Burning for Boulders. Rosoku Iwa. Gunma/Nagano.

How's it goin', cavecritters?

I had the chance to get into the woods for a little bit before work this morning.

I went for a peek at these boulders called Rosoku Iwa (ローソク岩 --"Candle"-"Boulder" in English.)  There are three boulders.

Mrs. Caveman made an observation the other day.  She said some people go bird watching, but I go mountain watching.

I guess you could modify that and say that I sometimes even go rock-watching.  

Wow.  Rock-watching.

How pathetic is that?

(They were really cool-looking rocks, though.)

For my next hobby maybe I'll take up watching grass grow or paint dry.

I am so glad I ignored the weatherman this morning.  He's been forecasting rain for the whole week but it was beautiful outside.

Location: Straddling Saku-shi in Nagano and Nanmoku in Gunma 

Starting and stopping point: Parking lot below Fudoson Shrine 荒船不動下駐車場 

Peaks bagged: 御岳 (Ontake) ~~ 神無岩 (Kaminashiiwa)

(First-time) peaks # none

Getting there/getting around:  I drove.  It's a narrow, winding road off of the Cosmos Road.  If my name were Paul, I might say it's a Long and Winding Road.  

I'm sorry.  I was just trying to be punny.

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:  2:01 Break time: :00  Distance:  3.9km

Elevation:  Lowest: 1,037m Highest: 1,350m Total Ascent: 453m  Total Descent: 453m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  These hills are not really high but demand your full attention.  The ridgeline is as sharp as a knife in places and the ridge falls away steeply on both sides.  There are a few spots with chains or ropes.  I was hiking after most of the snow had melted so there was quite a bit of mud.  That made for slipperier conditions than if it were snow-covered because I couldn't make use of crampons.  If conditions were better, I probably would have gone just a bit farther to be able to see the Rosoku Iwa from all sides but decided it wasn't worth it.  At that point, the trail was in the shade and covered with snow.  The trail there was quite narrow and just hugged the side of a really steep hill.  

The Rosoku Iwa(s) themselves are not really for hiking.  The trail passes around them but getting to the top of two of them entails actual rock climbing and necessitates all the equipment incumbent on that kind of adventure. 

Facilities:  Nothing.  You may be able to get some water from the stream, but there's nothing up there.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:  Like I said, I'm glad I ignored the weatherman.  If I had slept in today and then walked out into the sunny morning that it turned out to be, I would have been bummed out.

This was my 3rd or 4th time to this area.  Sometime soon I will have to get to the nearby 立岩(Tateiwa) "Standing"--"Boulder".

I'm so bummed out the snow is melting so quickly around here.  I'm going to have to drive a bit far to get to snow.

Here are some pictures:

This is just before the peak of Mt. Ontake.  I'm sure many people mistake it for the peak.

Mt. Asama is in the distance in the middle of the picture.

Rosoku Iwa is actually 3 places named P1, P2 and P3.

P stands for peak.  h/t to Naresh Deora.

This is P1.

This is P1.

I could climb to the top of this one.

I didn't even realize that I had climbed P1 until I saw a picture of it on another blog.

It was a bit dizzying and climbing off

of it was a little unnerving.

I was on that one on the left, Kabuto no Iwa, a few weeks ago.

I got as far as just beneath P3 and turned back.

The trail was pretty slippery--(and I was already in

danger of being late for work.  Shhhh.)

I'm grateful for the chain.

Pictures can't quite capture how narrow and how high this ridge is.

Saitama's Mt. Ryokami is in the distance.

Well, that's it for today.  The last pictures are pics with mountain names labeled on them in case

any of you are geeks like me with an interest in knowing the names of mountains.

If not, you can stop reading now.

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Or not.  

You do you and the caveman will do the caveman.  (Hey, I think

I just came up with the name of the next new dance--The Caveman!  It'll be bigger than the 

Macarena or the Monster Mash.)

Caveman out

 

The Caveman is a blade slogger. Mt. Kengamine in the snow.

Hello cave people.

I was happy to find another mountain peak near Mt. Asama that I haven't bagged yet.

Mt. Kengamine is where I went yesterday.  

I took this picture of it from my neighborhood.  That is one reason I love living here so much--when I lift up my eyes and look around I can recall hiking on the spots I'm looking at.

Anyway, the name Kengamine is a somewhat common name for mountains.  The highest peak on Mt. Fuji is also called Kengamine.  It means sword or blade + peak  (⚔ +  ⛰). 

Cool, huh?

Looking at the Google Earth screen capture below you can see why this name fits.  Walking on the ridge up to the top is a bit like walking on the edge of a knife.

Here are the details.  Then I'll show some pictures.

Location:  Mt. Kengamine Kitasaku Miyota cho Nagano

Starting and stopping point:  天狗温泉浅間山荘 Tengu Onsen Asama Sanso 

Peaks bagged: 剣ヶ峰 Mt. Kengamine

(First-time) peaks #858

Getting there/getting around:  Parking at the Onsen is ¥500.  There is a bus that passes by the entrance to the onsen/trailhead.  From there, it's a 4km walk to the trailhead on a dirt road.

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:  6:36 Break time: :57  Distance:  6.5km

Elevation:  Lowest: 1,411m Highest: 2,280m Total Ascent: 896m  Total Descent: 897m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  This is a variation route.  ie, it doesn't show up on maps.  The route is fairly straightforward, though.  A few hundred meters down the main trail heading toward the other mountains of the Asama area, you take a right into the woods and get on a ridge.  From there, you just stay on the ridge until you get to the highest point.  As long as you don't fall off to either side, you can't get lost. 😂

Although it doesn't show up on maps, there are signs of a trail.  There are pink tapes here and there and I saw paint on a few rocks.  Everything was covered with snow, though, so I am not really sure how well it is marked.

This is a steady, steep climb.  I think it would be taxing even in summer.  In a few feet of snow, it was very slow-going.  I had the benefit of someone else's footprints to follow but that didn't make that much of a difference.  There was a lot of fresh powder and for long stretches, I sank knee-deep or more with every step.  Coming down was very slippery.  I fell a lot and slid down on my butt more than once.  Thank God I was slipping and sliding down the trail.  If I slipped off the side of the ridge, nothing would stop me.

Facilities:  The 👺 ♨ (Tengu Onsen) has a pay toilet 🚻 for hikers.  That is closed for the winter.  There are sleeping accommodations at the onsen and, of course, the bath 🛀.  The onsen also has horse riding and horse-leading activities.🐴

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:  This was a blast.  What a beautiful day it was.  

Check out this link for another hike from the Tengu Hut

The Tengu Onsen and Asama Sanso (Villa)

The Jabori River (蛇掘川)

All the water around here is that color because of the sulfur content.

This is the beginning of the trail up to Kengamine.  If you look closely, you can see yellow arrows painted on the trees in the middle and a piece of pink tape to the right.

I also, of course, had the benefit of a previous hiker's footprints as a clue.

Signs that Yogi has been here.

OK, this is a bit gross but interesting.

The icicle in the next picture is actually my spittle.  I spit on a tree and it froze before it could fall off.

Inside every middle-aged man, there is an eight-year-old.

Minus 6.9 C is about 20 degrees Fahrenheit.  That wasn't too bad considering the forecast was for minus 17 C,  (1.4 F).

It was just freezing when I got back to the car at the end of the day.  That temperature seemed balmy as I was almost drenched with sweat.

Just coming out of the forest.  From this point on the views just got better and better.

The Chuo (Central) Alps

The Dai Kiretto is fairly easy to pick out

It was deep around here.

Really deep.  I sank up to my thighs with each step.

It was really deep on the top.

That little sign marks the top of Kengamine

I ate a BLT here.  It was nearly frozen.

It was cold so I beat feet as soon as I finished lunch.

The bumpy ridge is Myogi.  The ski area in front of that is the Karuizawa Prince Resorts by the outlets.

In front of that and to the left is Mt. Hanare.

Mt. Fuji is in the house.

Saku City below and the Yatsugatake Mountains beyond

I probably broke a law doing this.  Taking pictures at onsens is frowned upon.  😛  I was the only patron so I think it was ok.

It's unfortunate the lens on my iphone steamed up so much.  It promised to be a great picture.  The bath water is the same color as the Jabori River.

That's basically it for this report.  The following are just labeled pictures for the edification of anyone like me who likes to know the names of the mountains you're looking at.

Kengamine taken from Mt. Kokuzo in Saku.

That's all for today.

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