{"id":2867,"date":"2018-07-14T00:28:58","date_gmt":"2018-07-13T15:28:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2018-07-14\/2867"},"modified":"2018-07-14T00:29:10","modified_gmt":"2018-07-13T15:29:10","slug":"hiking-mt-fuji-at-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2018-07-14\/2867","title":{"rendered":"Climbing Mt. Fuji at Night"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>50 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 220 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nWow, What a View<\/span><\/span>\njust after sunrise, just prior to a typhoon<\/span> blowing in\nat 3,205m (10,500') elevation, on Japan's Mt. Fuji\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I moved to Japan in 1989, and the person who met me at the airport in Tokyo was Krish Kulkarni, a graduate<\/span> student at Tokyo\nUniversity, and the twin brother of Ram Kulkarni, my best friend at my own graduate school in America. I had most<\/span> recently\nmet both of them<\/a> a year<\/span> ago in Tokyo, and last week met Krish and\nhis family as they vacationed in Japan.<\/p>\n\n

Climbing Mt. Fuji was high on the list for Krish's 19-year-old son Vishnu, and they kindly invited me along.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2500 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOur Hotel<\/span>\nKawaguchiko Hotel (\u6cb3\u53e3\u6e56\u30db\u30c6\u30eb)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 44mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2500 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 720 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nView From The Back Window<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Krish's back was bothering him, and despite a massage<\/span> in Kyoto from Ken-chan<\/a> that helped a lot,<\/span> he decided to sit this climb out, knowing that I'd\nbe there to look after his family. Anyway, Krish had already climbed Fuji twice in his life, which is more than enough.<\/p>\n\n

There are various trails up Fuji, but the only one open this early in the season was the “<\/span>Yoshida Trail”<\/span>. One reaches<\/span> it by\nroad to the “<\/span>5th Station”<\/span> at about 2,300m (7,500'), then hikes the remaining 1,476m (4,800') of vertical climb.<\/p>\n\n

Our plan was to climb at night, so as to see the sunrise from the top.<\/p>\n\n

We didn't make it.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>800 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOur Last View of the Mountain<\/span>\nat least, our last non-close-up view,\non the drive up toward the “<\/span>5th Station”<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>50 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 1100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nScenic View<\/span>\non the drive up\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 0.6 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAt the Parking Lot<\/span>\nMt. Fuji Yoshida 5th Station\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

In the past I've had very good (skill) with slow-shutter hand-held shots, such as\nthis<\/a>,\nthis<\/a>, and\nthis<\/a>, but my luck (skill) wasn't here on this hike; the shot above,\nand other slow-shutter hand-held shots are all pretty bad, sorry.<\/p>\n\n

At about 8pm, the three of us (Krish's wife Nilu, son Vishnu, and me) headed out from the parking lot.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>6 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nStarting the Hike Proper<\/span>\nwith Nilu Kulkarni and Vishnu Kulkarni\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>50 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 6400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHalf an Hour In<\/span>\nat the “<\/span>6th Station”<\/span>\nphoto by Vishnu Kulkarni<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>4 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nWhat We Saw<\/span>\nfor most of the night.... nothing more than a string<\/span> of lights\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

At various places along the trail are huts that seem to be privately-owned businesses that offer lodging,\nand food\/drink. They have bright lights, so you can see those dotting the path going up, as well as the\nlights of the climbers slowly moving like fireflies in between.<\/p>\n\n

Early on we didn't meet many others on the trail, except a few<\/span> descending from having seen the sunset,\nand the occasional few fast-paced hikers that passed us. I was astounded<\/span> at how many people completely\nignored my hearty “<\/span>good evening”<\/span> as we passed on this relatively unsteep early section. It's possible<\/span> that\na few<\/span> had earphone in and didn't hear me, but for the most part I think<\/span> some people are just jerks. \ud83d\ude41 <\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>4 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nEarly View Back to the City<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 36mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>25 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nUnfathomable<\/span>\nif you need a smoke here, your addiction has stripped all self control\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>13 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMoonrise<\/span>\nit looked so much nicer than this photo illustrates\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 48mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>8 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>8 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nGetting Farther<\/span>\nfrom the city\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Climbing at the pace we went was not physically challenging for me, though I saw<\/span> many out-of-shape\npeople who were puddles of misery very early on.<\/p>\n\n

For most people who can climb a few<\/span> flights of stairs without needing to stop, success comes down\nto a few<\/span> basic things:<\/p>\n\n