Japan: Day 8 — Mt. Fuji ...

Mt. Fuji - an amazing shade of red in the morning

I got very little sleep after realizing I had a fever. People started getting up as early as midnight to make their way to the summit. The girls beside me left around 1:30am. I was still not feeling well and was desperately trying to get some shut eye. Check out was at 5am and since I was hiking alone, I had a big decision to make. I could feel my frustration building as I was lying there.

If I attempted to summit and started feeling worse, it would mean relying on complete strangers for help and perhaps ruining their trip in the process. I knew this was something I could not do. It would be selfish and unsafe. I decided to call it quits at 3,100m.

I got out of bed at 4am, packed up my things and headed outside. It was freezing! There was still hope in my heart that I was going to feel great once I got moving. When I got outside, I attempted to eat to see if it would bring my energy levels up but the loss of appetite that happens with altitude sickness had set in. Putting food in front of my mouth only strengthened that feeling of wanting to throw up.

There was a clear view down the mountain and I could see the city lights below. I had come up 800m in elevation the day before and still had about 700m to go. Although there were just two kilometers left of the hike, those two kilometers were going to take three hours to complete which gave me a fairly good idea of the intensity of the trail.

The entire trail is in the sun (thankfully it was cool)

As the sun came up, tears started streaming down my face. I was disappointed and frustrated. The feeling of nausea is not fun. Much to my chagrin, I put on my pack and started my descent. It was a gorgeous sunrise and I tried to think positively on my way down the mountain. I had made it more than half way up Mt. freakin’ Fuji!

It only took coming down 200m to feel better, which is so stupid. Part of me wanted to turn around and go right back up. I knew it would take me 30-40 minutes to re-climb that 200m and who knew what I’d feel like along the way. Another 100m down and I started to feel hunger in my belly. At the 2,700m mark, one of the huts was selling Chai tea. I got a big cup for ¥400 and sat down. My mother magically called me on FaceTime during my Chai and I had to fight back tears when I told her I wasn’t able to summit. I am glad she was able to share a moment with me on Mt. Fuji. Bill, her and I enjoyed the views and chatted about altitude sickness. They said all the right things to make me feel proud of where I was and what I had done.

It was a lovely hike down and I enjoyed every moment of it. I made it back to the 5^th station around 8am. I found the Yamarent return table and gave them back the gear I had rented and then set off in search of the post office and the bus. There was a 9:30am bus back to Kawaguchiko station.

A torii gate at one of the mountain huts

When I got back to the hostel, I took a long shower! I was hoping to relax for the day and get some laundry done. There was a typhoon in the area and the weather was doing all sorts of crazy stuff. I suppose in the end, the altitude sickness saved me from a very wet and windy climb down Mt. Fuji. 

I decided to venture out to the store when there seemed to be a break in the rain. The hostel wasn’t near anything which made it difficult when it came time to meals. There was a grocery store about ten minutes away on foot. I went there on memory and took the wrong street. I was wearing a light rain jacket that wasn't standing up to the rain that was coming down. I ran undercover to check my GPS only to realize I had left my Pocket Wifi charging in the room. Deep breath.

The only dry clothes I had were on my body and they were now soaked from the rain. I headed out from the shelter and back into the pouring rain and was angry with myself for not checking the directions. Once I got back to the main road, I remembered where to go. Although I was soaking wet, I decided to go to the store as I did need food. The store was heavily air conditioned and I was freezing by the time I finished my shopping. Thankfully, the rain had let up for the walk home.

When I got back, I found a free dryer. I had to be creative in what I was wearing as everything I owned was wet. I hoped no one could tell I wasn’t wearing a single thing under my light jacket.

I enjoyed a couple of beers and some food and then went to watch some TV in bed. My eyes closed around 8pm that night and I slept right through until 7am, dead to the world. It had been an emotional two days and I guess my body needed the rest.