Mountain: Amagi (天城山）1,406m
It was the last day of July in 2017, and my friend Yuika had invited me to go on a big summer hike with her and some friends. Although I have never been a big fan of mid-summer hikes due to the brutal humidity, the idea was to head to the Nagao Yatsugatake alps where the weather would be cool. The trip was being led by Yuika's high school teacher, Mr. Naoyasu [now・yas] Kikuchi. Yuika's high school classmate Yoko also joined us. A friendly fellow who despite his humble appearance, had a set of hiking skills that I couldn't imagine. He came to pick me up outside my apartment in the early early morning, and we set off on the road before the sun had risen. However, as we continued, we noticed there was a big change in the weather and a storm would roll into Nagano by mid-day. So, the plan was revised, and he suggested a hike in Shizuoka prefecture where the weather was supposed to be "fine".
We started the hike from parking lot near the Old Amagi Tunnel North Entrance. The tunnel was originally built in 1905, and was popularized in several Japanese novels and movies. In 2001, the tunnel became the first road tunnel to be designated as a National Important Cultural Property. Of course not knowing any of this, it just seemed like a typical old tunnel to me. After we passed through the tunnel, we started the trail, and the sweat hike began.
After about an hour or so, we made our way to the Hacho pond. Due to the weather conditions that day, this area was the dictionary definition of "muggy". We posed for a few pictures near the hazy pond, but we were unable to stand still due to all the swarms of bugs that had begun to engulf us. The break was short, and so to avoid being eaten alive, we quickly carried on. Unfortunately, the bugs followed us along the trail. We kept trying to invent ways of not being swarmed the moment we stopped moving to take a break. It was another three long and brutally sweaty hours until we finally reached the summit of Mt. Amagi. With only a view of a hazy forest, there wasn't really anything at the summit other than more bugs and mosquitoes. By chance, there was another hiker at the top who quickly snapped a photo of us. I was too concerned swatting the bugs from my face than paying attention to the photo.
We had walked over 20km, and although we were hoping for a quick way back to the parking, the horrible realization came across us... the only option to go back was another 20km back the way we had came. Although I had expected this to be a sweaty outing, the four shirts & sweat towels I had brought weren't enough. We continued to push along the trail back towards the entrance, the sweat was almost unbearable. There was a small toilet just past the pond, and I asked to go in for 5 minutes just to switch out into a new set of pants & underwear. Yuika & Yoko didn't want to be eaten alive while waiting so they moved onward. Naoyasu stayed behind while I changed, and after I had swapped out my sweaty gear, the two of us ran ahead to catch up with the girls. We reached a crossing, and hoped they had remembered which was the right path to the parking lot.
We continued to move down quickly in hopes of catching up with them but there was no sign. Unfortunately there was also no phone signal deep in the mountains, so if they did had taken the wrong path we didn't have any way to contact them. We descended at a fast pace, only briefly stopping for a moment to catch our breath, before finally arriving at the parking lot with nobody waiting. A few minutes later, Naoyasu was finally able to get ahold of them, and we drove to the path. Naoyasu ran up the trail to catch up with them and soon after we were all reunited - sweaty and exhausted.
The four of us stopped by a convenience store where I bought another set of dry clothes, and then all went to a hot spring. I first thought it would be a bad idea going to a hot spring in August after sweating so much, but the pools & shower were incredibly refreshing. This was the first time I had met Mr Naoyasu Kikuchi, and I was absolutely surprised at how easily he handled this mountain climb. During this near 40km excursion in deathly humid summer heat, he hardly ate and handed out most of his water, and hardly seemed tired by the end of it. This middle-aged teacher from Tochigi was proof that age and health are independent of each other. Intrigued & inspired, I aimed to increase my hiking and fitness efforts.
Naoyasu kindly offering some of his sports drink at the pond
Although I have hiked many mountains that were "exhausting", "treacherous", "dangerous" and have experienced injuries or health problems, I think the perfect word to describe this summer hike on Mt. Amagi was that this was the most "uncomfortable" hike ever. It wasn't hot enough to worry about heat exhaustion, but it was far too humid and buggy to enjoy a moment of rest. From this day onward I made sure to be cautious of hiking in humid weather, and have done my best to stick to high altitude mountains for the summer months.
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