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I picked up the small package of lunch, which I had ordered the night before
when I had arrived at the inn at the foot of the mountain,and packed it
along with a bottle of water, a small gas stove, some food, and rain gear
into my backpack. It was just before 7:30 am on July 2nd, 2002 when we
departed the inn located at an altitude of 1,050 meters, latitude of 43
degrees 38 minutes north, east longitude of 142 degrees 47 minutes. The
weather was going to be fine.
There was snow on the trail up the mountain when we started to walk,but
it changed to volcanic lapillus as we went on. Our goal today was to reach
2,290 meters, the summit of Mt. Asahidake of Daisetsum the highest mountain
in Hokkaido, and to walk along the ridge of Daisetsu mountain range. Although
we lost our footing a couple of times, it was not so hard to reach the
top of the mountain, where we could really enjoy cool wind and a beautiful
panoramic 360 degrees view.
I was paying attention not to miss the place, my second goal of that day.
I smelled sulfur and I saw a small stream and a very small body of water
next to it. I put my hand into it, and I was sure that it was what I was
looking for - "Nakadake", a secluded hot spring spot. The source
of the hot spring was at the bottom of the stream, and created a tub like
pond where we could soak our feet. While all of this was going on, the
parties of middle-aged couples and an Austrian couple arrived and began
to do the same thing - dipping their feet into the spring.
I was waiting very patiently for the other parties to leave while we took
lunch - two rice balls and a cup of coffee. The three parties finally left,
but to my dismay a new couple appeared out of nowhere. They, however, looked
like nice people, easy to get along with, so I told them what I was going
to do while my wife nudged me.
I took off all of my clothes in a rush and put them beside a big rock.
With only a small size face towel in my hand, I soaked my body into the
small tub. The temperature was perfect, probably approximately 40 or 41
degrees Celsius, I was in a good mood and was simply happy. I asked my
wife to take photos with great speed. As a rule in life, nothing good lasts
for a long time - I heard noisy voices of a group from behind the cliff.
Just 60 seconds of soaking in the natural tub and I had to get dressed
in a rush under pressure from my wife. When four lively ladies came down
the cliff to the spot, we were ready to leave there for the next goal.
It was a ten-hour day trip and by the time we returned to the starting
point of the trail, my pedemeter showed the number of 28,391 steps. All
of my goals had been fulfiled - much more than I expected.
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Ezoshakunage by YK |
