07-16-2020, 11:44 PM
I used to be active duty U.S. Navy. One of my duty stations, my favorite one, was at a Navy base in Yokosuka Japan, about 15 miles south of Yokohama. I loved the base, the city, and did a lot of exploring and riding the trains to Yokohama and Tokyo.
I was stationed there from 1985-1987. I decided in late 1985 that I wanted to try something I had never done before - climb a mountain. Japan just happens to have a real nice pretty one - Mt. Fuji. I had seen so many photographs of it and thought of how pretty and serene it looked. There is a narrow window of time in which Japan lets people climb this mountain. Weather can get dicey at times there. The window of opportunity there was during the month of August.
I knew I would have to get myself in the best shape of my life to be able to pull this off. Even though Fuji is considered an “easy” mountain to climb, I knew it would be challenging for me, as I found out I get altitude sickness when traveling through the Rocky Mountains when I was a little kid. So I had a regimen where I did daily calisthenics, running, aerobics, and bike riding to boost my stamina. I also made it a point to do lots of walking up and down hills knowing I would be at an incline.
Mt. Fuji has “stations”. The halfway point of the mountain, which is about 5,500 feet up, is station 5. Station 10 is the summit. Most people, including me, started at the fifth station. I went with a group of people from the Navy Base, and we were bussed to the fifth station. Fun little bus ride. Vehicles cannot go beyond the fifth station. On the way up the mountain to the fifth station, there is one twisty little road with nothing but a huge drop on one side. The way the bus driver took those curves left me feeling queasy before I even started climbing. So we got to the fifth station and got our things together. It was over 90 degrees F at the bottom of the mountain. It was probably in the 70’s at the fifth station. We were literally in the clouds already and it seemed like a thick fog.
We all had backpacks with snacks, canteens of water, warm clothing, and in mine I had a ski jacket also. Did I mention the temperature can drop 30 degrees or so once it gets dark? In August mind you. We all bought a walking stick. It is a wooden stick with bells and a Japanese flag on it. It helps balance you when you’re going up and down the mountain. At each subsequent station, your stick gets branded, like cattle. That is proof you got to that station. There are also places between stations that you can get your stick branded for an additional price. I stopped at every one of them.
So we started walking/climbing at around Noon. The trail went up through pretty pine trees and that at first. I felt fine when I started. After awhile, the trail got a little steeper, and we were above the clouds and the tree line. There were little shrubs, then nothing but rock. The sun brilliantly shined as we continued to climb. After a little more time, I felt like my backpack weighed 50 pounds, and my breathing was a little labored. I slowed down my pace and took my time, like they told us we should do. It wasn’t a race after all. Even with the sunshine, I could feel the temperature drop, so I took out a long sleeved shirt and put it on over my tshirt. We took plenty of breaks to drink water. The head of the group kept warning us what would happen if we didn’t stay hydrated. After several hours, we got to a resting lodge at the eighth station. I’m guessing we were about 9,500 feet up at that point. I was so tired. We were able to rest until about 2 AM, when we had to start our final push to reach the summit at sunrise. I slept good.
When we all were woken up, I had a terrible headache and felt like my ears were ringing. I took some Tylenol and drank a little water. Then I realized I had to go to the bathroom. There was one little outhouse with a line outside it. When I finally got there to do my thing, I damn near passed out from the smell. It was beyond awful. When I got back outside, it was cold (about 25 degrees) and there was a stiff wind. I had my two shirts and ski jacket on and was still freezing. I also had a very large flashlight. You need that when it’s dark. I mean black as the ace of spades dark. The trail was very narrow at this point, and you could not pass anyone. Not that I would have. I was shuffling along like a zombie at this point. Then I started to feel sick. And I eventually puked. I was really embarrassed. We had a couple of Navy Hospital Corpsman with our group. This one lady, who was an E5, took charge. She sat me down and made me drink an entire canteen of water. I probably had some altitude sickness, and I was dehydrated at that point. She wouldn’t let me go any further until I drank the entire canteen.
I did, and felt a little better. She stuck with me and told me to slow down, that she felt I was going too fast earlier. So I did. I still got to the summit in plenty of time to see the sunrise. I’m so grateful she helped me. I probably wouldn’t have gotten to the summit if it weren’t for her help and motivation. And it was the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen in my life. Mt. Fuji is over 12,000 feet at its summit, over two miles high. Pictures wouldn’t do it justice, although I wanted to take a few. But my cheap ass disc camera shit the bed the day before, and none of the film was able to be developed. So the only proof I have that I climbed Mt. Fuji is my branded walking stick. I took a pic of both sides of the stick. I’m so glad I did this. I would never do it again. Even being young and in pretty good shape, it was difficult for me. Physically it was the hardest thing I ever did.
![[Image: F26-F3811-9296-4358-BD3-E-257026-EC990-F.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/xjqzTJf/F26-F3811-9296-4358-BD3-E-257026-EC990-F.jpg)
![[Image: 3-F009-A26-AA67-465-C-9587-EB85703-B0850.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/mtNyKvN/3-F009-A26-AA67-465-C-9587-EB85703-B0850.jpg)
I was stationed there from 1985-1987. I decided in late 1985 that I wanted to try something I had never done before - climb a mountain. Japan just happens to have a real nice pretty one - Mt. Fuji. I had seen so many photographs of it and thought of how pretty and serene it looked. There is a narrow window of time in which Japan lets people climb this mountain. Weather can get dicey at times there. The window of opportunity there was during the month of August.
I knew I would have to get myself in the best shape of my life to be able to pull this off. Even though Fuji is considered an “easy” mountain to climb, I knew it would be challenging for me, as I found out I get altitude sickness when traveling through the Rocky Mountains when I was a little kid. So I had a regimen where I did daily calisthenics, running, aerobics, and bike riding to boost my stamina. I also made it a point to do lots of walking up and down hills knowing I would be at an incline.
Mt. Fuji has “stations”. The halfway point of the mountain, which is about 5,500 feet up, is station 5. Station 10 is the summit. Most people, including me, started at the fifth station. I went with a group of people from the Navy Base, and we were bussed to the fifth station. Fun little bus ride. Vehicles cannot go beyond the fifth station. On the way up the mountain to the fifth station, there is one twisty little road with nothing but a huge drop on one side. The way the bus driver took those curves left me feeling queasy before I even started climbing. So we got to the fifth station and got our things together. It was over 90 degrees F at the bottom of the mountain. It was probably in the 70’s at the fifth station. We were literally in the clouds already and it seemed like a thick fog.
We all had backpacks with snacks, canteens of water, warm clothing, and in mine I had a ski jacket also. Did I mention the temperature can drop 30 degrees or so once it gets dark? In August mind you. We all bought a walking stick. It is a wooden stick with bells and a Japanese flag on it. It helps balance you when you’re going up and down the mountain. At each subsequent station, your stick gets branded, like cattle. That is proof you got to that station. There are also places between stations that you can get your stick branded for an additional price. I stopped at every one of them.
So we started walking/climbing at around Noon. The trail went up through pretty pine trees and that at first. I felt fine when I started. After awhile, the trail got a little steeper, and we were above the clouds and the tree line. There were little shrubs, then nothing but rock. The sun brilliantly shined as we continued to climb. After a little more time, I felt like my backpack weighed 50 pounds, and my breathing was a little labored. I slowed down my pace and took my time, like they told us we should do. It wasn’t a race after all. Even with the sunshine, I could feel the temperature drop, so I took out a long sleeved shirt and put it on over my tshirt. We took plenty of breaks to drink water. The head of the group kept warning us what would happen if we didn’t stay hydrated. After several hours, we got to a resting lodge at the eighth station. I’m guessing we were about 9,500 feet up at that point. I was so tired. We were able to rest until about 2 AM, when we had to start our final push to reach the summit at sunrise. I slept good.
When we all were woken up, I had a terrible headache and felt like my ears were ringing. I took some Tylenol and drank a little water. Then I realized I had to go to the bathroom. There was one little outhouse with a line outside it. When I finally got there to do my thing, I damn near passed out from the smell. It was beyond awful. When I got back outside, it was cold (about 25 degrees) and there was a stiff wind. I had my two shirts and ski jacket on and was still freezing. I also had a very large flashlight. You need that when it’s dark. I mean black as the ace of spades dark. The trail was very narrow at this point, and you could not pass anyone. Not that I would have. I was shuffling along like a zombie at this point. Then I started to feel sick. And I eventually puked. I was really embarrassed. We had a couple of Navy Hospital Corpsman with our group. This one lady, who was an E5, took charge. She sat me down and made me drink an entire canteen of water. I probably had some altitude sickness, and I was dehydrated at that point. She wouldn’t let me go any further until I drank the entire canteen.
I did, and felt a little better. She stuck with me and told me to slow down, that she felt I was going too fast earlier. So I did. I still got to the summit in plenty of time to see the sunrise. I’m so grateful she helped me. I probably wouldn’t have gotten to the summit if it weren’t for her help and motivation. And it was the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen in my life. Mt. Fuji is over 12,000 feet at its summit, over two miles high. Pictures wouldn’t do it justice, although I wanted to take a few. But my cheap ass disc camera shit the bed the day before, and none of the film was able to be developed. So the only proof I have that I climbed Mt. Fuji is my branded walking stick. I took a pic of both sides of the stick. I’m so glad I did this. I would never do it again. Even being young and in pretty good shape, it was difficult for me. Physically it was the hardest thing I ever did.
just 
