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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
