Our second day in the mountains was going well. The rain was holding off, we were slowly becoming more efficient, and despite the atrocious flies that buzzed continuously around our heads and found the need to explore our ears, noses, and eyelids, and the occasional frustration and delay of a tree core stuck in a …
“I shoulda brought my crampons.”
After over a week of getting acquainted with Japan and Matsumoto, figuring out a confusing and somewhat frustrating permit process, and experimenting with potential food options for backcountry camping in Japan (a task that turned out to be a lot harder than you would think), we finally embarked to the mountains in an attempt to …
Rainy days.
It's raining, again. A steady, soaking shower that begins to puddle in parking lots. But it's still hot, too hot to wear a rain coat, and the humidity causes sweat to pour down my body as my clothes are also drenched from the outside, under an umbrella that does little against the wind and blowing …