Ryan and I decided to do a "guy's weekend" before my deployment. We planned on one day of travel, camping out, and visiting onsens followed by a one-day winter summit of Mount Iwate.
We actually visited two onsens, but one was simply much nicer than the other. Amihari Onsen has hot, slightly sulfuric water piped straight down from an active steam vent on the back side of Mount Iwate. I enjoyed a hot bath outside in the winter air with snow-covered mountains in the background. The water had a tinge of sulfur odor and my skin could feel the difference between the volcanic water and a regular bath.
This is the second time I've visited a Japanese Onsen. If you've never heard of them, I highly advise looking it up online and visiting one if you get a chance. The first time is a little awkward. You basically walk into a room full of naked Japanese men washing themselves next to these little sinks. After you wash up, you walk outside, naked, and slip into the bath. Once you get over your modesty, its a quite enjoyable experience.
While hiking through Daisetsuzan National Park last summer, I remarked to Ryan that the only thing that could be cooler than making the hike was making the hike in a kilt! Well, I recently found out that Mountain Hardwear made a "mountain kilt." While it doesn't bear much resemblance to an authentic Scottish kilt, I'm a new fan. This thing is quite simply the most comfortable garment I've ever worn. I'll leave it at that:)
We grilled out at the trailhead. Rather than pitching a tent, we decided we'd throw our sleeping bags out right under the BBQ awning. I'm not sure I'd try that in the U.S., but we felt safe sleeping out in the open in Japan.
A big meal to get ready for the next day's hike...
During our bivy, the wind really picked up and it started to snow. I woke up to find the top of my bag coated with ice. I was concerned that my new down bag would get wet and let me get cold. But, our shelter and equipment allowed us to have a comfortable night despite the inclimate weather.
The next day we awoke to a thin covering of snow. We suited up and headed up Mount Iwate.
At just over 2000 meters, Mount Iwate is the tallest mountain in the Tohoku. During the summer time, its just a strenuous day hike. During the wintertime, you need snowshoes and crampons.
Nothing keeps your body warm and energy stores full like a block of cheddar cheese.
Pulling up into the Iwatesan "ampitheater."
View from the ampitheater.
Mount Iwate looks like a nearly perfect cone when viewed from the east. At about 1800 meters, there is a large flat area which extends off the southside of the mountain. In this "ampitheater", you find two of the three cabins on Mount Iwate. The one in this picture is locked up in the winter. During the summertime, a lucky hiker may find Japanese hikers being generous with their delicious food and sake.
Once you pull up onto the crater, its just a short walk to the summit. But, being the highest point around, you get hammered by 50-70 MPH winds blowing in from Siberia. This is the most dangerous point of the climb as any bare skin can become quickly frozen and unprotected eyes can become snow blind.
Last winter, due to weather, I failed to summit Mount Iwate. I instead spent a night inside a rescue cabin about 300 meters below the summit. I was happy to come back this year and make the winter summit.
There's nothing like a hot bowl of spicy ramen after a cold day on the mountain.
They put us up in these sweet accomodations during our short layover at Manas, Air Base, Kyrgystan.
My last beer of the year (and for the next 6 months) was a Baltika #9. At Manas, you're only allowed two beers per 20 hour period. I asked the bartender what the best local beer was. He recommended the Batika #5. I tried it and it wasn't a bad beer. But, for my second, I decided on the Baltika #9. The "#" of the Baltika beer tells you the strength of the beer with the #9 having the highest alcohol content, and stoutness. Having tried a couple, I definitely recommend the #9. When you can only have two, its definitely the best beer.
For our trip from Manas to Kandahar, we had two C-130 legs...First Class, of course. The flight, while not the most comfortable, was quite incredible. We flew right over the Hindu Kush mountains. I took a little bit of video footage out the window, but wasn't able to upload to the blog because of my crappy internet connection over here. There's really no way to describe the size and vastness of a Himalayan mountain range. It was simply awesome.
Sweet digs.
