Fuji

I wrote and re-wrote the opening line I would use for this entry about seventeen times over the last 36 hours. None of them do the experience justice. So I'm just going to go for this:

WOW.

Even that doesn't quite do it. Here are some of the alternatives:

I was on top of the world, looking out at creation; that's the only explanation I can find.

Before yesterday, I'd never been on a hike that had stop-and-go human traffic.

"Fuji is a lot like a Disneyland ride."

"A Disneyland ride to the power of 10,000."

The wait (climb/line) is long and boring [and, in the case of Fuji, treacherous], but the experience (sunrise/ride) makes it worth it all.

I saw more stars last night than I've ever seen in my life, with one exception.

Because of who I was with, this was better.

Working headlamps are entirely overrated.

I saw Fuji's shadow on the clouds and thought it was another mountain.

James and Patrick are two of the few human embodiments of epic on the planet. They pull it off in spades.

I have some of the best friends in the world.

Everything seems like a better idea at 3200 meters (or, if you prefer, 10,500 feet).

"The view outside is straight out of a Miyazaki film"

I spent most of the trip up feeling exhausted and delirious. I spent most of the trip down feeling wet and sore.

I spent the whole trip feeling the earth under my shoes and the air on my face and the zen in my soul. I wouldn't have changed a thing.

If you're REALLY tired, you can sleep anywhere. Including a bus, a bed with a nonexistent mattress, or the middle of the trail to the top of Fuji-san.

I wouldn't recommend the latter.

On the same note, SLEEP IS IMPORTANT.

Apparently I can still understand and make myself understood in Japanese when I'm exhausted and at altitude.

I think that's a good sign.

At the onsen, I was assaulted by two spiders and a flying critter of some sort. I also managed to accidentally promise this random woman I met there that I would let her show me around Tachikawa in a month. In spite of (or perhaps because of) these things, I am of the opinion that the Japanese onsen is quite possibly the greatest creation known to man.

I didn't make it to the top of Fuji.

This was a choice. I was terrified BEFORE I made the choice, calm WHEN I made the choice, and glad AFTER I made the choice.

I intend to try to remember the taste of those feelings for the rest of my life.

You'll get a play-by-play of the actual climb at some point later this week; this was just an attempt to get down some of my more passing, ethereal thoughts so that I can hold onto them.

~Anna