Depending on your pace, it’s an hour or so up to Hozumi Shrine. If you’re lucky, someone’ll be there with a hot cup of tea for you.\u00a0Take a picture with the two giant cedars (see “Three Cedars” from September). Take a rest room break, if you like. Then up, up up the trail.<\/p>\n
How big the cedars!<\/p>\n Even those who rose early<\/p>\n Not so far ahead!<\/p>\n Just before you get to the top of Mt. Yakushi, an hour or so\u00a0beyond\u00a0Hozumi Shrine,\u00a0you come to an opening where you get a gorgeous view of Mt. Fuji. Only today . . . Internet: sunny skies. Reality: lots of clouds.<\/p>\n Still, you know Mt. Fuji’s there<\/em>. (Actually, if you look close, you can see the lower slope of Fuji poking out from the cloud cover.)<\/p>\n What to do atop Mt. Yakushi? Check out the temperature. The Internet said it was 9 degrees Celsius down in Shizuoka City at 10:41 A.M,\u00a0and as you can see, it was 2 degrees below zero atop Yakushi. (I trust the metal thermometer nailed to the tree more than I do the Internet.)<\/p>\n If your tired, you’re in for a disappointment, because you’re one peak away from your final destination.\u00a0And Mt. Monju is virtually the same height as Mt. Yakushi, so you’ve got to go back down–so you can go back up. But the dip, then the dash up to the top of Monju\u00a0is only twenty minutes or so, and then<\/em>,\u00a0all of a sudden you’ve got lovely views of the Southern Alps on one side of the ridge, and\u00a0on the other,\u00a0a panoramic view that sweeps from Mt. Fuji, to\u00a0 Shimuzu Port, to\u00a0downtown Shizuoka City,\u00a0to\u00a0the mountains beyond. It’s beautiful when the skies are blue and a snow-topped Mt. Fuji throws a gleam into your eye, but even like it was today, a faint sunlight can do some\u00a0pretty cool things with the sea and the clouds.<\/p>\n Have a picnic. Talk to some folks. Someone is sure to give you a mikan<\/em>. Or something. Well, probably someone will. Smile. No pouty aloofness allowed.<\/p>\n Then you gotta go back down. Get out of the woods before four or four thirty. Yes, yes, it gets dark quickly. I usually take the “old” trail going up, but the “new” one going down. The new trail’s slightly longer, less steep. If you have a gimpy knee, it will\u00a0appreciate\u00a0you taking the new road.\u00a0\u00a0And the different way gives you a chance to see new stuff the whole livelong\u00a0day.<\/p>\n If I could have captured<\/p>\n The sun torching the\u00a0maple leaves–<\/p>\n You too would have a seen<\/p>\n A flock of giddy yellow birds take wing<\/p>\n And dance with cedars.<\/p>\n A couple of weeks can make all the difference. December. The tsubaki<\/em> (camellia) were lovely–and back down near the bottom, I noticed for the first time ever, the persimmons growing along the bank of the river.<\/p>\n Yes, eventually you will<\/em> get back down. And you will<\/em> have to get back in the blue hybrid and drive back to the city. Sorry. . . .<\/p>\n But the mountain’s aura will be with you to the very end, and it’ll be there when you come back, whenever that is. Did you see the size of those cedars? You think they’re going somewhere?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today was my first time up Mt. Ryuso in a month or so. As always, though,\u00a0a great walk. For me, when I go by myself, like today, both settling and inspiring. Beauty and daydreaming galore. But I hope next time, someone will go with me. Because it’s a great walk for a talk, too! The … Continue reading Another Climb Up Ryuso Mountain<\/span> ![\"131208_trail1_290\"](\"http:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/131208_trail1_290.jpg\")
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