last shot before getting to the car.

Well, that's it for today.

Did you subscribe yet?  That button is hanging around somewhere.  Maybe on the right side of your page.

Anyway, have a good one.

Caveman out.

Third Time's a Charm. 💯 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 to and spending the night at the base of Mt. Takatsuma--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: 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: 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.

Caveman, out.