The Long Way Down

Oh boy. The tragedy is that the two peaks seen as most challenging were closed to the public. I had already bottled out of one and was (to say the least) hesitant about the other, but I like to think I would have given it a go. But I couldn't. I could have gone with the "let's not and say we did" approach, but I have some trace of self-respect. Just a smidgeon.

Nonetheless, this was hard. No question going up this path would have been tougher than the route I took, and far harder than going down it. The photos I put in here are a tiny, tiny handful. They may look a bit similar to you, but trust me, around each corner a different world of vertiginous beauty awaited.

However, I need to put the difficulty in perspective. On my way down, I met a Frenchman and an Aussie coming up. They each looked like they might break into a sweat if they needed to run a marathon later on that day. The Australian was even carrying a rucksack. But they did claim it was a hard climb.

But before all that was dawn. A very tourist thing, admittedly, but hey, as I've said before, I happen to be a tourist. Lots of Japanese there, although I like to think they caught the cable car (most people do, apart from the terrifying porters - little old men, with calf muscles that would put Arnie to shame).





And then vista after vista. Despite the ongoing pain, the exhaustion, the sweat and the dirt every step was a gem.