Success!

Yesterday me and two friends climbed the infamous Mount Fuji.

We came. We saw. We totally conquered! Woo hoo success :)

My sweet friend Jill volunteered to watch Abby for the day. I was so thankful. We had a really early start (3:00AM) so Abby was a little shaded out when we dropped her off. She had a blast there all day.

It took about three hours for Josh, Cindy and I to drive there. Josh picked a route that zigged and zagged from point A to point B. He made turns like a Formula One driver in a car that could NEVER turn on a dime. It was a thrill-packed ride just getting there.


This is one of my favorite photos because it has a great story with it. We ended up in a line at the base of the mountain. Apparently, you have to wait for a car to come down before they allow the next car up. After about 15 minutes we got bored so Josh hailed over a Japanese guard and tried to explain that we wanted to climb and needed to park right away. They didn't understand us and said something in Japanese that we interpreted to mean that we could drive up the mountain on the wrong side of the road and pass the 50 cars (no exaggeration) waiting in line.

Half way up we hit another "wait point." We were wasting precious climbing time and getting super frustrated. Out of nowhere we saw this bus (from a military base near ours) and Josh decided to pretend we were a part of their tour group, bail out of the line and follow them up the mountain. Not only did we make there in record time, but we also got a parking spot within a mile from the base of the mountain.

Josh is a hero.

This photo is about an hour in. Josh, Cindy and I are still happy and excited to be climbing at this point. We started the hike about half way up the mountain. It takes about five-six hours to climb to the top from the start point. It's pretty amazing to be above the clouds.

Totally beautiful. We picked the perfect day to climb.

This part of the trail is fairly structured and compacted. It strenuous but doable. I was totally lulled into thinking it might just be easy.

I'm still smiling. How naive can one person be? I'm an idiot.

Josh kicking it in the clouds.

I'm taking a much-needed break.

Every half an hour we could get an amazing mist that would creep up the mountain and envelop us. It felt wonderful.

Then we actually started climbing. This was the harshest StairMaster I've ever had the displeasure to use. The trail is not only steep, but jagged and rough. Just in case you're wondering... no smile.

I only smiled for photos and when I got to sit.

The view was totally worth it.

Here's a peak down the mountain. You can't even see the bottom anymore.

Cindy is a champion for climbing this dang mountain three times. It was great to have her as a guide. She likes it when you ask, "are we there yet?"

Josh loved checking his GPS to see how high we are. It was also tracking how pathetically slow we were climbing. It didn't need to tell us how to get to the top. We're dumb, but we're not that dumb.

About half way up we had the joy of trekking through lose gravel and ash. You would think it would be a nice break from the sharp rocks. No, it wasn't. It was like climbing the largest sand dune ever. With every step your body has to stabilize and balance, which is mad work on your core. I really had to focus hiking this section.

Taking a break at the pit stop.

I could have sat here forever.

At station eight (there are 10 stations) I sat in some gum. Who the crud puts gum on a bench half way up Mount Fuji? You got to be kidding me.

On a side note, when I fell down parts of the mountain later in our journey, all the tiny rocks, dust and dirt stuck to the gum and I got to take home a rather painful souvenir. Bonus!

We got really giddy at this point from exhaustion. I started pretending I was Jillian Michaels and screaming things at Josh and Cindy like "What have you done today to make you feel proud!" Josh kept telling us to take it into "ludicrous speed," which made me laugh so hard I could have peed my pants. I swear Cindy wasn't even tired. That girl is a machine!

In all our giddiness I lost my gloves and forget the lens cap for my camera on this bench. Snakes!

Josh is thinking... I wanted to do this?

At every station they burned a stamp into the side of your walking stick. It was a super cool way to get a one-of-a-kind Mount Fuji souvenir. They would make great tattoos.

Cindy has lots of stamps from her multiple climbs.

I was super happy when the rocks started getting bigger again.

Some dude literally hiked his boots off. We were about 3/4ths of the way up the mountain. You have to wonder how this dude got down.

After 5.5 hours we FINALLY made it to the summit. It's misty because we are literally in the clouds. How cool is that?

Must have a photo by the crater map. It was FREEZING up here.

Josh loves that GPS. However could we have found the top without it?

Josh devouring a much-deserved beer. Does the Word of Wisdom count at the top of volcanoes?

Here I am taking some time to write Jeremy a love letter from the top of Mount Fuji. Don't be fooled; I'm real tender like that :)

Sitting on top of the world.

This is the crazy path down the mountain. This photo doesn't do it justice because I took it near the bottom. I fell down four times. I'm sure the people in front of me were crapping their pants thinking I as going to steam roll them at every turn.

It was SO painful coming down. I don't think my hamstrings or shins will ever feel the same again. Both legs were numb and shaking.

Josh lived on the edge and survived.

We had forgotten that after we got down the mountain we still had a mile hike to the car. I'm not going to lie -- I cried a little on the way there. I could have sworn my open blisters were bleeding through my hiking boots and leaving a trail for Cindy to follow.

As we left the park I was a little nervous about deers coming out on the road because it was dense forest on either side. Before we hit the bottom, a bear ran out and across the road a little bit in front of us. It made me bust out laughing. Only in Japan.

All joking aside, I am totally proud of myself (and Cindy and Josh) for taking on Fuji. It was not easy, but we had a lot of fun. These are the memories that I'll take with me when we leave for Germany. I'll miss my once-in-a-lifetime experences and the wonderful friends I had the joy to share them with.