7th Time up Iwatakeishi (repost)

 (This was originally posted in February of 2023.  Blogger seemed to lose the post, though.)



I took a hike up to Mt. Iwatakeishi today.  It was a great day with fresh snow on the ground.

This is my 7th time up Iwatakeishi and, since I've covered this mountain on this blog before, I'm not going to comment much.

Old posts are here:  

Feb 2022

Sep 2021

Apr 2021 from south

Apr 2021 from north


I forgot that I've posted about this mountain so many times!  I probably wouldn't have written this one if I realized that sooner.  😜  At least the routes I used for each hike are varied.


TODAY

Location:  Around Iwatakeishi in Ome

Starting and stopping point:  Mitake Station to Futamatao Station

Mountains climbed: Sogaku   Mabotoke   Iwatakeishi   Takamizu   Eigurinomine   Raiden   Karagaki   Monomi   Masugata

Getting there/getting around:  Okutama Line

Map:  Yama to Kogen Chizu 

Weather Information:  Iwatakeishiyama weather

Time:  5 hours or so.  I started about 6:30 am and was finished well before noon.

Distance:  13.3 km

Elevation:  Lowest: 236 m  Highest: 790 m Total Ascent: 1,185 m Total Descent: 1,193 m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  Nothing difficult.  One or two steep spots but pretty easy.

Facilities:  Nothing on the trail.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations: This area is a go-to for me when I don't have much time to go far from home.  I'm glad I went early before the snow started melting and before many other hikers came out.






Slick streets in front of Mitake Station in the morning.






















Can you spot Tokyo Skytree?


The top of Iwatakeishi.  It was nice to be there alone for a change.

Iwatakeishi in snow 岩茸石山


Kawanori is the big one on the left.


Otake


Around the Takamizu Shrine



Nariki area




Now on the Ome Hills Hiking Course trail



End of the day



Come again!
Caveman out.

Uptown. Mt. Murakami, Tsumagoi Village, Gunma




Location:  Mt. Murakami

Starting and stopping point:  Near the Kazawa Info Center

Peaks bagged: Murakami (村上山)

(First-time) peaks # 866

Getting there/getting around:  car

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:  2:06 Break time: :11  Distance:  5.3km

Elevation:  Lowest: 1,352 m Highest: 1,742m  Total Ascent: 410m  Total Descent: 411m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  Easy, peasy

Facilities:  Rest hut near the top for a picnic

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:  Just a swell place.  The views are not as breathtaking as those from the big boys nearby, but it's a nice mountain.  The campground at the bottom looks like a lovely place to stay, too. Kyukamara Campground


Today's listening:  48 Captain H E Hovell - First World War History Fighting Through WW2 History  What great history!  This guy's memoir starts in 1908 when he was one of the very first boy scouts.


OK.  Let's get to it.



A longer video than I usually show . . .


The short version

Hello Cavedwellers of all ages, shapes and sizes.

Today I bring you a smaller mountain from Tsumagoi Village in Gunma.

This mountain is called Murakami (村上).  "Mura" means "village" and "kami" means "up."  So, I guess this is an upper-crust mountain.

Actually, I think the mountain probably is suffering from some kind of Napoleon complex.  It's the lowest hill in the area and I think it's overcompensating in its choice of name.

It's with some mixed feelings that I finish this hike.  It means I've exhausted just about every peak in that area.  If I look north from my neighborhood, this is what I see.

Yunomaru and Takamine from Saku 佐久市の虚空蔵山からの景色。浅間山烏帽子岳


Where I've been . . .


Thank God there are mountains in every other direction of the compass!

I've been in the area three times in the last month or so.  I was surprised at the amount of snow there was this time.  I thought there would be less, but they must have just had a fresh dumping.  There was another foot or two more than when I'd visited this particular place in February.

This is a picture I took of Mt. Murakami on one of my recent treks.


And here are some more pictures.  I won't comment much more.


This is near the trailhead.  That's Murakami above.



Warm!


I was fine in just crampons for this hike but I did sink in a few times.


The top

Mt. Murakami, Tsumagoi in snow 村上山 嬬恋村

Mt. Azuma, one of the 100 Famous Mountains.





Looking towards Tochigi.  You can see the mountains of Nikko from here.







A panoramic shot














浅間山 Mt. Asama


Tashiro Lake











The mountains I've climbed recently are all nearby but there are no unobstructed views.




The Kyukamara Tsumagoi Kazawa Hotel (3 stars)
(It's the same business as the campground linked above.)

Mt. Sashiki is behind it.


Well, cavedwellers and squatters, that's it.  I had a blast on this hike and it was fun to recall it.

Subscribe and do all that stuff.  Tell your friends, etc.

I'm suffering a caffeine deficiency these days so feel free to buy me a coffee--or a whole plantation if you have the dough.

Caveman out.