The one that got away . . . again!

This is the second time I failed to bag Mt. Takatsuma.  

Maybe it's time to hire Quint. 🎣

 

The other day, Mrs. Caveman invited me camping.  ⛺ All she needed to say was, "Do people go camping even in this (fall🍁) season?"  

Being the sensitive spouse I am, I intuited all she wanted to convey.  ie, "Remember that place we went camping in the rain☔ last month and you couldn't hike because it was too wet?  Let's go there again this weekend."

To which I replied, "Mrs. Caveman💖, you always have the best ideas.💡"

(She really is a trooper to put up with me.)

Unfortunately, although the weather cooperated this time, my physical condition didn't.  We went to the Togakushi Campground on Friday with a plan for me to hike Mt. Takatsuma on Saturday.  Mrs. Caveman (who is an artist) would hang out in the campground sketching while I was climbing.  Things looked great on Friday.  The weather was spectacular and we had a nice day of sightseeing/leaf-peeping before setting up.  The problem started in the middle of the night in the tent.  I woke up around 1 a.m. with a pounding headache and didn't sleep a wink after that.  By the time the sun rose, I was not in the mood for any physical exertion and I thought it better to stay out of the mountains in case I was coming down with something serious.

We packed up and came home soon after breakfast.  Thwarted again.  

In case anyone is interested in doing the hike I was planning on, I will (re)post the template comments I'd started in anticipation of this hike.  It's one of the 100 Famous Mountains, so you should climb it if you want to say you're living your best life.

I'll also put up some pictures I took on our little jaunt.  We dropped by Lake Nojiri on the way up and it was a picture-perfect day for fall colors.  And, it was warm, too.  (Global warming gets such a bad rap.  I don't mind it.  Heck, maybe England will again have vineyards someday.)  Lake Nojiri has a boat tour.  (25 minutes, ￥1,400)  They discovered some elephant fossils in the lake so there is a museum.  We dropped into the Naumann Elephant Museum after the boat ride.  When we got to the campground, we took a walk and encountered some animals that are actually still alive.

Pics follow the template.

Location:  高妻山　Mt. Takatsuma Togakushi, Nagano

Starting and stopping point:  戸隠キャンプ場 Togakushi Campground

Peaks bagged: 

(First-time) peaks

Getting there/getting around:  

I drove.  Mrs. Caveman and I spent the night at the Togakushi Campground and I left our car there.  There is free parking near the trailhead for daytrippers.  Checkout is in the morning, but if you get the basecamp plan, they'll let you check out at 4:30 for just another 500 yen.

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:   Break time:   Distance:  

Elevation:  Lowest:  Highest:  Total Ascent:   Total Descent: 

Technical considerations/difficulty:  

Facilities:  Togakushi Campground

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:

Today's listening: Bible in a Year

Here are some pics.

There are still some Cosmos at the lower elevations.

Lake Nojiri 野尻湖 Shinano, Nagano

Mt. Myoko (妙高山)

L. Mt. Kurohime (黒姫山--"Black Princess") R. Mt. Myoko

Uga Shrine on Biwa Island

Lake Nojiri Naumann Elephant Museum 野尻湖ナウマンゾウ博物館

Mrs. Caveman is the one with the little nose.

Cave art.  

Cave refrigerator paintings dug up at the archaeological site.

Giant deer from way back in the day in Nojiri looked like this.

Teeth.  Mandibles, to be precise.

More prehistoric cave paintings.  

It looks like it was fun back then.

Artistic rendering of how Bam Bam made tools from elephant bones.

In the last frame, he says something like "I did it." or "It's finished!"

Good job, Bam Bam.

This rack gets the Caveman's seal of approval.

I know where to do my clothes shopping now.

Togakushi Campsite and Ranch 戸隠キャンプ場・戸隠牧場

I was a bit surprised to see this guy in November.

The mountains I've yet to trod.

Sigh.

Home away from home.

69 degrees Fahrenheit is 20.5 degrees Celsius.  It was balmy.

I don't know what this is, but it's cool.

Walking through the pasture, we encountered a bunch of these guys.

As the crow flies, this is only 30 km or so from where the famous snow monkeys 

are so these must be the same kind of monkey.

When I spotted these monkeys lollygagging across the pasture, I remembered my days in the army.  I had this strange urge to call in a fire mission on troops in the open.

It would serve them right for not taking advantage of cover and concealment.

Back to the campsite for some grub.

The campground is well-stocked.  You can buy or rent anything you don't have.  They'll even sell you the meat/ingredients you need for a barbecue.  It's super expensive to buy their food, though.  We supplied our food from the supermarket for about 10% of what we would had to pay them.  I bought the grill just the other day from a recycle shop for ￥1,000 yen (about $6~7).  It must have been bought and returned.  Hence it ended up in a recycle shop.  It's a win for the caveman.

By the way, if you're in Japan and you have a jones for western sausage, you might want to check out what's on the grill.  I get those sausages at in the frozen section at Gyomu Supa.  Being in Japan, I've always been on the hunt for sausage or bacon that suits my taste.  These are the best I've found so far.  

You're welcome. 

According to my hiking app, my little walk with Mrs. Caveman marked my 365th day of spending some time in the woods of Japan.  (Usually it is more strenuous than a walk around a pasture, 

though.😄😄)

I kind of like that.  I'm very blessed to be able to do this kind of stuff so often.

We didn't get rained on this time.  Yay!

I know that look in her eye.  "Let's do it again."

On the way home . . .

Mt. Kurohime

Mt. Myoko

That's all for today.  Subscribe, etc.

Or not.

Caveman out.

Epilogue  

I was just talking to Mrs. Caveman over lunch.  She said, "I never ever want to go to Togakushi again."

Alright!  She wants to go camping somewhere else!  She's the best.

New toys.

 Very excited to find these at a thrift shop.  🏔️🏔️☃️☃️❄️❄️

Nanut, the Caveman.

Trail run (?). Hirao Fuji. Saku City. Nice fallviews.

 

This morning I took a run up Mt. Hirao.  Hirao is one of my go-to places if I have time for a run before the sun sets after work.  It's located in the northeast of Saku City, just above the highway.  It's visible from most of the city--and it has great views.

Location:  Mt. Fuji Hirao/Hirao Castle Ruins

Starting and stopping point:  Sakudaira IC Parking Lot

Peaks bagged: Hirao

(First-time) peaks #xx (Not my first time here)

Getting there/getting around:  I drove.  There is plenty of parking.  The parking lots at the onsen don't open until 8 but I was able to park at the highway parking lot.

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

Weather Information: Mt. Arafune's weather (not too far away)

Total Time:  2:09 Break time: :00  Distance:  12.1km

Elevation:  Lowest:  788 m Highest: 1,155 m Total Ascent:  727 m Total Descent: 727 m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  

There are a variety of trails that I used on this run.  There are hiking trails, ski trails and some forestry roads.  

I lost a lot of time by trying to run under one particular ski lift.  There are two lifts I ran under.  The one on the lower half of the mountain is easy to proceed up.  The entrance to the hiking trail is near the top of that lift.  Until today, I'd always left the ski trail there and entered the hiking trail.  This morning, I tried to continue toward the top following under the upper ski lift.  This turned into a slow exercise in bushwhacking up a very steep, prickly, wet, slippery slope.  I lost a lot of time there but got to burn a few calories--and collect a few scrapes and scratches to the delight of my inner-9-year-old. 

Most of the trails and some of the roads up here aren't on maps.  It's quite easy to get twisted around.  I would stick to the marked trails if you don't have some kind of gps device.

Facilities:  Nothing on the trail.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:  Do it if you can.

Today's listening:  Bible in a Year

Winter's coming.  Brace yourself.

Yatsugatake

Alps

Mt. Asama

This escalator from the onsen down to the Sakudaira Toll booth and parking lot really sticks out.  You can see it for miles around.

That's all for now.

Subscribe.  Tell your friends, etc. 

Or not.

Caveman out.

Exorcism on Aisle 3. Onioshidashi Volcanic Park, Tsumagoi, Gunma

Mrs. Caveman combined a little leaf peeping with some lava leering yesterday.  We dropped by the Onioshidashi Volcanic Park just below the volcano, Mt. Asama.  It was even cooler than I imagined.  If you can get there, go.  Admission is 700 yen for adults.

A word about the name, Oni Oshi Dashi is a compound of the words for "demon/ogre" 👹, "push" and "out."  The name probably is meant to evoke the thoughts of the locals watching eruptions back in the day.  It certainly could cause one to think the earth was spewing something evil--kind of like Linda Blair's green vomit scene in the Exorcist.

My only regret is that it was a bit cloudy.  It was still impressive but I couldn't help but thinking how amazing this would be on a super clear day. 

I'm not going to comment much because I already have something else I'd like to blog about and the pictures say more than I could.  

The Lennon family visited in 1977.  John loved nearby Karuizawa.

That's Mount Asama

They also call this one Godzilla.  I still see King Kong.

Does that mean I fail the Rorrock test?

Can you spot the Karuizawa Toy Kingdom in this picture?

Phosphorescent moss

This one is a dog.  I can see that.

Can you spot the face in the next rock?

It made me nostalgic for New Hamphire's Old Man of the Mountain.

These last few are not from the Onioshidashi Park.  We dropped by the Asama Otaki (Asama Big Falls) before going home.  They are about a 15 minute drive from the volcanic park.

That's all for now. 

Caveman out.

Take care