Sunday am in Karuizawa. Koasama Trail Run

S'up, cave people?

I walked out the door Sunday morning with the idea of going for a trail run on a nearby hill.  As often happens, as soon as I walked out the door I got other ideas.  It was just so beautiful outside that I wanted to do something a bit more substantive.  Looking up at Mt. Asama and its fresh covering of snow gave me the idea to run on its diminutive neighbor, Koasama.  (Koasama means "Small Asama.")  

It was great.  I've already blogged about this run and don't want to repeat myself.  If you want details, check out the old post.  

The old post

This was blown over.

That area just below and to the right of the center of the picture is the Onioshidashi Volcanic Park.  It's a very cool place to visit.

 

Lucky 777, Koasama in Karuizawa

 

Location:  Mt. Koasama, Karuizawa

Starting and stopping point:  Toge Teahouse 峰の茶屋

Peaks bagged: Koasama west peak ~~ Koasama

Getting there/getting around:  I drove

Map:  Yama to Kogen Chizu 19 浅間山軽井沢・長野原の山々ASAMA-YAMA KARUIZAWA-NAGANOHARA-MOUNTAINS

Weather Information: Asama Weather

Total Time: :40  Break time: 0  Distance:  3.6 km

Elevation:  Lowest: 1,404m  Highest: 1,655m Total Ascent: 258  Total Descent: 258

Technical considerations/difficulty: Loose gravel/sand.  Nothing steep.  Very runnable. 

Facilities:  Public restroom across the street from the trailhead.  Emergency shelter (in case of eruption) at the trailhead.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:  Today I bagged my 777th peak on a quick run after school.  Mt. Koasama ("Little Asama") is a bump on the eastern side of Mt. Asama--the volcano.  It's about 800 meters lower than Asama.  I do wish there were fewer clouds.  The view of the top must be cool.

Today's listening:  Just my own huffing and puffing

S'up, cavedwellers?  I'm not going to write much.  There is no reason to spend more time blogging than I did running!

Hope you're all having a great summer!

This is at the trailhead.  The building is Tokyo University's volcano monitoring station.

This is a campground in Tsumagoi.

The west peak

Explanations of the restrictions and the danger.  Level 1 means un-restricted access to Mt. Asama.  Now it is Level 2.  You can't go closer than a few km from the crater.

The box to the left of the sign is to deposit hiking plans.  (I do mine online.  Ask me if you want to know how.  I never go into the woods without telling someone my plans.)

That's all.  See ya!