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The View from the Top
Well, I blew my clever post title on the last one, so here we are, once again, from Kyoto, this time with pictures!
Some notable moments from the trek here:
-The pass over the Japan Alps, the name of which escapes me. At 1780m, it might be my highest pass summited, and was certainly Matt's as well!
-The aforementioned view. While screaming down the other side of the pass, we actually passed some more wild monkeys, and regrettably scared them off while a Japanese cyclist was trying to photograph them. Sorry :/
The campsite on the other side of the pass was probably the best yet - minutes from a great restaurant and onsen, and high enough altitude for it to drop below 25 degrees at night. When you can slog up a pass that high, and then get a bath and a meal and a good night's sleep, you feel like you may be doing this the right way.
-24 hours, 110km, 37 degrees and several climbs later, all of that good feeling had diminished when we reached our intended campsite only to find it closed. And being thunderstormed on. This turned out alright however. We got clean in the downpour, took shelter in the wash station, and camped for free on soft spongy grass.
-After a murderous climb, which resulted in an excellent onsen but non-existent campground, we found an impromptu site in a ski area parking lot. Free, but we were feasted on by black flies. "Mushi ga, watashi o tabemashita." My japanese translation of "Bugs ate me."
-Our final day before reaching Kyoto found us at a campsite on the shore of the..big lake that's near Kyoto. Another name escaping me. A lake to swim in, a 7-11 within walking distance, and a bike path to follow the next morning, and the going is easy.
More Kyoto pictures to come soon. To Matt's Mom (and all his other various fans): Now that Matt knows that being photographed is expected of him by his loved ones, he may concede to be photographed more often. (It will also help that I found a fresh memory card for my camera and can start taking surprise pictures of him again.)
Some notable moments from the trek here:
-The pass over the Japan Alps, the name of which escapes me. At 1780m, it might be my highest pass summited, and was certainly Matt's as well!
-The aforementioned view. While screaming down the other side of the pass, we actually passed some more wild monkeys, and regrettably scared them off while a Japanese cyclist was trying to photograph them. Sorry :/
The campsite on the other side of the pass was probably the best yet - minutes from a great restaurant and onsen, and high enough altitude for it to drop below 25 degrees at night. When you can slog up a pass that high, and then get a bath and a meal and a good night's sleep, you feel like you may be doing this the right way.
-24 hours, 110km, 37 degrees and several climbs later, all of that good feeling had diminished when we reached our intended campsite only to find it closed. And being thunderstormed on. This turned out alright however. We got clean in the downpour, took shelter in the wash station, and camped for free on soft spongy grass.
-After a murderous climb, which resulted in an excellent onsen but non-existent campground, we found an impromptu site in a ski area parking lot. Free, but we were feasted on by black flies. "Mushi ga, watashi o tabemashita." My japanese translation of "Bugs ate me."
-Our final day before reaching Kyoto found us at a campsite on the shore of the..big lake that's near Kyoto. Another name escaping me. A lake to swim in, a 7-11 within walking distance, and a bike path to follow the next morning, and the going is easy.
More Kyoto pictures to come soon. To Matt's Mom (and all his other various fans): Now that Matt knows that being photographed is expected of him by his loved ones, he may concede to be photographed more often. (It will also help that I found a fresh memory card for my camera and can start taking surprise pictures of him again.)