April 7th. A hike up from the town of Umegashima to the Abe Pass, and then up Bara-no-dan. There was some talk of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five.
The earlier you start, the more likely you are to get a blue sky.
The simple scoop for anyone not familiar with the area: Take Route 29 up to Umegashima. At the end of 29, turn right onto the mountain road that goes across the pass to Yamanashi. The road closes in winter (through April). The road also closes when there is a landslide. There was a landslide a year and a half ago and the road has not been opened since. I will call the city office soon to check on the prognosis. If the road is open, you can drive up to the red dot. If it’s closed, you have to start at the yellow cross. Walking times are estimates. From the yellow cross to the red dot, you walk up a steep trail through a cedar/cypress forest (50 min). From the red dot to the Abe Pass, you walk along the mountain road and then the Sakasa River trail (50 min). From the Abe Pass, you can climb up to Bara-no-dan (50 minutes, green cross). If you like, from Bara-no-dan, you can keep going until you get to Opikkari Mountain . . . and on and on. Back down at the Abe Pass, you can cut across to the Hakkorei trail and climb Mt. Hakkorei . . . and Oyarei . . . and Yambushi.
There are almost no characters in this story, and almost no dramatic confrontations, because most of the people in it are so sick and so much the listless playthings of enormous forces. One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters.
KurT vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five
The kibanahana (yellow flower) nekonome (cat-eye) grow close to mountain streams. A few years ago, we met a photographer who’d come all the way from Tokyo to take pictures.
By the way, the quotations in this post are not intended to insert thoughts, but rather to provoke them.
Trout, incidentally, had written a book about a money tree. It had twenty-dollar bills for leaves. Its flowers were government bonds. Its fruit was diamonds. It attracted human beings who killed each other around the roots and made very good fertilizer.
Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-five
If what Billy Pilgrim learned from the Tralfamadorians is true, that we will all live forever, no matter how dead we may sometimes seem to be, I am not overjoyed. Still–if I am going to spend eternity visiting this moment and that, I’m grateful that so many of those moments are nice.
(I know, I know.)
Back down through the cedar forest, we enjoyed the mountain azaelas. Most of the yashio trees are farther up the mountain, but not that farther. Usually, the yashio bloom late May, but it could be a littler earlier this year. The only way to make a good judgement is to go hiking every weekend!
(from Persimmon Dreams: When you’ve got a spare moment, check out our music/nature videos on our “Persimmon Dreams” YouTube channel, or Steve’s books, When a Sissy Climbs a Mountain in May and Along the Same Street, available on Amazon, or directly from us. And if you enjoyed this post, consider sharing with others. Thank you!)