The Top of Japan

This is me at the top of Mt. Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan.

The smile covers up my true feelings -- I was totally exhausted and in pain. In fact, I almost quit at station 7 out of 10 stations up the mountain. What kept me going was the memory of the Media Academy trip to Yosemite in April. I remember students who really thought they would not make it up to Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls, but kept going and made it. Thank you students for inspiring me to keep going!

To my BAWT friends, I thought of you often on the way up and down. I thought carrying those beans in my bear canister for three days was going to be the hardest part of my summer. Nope, dealing with blisters, lack of oxygen, nausea, and lack of friends to keep me company up to 3,776 meters was the hardest part of my summer .... and maybe the hardest physical feat of my life. I look forward to sharing all the details at a BAWT reunion soon.

Risa San Ready For Fuji San

Got a pair of hiking poles today in Bay Village, Ohio to help me get up and down Fuji San in Japan (see beautiful photo to right!). This purchase after I learned the hard way from my recent backpacking trip in Yosemite (TEAM AWESOME!) that my knees aren't exactly the best part of my bod.

The Japanese put the word "san" after their mountains. It's not the same "san" that goes after a person's name as an honorific, but another way to pronounce yama, the word for mountain.

The climb up Fuji San will be a first for me. If I follow Yosemite Leonard's advice for Japanese adventures, I will also be eating a lot of Kobe beef and paying for someone to walk on my back.