Kitayatsugatake area: Yabashira (八柱山) ~~ Shimakare (縞枯山) ~~ Chausu (茶臼山) ~~ Nakakoba (中小場)

I lied.  

I said the other day that I would not be hiking for a while but I went for one last hurrah on my last day of vacation.  Blame Mrs. Caveman.  She asked me the night before, "Are you going hiking tomorrow?"  I hadn't planned on it until that moment.  

I wonder if she was trying to get me out of the house, or if she just knows me better than I know myself.  The last time she did this was last year.  "Are you climbing Fuji this year?"  I wasn't even thinking of it until that moment but found myself suddenly overtaken by the urge to climb Mt. Fuji.

The weather was still overcast yesterday, as it's been the past few weeks--until the last hour or so of my trek.  

Fate is cruel.  I'm going back to work this morning and the sky is blue and the birds are singing.  Grrr

Location:  Around the Yachiho Kogen.  Sakuhocho and Koumi.  The area just north of the Mugikusa Pass

Starting and stopping point:  Yachiho Kogen Nature Park

Peaks bagged: Yabashira (八柱山) ~~ Shimakare (縞枯山) ~~ Chausu (茶臼山) ~~ Nakakoba (中小場)

(First-time) peaks # 809, 810, 811, 812

Getting there/getting around:  

I drove.  I parked at the Yachiho Kogen Nature Park.  

There are buses to the area.  From Chino Station, a bus takes about an hour and 5 minutes to Mugikusa Pass.  I DIDN'T START OR STOP HERE, but I did go by the pass on my hike, and that is as far as the bus from Chino goes.  This route runs from July through October (2023)  

From Yachiho Station, there are buses run by the Chikuma Bus Company.  Find a Japanese friend (or ask me) for help puzzling through their very limited timetable.  

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

Weather Information: Mt. Shimakare

Total Time:  6:32 Break time:  :09 Distance:  19.3 km

Elevation:  Lowest: 1,585 Highest: 2,403 m Total Ascent:  1,055m  Total Descent: 1,055m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  No serious chains or ladders.  You have to watch your step around boulders.  

Facilities:  Nothing to speak of on the trail.  No water, no toilets.  There are many campgrounds/ski areas in the area.  The Yachiho Kogen Nature Park, where I started, has a mallet golf course.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:  I saw and heard lots of deer.  Saw a lot of tracks of various critters.  I was startled a few times by pheasants.  There was one wild animal I saw for the very first time up here in the woods.  A bunny rabbit!  I've seen lots of animals, but that was my first bunny.

Today's listening:  

Bible in a Year

Napoleonicist I listened to the episode about Napoleons's Spy.  I'm not really a fan of Napoleon but this discussion with a novelist about a book he wrote about the Russian campaign was interesting.

Here are some pictures.  I didn't get any vistas during the day.  Sorry.

Starting out from the Yachiho Kogen Nature Park, you pass along a forest road-林道- which is closed to cars for the first hour or so.

There is a lot of bamboo grass up here.  I'm very grateful that someone has trimmed it back from the trail.

Amaike 雨池　("Rain"-"Pond")

This waterhole is like a bar or a disco.  This seems to be the social place to be.

The box is for donations to the volunteers maintaining the area.  They do a lot.  That boardwalk is really long.

Temperature-wise, it was perfect!

People-wise, too.  I didn't see anyone!

Like I said, there were a lot of deer around.

Turn up the speakers.  You can hear what a deer's bark sounds like.

As my day--and my vacation--was drawing to a close, the sun finally came out over my back.

That's all for now.  Subscribe, tell your friends, etc.  If you like.

Caveman out.