An old Japanese saying goes, “A wise man climbs Mt. Fuji once. Only a fool does it twice.” (The axiom does not mention women because they were forbidden to climb it until 1868.) Given a choice, I’d always prefer to be wise than a fool, so we have made plans to hike to the 12,388-foot summit on this, the last official weekend of the 2009 climbing season. Hoping to beat at least some of the crowd, Jim, Pat, Angela, Aaron, and Patrick all took a day off from work so we can climb most of the way tomorrow, spend the night on the mountain, then see the sunrise and descend on Saturday (when, we hope, the majority of the foot traffic will be headed up).
A little background info on Mt. Fuji. This nearly symmetrical volcanic cone is the tallest peak in Japan at 3776 meters (12,388 ft), on a circular base 126 km (78.5 miles) in circumference. It is only open for climbing during July and August, because that is when the weather is the least forbidding (although we are still prepared for the possibility of gale-force winds, torrential downpours, icy fog, and freezing temperatures at the top). The mountain has always been considered sacred among the Japanese, especially to those who practice Shintoism, yet only about 1% of the population ever climbs to the summit. (Guess that means many of the 200,000 people who climb each year are crazy gaijin [foreigners] like us.) Fuji-san is a dormant volcano, which last erupted in 1707, spreading 4-6 inches of ash over Tokyo, some 60 miles away as the crow flies.
We’ve talked to many people who have made it to the top of Mt. Fuji and lived to tell the tale (in fact, Jim is one of them, although I didn’t want to broadcast that too widely since this weekend’s trip will officially land him in the “fool” category). I’ve been critically comparing their physical fitness levels to my own so-so status, factoring in my always unpredictable rheumatoid arthritis, weighing the stability of my surgically-repaired knee, and praying my determination to say, “I did it” will outweigh any physical shortcomings I may have. I’m excited and nervous at the same time, and almost have that giddy night-before-Christmas feeling of anticipation.
The whole gang is coming over for a carb-loading spaghetti dinner this evening, and we’ll discuss final preparations for our adventure—what clothes we’re taking, how much water to bring, what snacks will travel well. After dinner, Jim and I will charge the camera, raid the pantry for granola bars, beef jerky, peanuts, and M&Ms, lay out our clothes, load up the essential gear in our backpacks, then try to catch a couple hours sleep before our early morning departure.
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