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Mt Fuji
It was an easy ascent especially from 5th to 7th station. The slope was mild and the sun was shining cheerfully upon us. Blue sky and beautiful large fluffy clouds came beneath our feet as soon as we climbed high enough and I was just blissfully happy and at peace purely by the enjoyment of capturing what laid before my eyes with my SLR.
As the climb got rocky and steep, each step was more laborious. I was surprised to find so many 7th stations we passed along the way, and wondered why this was so., The 'oh we're more than half way' became 'what? only 1/3 of the way?' by the time we looked at the climbing map. Soon we got onto our hands and knees and needed gloves in order to move upwards. Jade and Allee probably had more trouble than me purely due to them having smaller leg muscles, I found the stick I carried with me cumbersome and 'accidently' left it at one of the 7th stations.
As the sun began to fall down the western horizon, I pumped up the music. Ministry of sound made each step more encouraging and I discovered a technique which worked well for me. Music made me wanna dance, so I danced my way up, I liked doing a small runner up for about 10 meters, before my body built up the lactic acid from the increasingly thinning oxygen, then I would stop, rest, catch my breath, waiting for the rest of the girls to approach nearer, whilst appreciating the gorgeous view of clouds, foliage, mountains and lakes in the distance. There were a few zen moments during the climb which felt like pure bliss. It really felt as if all my worries were a world away and I was staring upon heaven, at this amazing creation on earth. It was just me, my music and my camera. I think moments like these allow me to detach to the point of spiritual enlightenment almost, a form of meditation, a realisation of inner strength, free from fear of anything that comes my way.
By the time we reached the hut, it was already pitch black. The final half an hour before we arrived was like pushing my body beyond its limits. Every 5 steps, we needed to pause abit to catch our breath, my SLR and backpack started to weigh a tonne and the absolute relief and delight when I finally collapsed my tired body on to the beach!
As I was starving, I was grateful for the warm dinner I wolfed down, even though I forgot what it was. I was grateful for the small warm spot on the floor which we could lie on and rest for a few hours before we would commence our ascent to our summit again at 2:30am.
Trouble was, I woke up at 12am, not sure whether to put more clothes on or take them off. I had very little blanket space (imagine 4 people squeezed into a queen sized bedspace, hundreds of bodies lay side by side packed like sardine scity). The floor was hard and the pillow represented little more than a small wheat sack. For a side sleeper like me, I couldnt' move or get myself comfortable enough to all asleep. Compounded by the fact that stereo sound snoring was all around me. When we all realized the 4 of us couldn't sleep, we decided to head to the summit earlier. Outside the hut, the air was all of a sudden refreshing, already an entire dragon line of torches were snaking their way as the path got more crowded with all the other station climbers, keen to be at the summit for the sunrise.
A picture speaks a thousand words, so let me just post them up to save the description of what laid before my eyes when the sun rose. It was one of the most spectacular sunrise I've ever seen.
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xiao ying @ 10:35 PM.
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