Mt. Gangaharasuriyama 雁ヶ腹摺山 • Mt. Ubako 姥子山

Hiking route:  Otsuki Station 大月駅 -> Otoge Pass 大峠 -> Mt. Gangaharasuriyama 雁ヶ腹摺山 -> Mt. Ubako 姥子山 -> Kanayama Pass 金山峠 -> Semeban セーメーバン -> Otsuki Station 大月駅.

This was actually my second attempt. On my first attempt 4 days earlier, I climbed up using the trail that followed Nakamura River. It was so tough I got completely exhausted after reaching the eastern peak of Mt. Ubako (mostly due to some heavily eroded sections and unclear trail markers), and had to give up and turn back using a vehicular road. Another reason was that I stupidly dropped my microspikes somewhere before reaching Mt. Ubako. As I climbed up the eastern peak without spikes, I immediately realized what a terrible idea that was and retreated. This route I took on my second try was easier, albeit longer. I brought a new pair of spikes, but funnily enough, I miraculously spotted the old pair on a slope several hundred meters before Kanayama Pass 金山峠 (approx. 35.66695, 138.89678). It was rough crawling off the trail to retrieve it, but now I have two pairs of spikes.

Together these two attempts marked my first ever overnight hike in Japan. All things considered, it was a fun and thrilling experience walking in the dark alone with 90% of my vision stripped away. The uneasiness of not knowing what was moving in the bush, the seemingly deafening sound of water, the relief when the sun came out, etc., all added much excitement to a usually mundane hike.