A Bittersweet mountaintop goodbye

Senjo-ga-take, or Mt. Senjo, is one of the tallest peaks of the Minami Alps range as seen from the Ina valley, and certainly the most magnificent rock face of the group to catch the sunset in it’s creases on a clear day.

After more than two years of knowing this great rock from the valley below, I had to finally make the trek to her peak and say goodbye.

photo by Tomokage Mikoshiba

4:30AM, I wake up to an unpromising sky.  The forecast holds a good chance for rain, but it is decided to go up anyway.  Our small party of three sets off at 5:00 for Senryuu-sou (仙流荘) in Hase. From there, there is a bus through the one-lane mountain road to the Kitazawa pass (北沢峠).  We arrive at the Senryuu-so bus stop around 6:00 to find that we weren’t the only ones with this idea today.

With a national holiday on Monday, the first day of a three-day weekend, we see license plates from as far away as Hiroshima and Hachinohe, Aomori.  Later, we are told the crowd was a record for the Kitazawa pass.  It took 30 some bus-fuls – back and forth –  to move all the eager climbers to the many trailheads there; we arrive finally around 8:30.

Following the main line from Kitazawa, we pass halfway point around Otaki (大滝) before reaching ko-senjo-ga-take (小仙丈ヶ岳), or Mt. Senjo’s smaller peak.

Above the tree line now, the view becomes spectacular just before vanishing into a cloud of frigid wind and stinging rain.

Stopping and struggling to put on extra layers, we fumble with numb fingers in the pelting gusts of assaulting precipitation.  My friend compares the rush of cold, poor visibility, and sting on his face to the same feeling we get atop mountain snowboarding.  Conditions are suddenly too harsh to wait, or to look anywhere but where our feet go next.  Our party becomes completely split up.  It’s amazing how quickly the weather can take a dramatic turn at this elevation.

I reach the top finally, with no other picture to snap but the sign.  Trying to settle out of the wind behind a rock, I eat a calorie-mate lunch and hope for my husband and friend to show up.  The cold and wind is bad enough though, I know I must start back down soon with or without them.

In a transparent 100-yen poncho and a towel wrapped around his face, my friend drags himself over the ledge before the peak at last.  We celebrate the feat for a moment, but the conditions have stolen most of our sentiment for need of warmth.

With time running out, we wish the best for my husband and set off to make our way back as quickly as possible.

He finds us at last at ko-senjo.  The rain is still coming but the wind is bearable at this point.  Having ran up the mountain in what must have been only 1.5 hours, he had sought shelter just off the main trail at the Senjo-goya lodge (仙丈小屋), and peaked twice looking for us.  We rest briefly, but decide it’s better to hurry back to the calm below the tree line.

About halfway down near Otaki again, the forest becomes astoundingly warm and serene.

Back at the Kitazawa pass in a round-trip total of about 6 hours, we beat our expected time goal within plenty of time for the bus.  It wasn’t quite the goodbye I had envisioned, but I suppose it’s never that way.  I’m happy I went through with it.  I may not live as close to them, but I have a feeling I’ll be back for more Minami Alps.

Takato, Hase by cycle

Early spring is always a restless time.  The slopes melt away but the rocks are not quite crag ready.  With the drying-up of the roads and longer, clearer days, a long route on the road bike satisfies the need for mountain.

Introduced to me last year by a friend, one of my favorite cycling trails begins at Mibukawa-haibara-kasen Park (三峰川榛原河川公園) of Ina City, Nagano.  Running along to the Mibu river toward Takato, the recreational trail is automobile-fee and backed by the stunning Kiso mountain range.

The trail runs along on both sides of the river here; the south side eventually winding through the forest is a bit more sheltered from the wind.  However, it turns out to be a bit early yet with some patches of melting ice.

The trail ends near Takato, but the route is easily continued by roadside up the hill through the small town, then right through the Hakusan(?) tunnel onto the 152 toward Hase.

From here, slopes in the road roll along with just the right ups and downs for gliding past the Miwa dam.  At the end of “lake Miwa,” the 152 continues onward past Hase Inchinose toward Oshika, becoming gradually steeper until it narrows into one lane.  Here the scene becomes a steady uphill grind, but around each turn reveals new secrets of the forest that it’s hard not to push on in curiosity.

Finally, the legs reach their match for the day, and the reverse route is a breeze all the way back into Hase.  Just before the south tip of the Miwa dam reservoir, there is a road to the right that leads up the mountain to a little kabuki theater.  Certain times of year, the little village puts on fairly authentic kabuki shows at no charge to the public.

Back at the other end of the dam, there is a roadside “michi-no-eki,” or road station stop called Minami Alps Village.  With a croissant-famous bakery, a small coffee shop and souvenir store, it is a good place to refresh.