Yakushima Traverse - Day 2

So I woke up after a not so restful sleep, at around 6 AM with is quite late for Japanese hikers. Thankfully my roommates offered my a cup of hot coffee, which was just what I needed to get going.

I ended up going with rain gear (and since all my other cloths were soaking wet, and it was pretty hot, nothing else) and this was the correct decision, since it was either drizzling or raining all day long.

The hike was great however, all on a trail with an impressive amount of stairs and ramps that really made things much more pleasant. First you ascend to around 1600m, where there are a couple little alpine marshes that look like a sort of natural ornate Japanese garden. Then you ascend further to the high ridge of the island, which is a little similar to the high mountains of New England, but incredibly lush, with a carpet of thick plants and grass over everything but the giant boulders that would stick threw. I saw a couple of deer up here and was quite excited as they seemed not to afraid of me, and I got some nice pictures.

I finally did make it to the top of the highest mountain, around 1950m. The wind was pretty strong up there, and it was tantalizingly close to breaking threw the top of the cloud cover, but it was not meant to be. Still got some amazing views along the ridge when the clouds would break for a moment.

Then descended down to the next hut on the other side, seeing several more deer, which I was now getting used to seeing. More exciting, a pack of Monkeys was crossing the trail right before the hut, and I had close encounters with several of them as they crossed in front of and behind me, but alas no good pictures.

I was the first one to the hut (I am a pretty fast hiker in Japan). This one was nicer then the last, with higher ceilings and more light. I was hoping a few more people would show up, so I was not solo, but I figured that it was pretty early, so nothing to worry about.

I did not have anything to worry about because eventually the hut filled with about 30 people, which was just about capacity. Met a few nice people there like a outdoorsy older guy from Chiba who spoke pretty good English, as well as a friendly solo girl who's English was not so good. I ate my second dinner of PB&J, which horrified the Japanese hikers, who carry all the best equipment, and would probably not hike up Mt. Major without a stove. Needless to say, the girl set me up with some Miso soup, which was nice. I few rounds of Whisky and Sho-Cho later and I am in bed by 8:30, true Japanese style.

The only catch was the middle aged women next to me decided to re-arrange her pack next to me from 8:30-9:30, which was pretty annoying, but still got to bed pretty early, knowing that the rustling in this crowded cabin is going to start pretty damn early.