Mnt. Fuji -- You are such a tease!

Okay, so after going back and forth all day and checking the weather reports a -kajillion times...we have decided to suck it up and make the treck to conquer the Mountain! Although this is something that I'm not totally excited to do --hiking 8 hours, freezing my butt off, in the dark, possible rain, and below zero temperatures -- I cant wait! If that makes any sense at all... I mean after all, how many people get to say that they've sucessfully climbed Mnt Fuji!!

...well except the thousands of people who do it each year ;) but you get the point!

We leave here at 11ish and get to the base..start climbing at sunset, climb all night and get to the top just before sunrise. Sounds cool huh...the only catch being: its below 0 and a really high chance of rain! But since we will be above cloud line there wont be any rain, right? WRONG..i guess the winds are so strong that they actually blow the rain up! So the rain is hitting you from below...trippy huh? So basically Im going to need you to pray for me cuz this California girl is not so good with the cold!

The oldest man to climb Mnt. Fuji was 96. So I figure if his old ass can do it...I damn well better be able to! YA KNOW! Damn shame if I couldnt make it!

So story: Mnt. Fuji is a FEMALE japanese God. Until the Meiji period, women werent even allowed to climb it because they were afraid that a woman would threaten her beauty and the mountain would get mad and ERUPT. But after the Meiji period they opened up the mountain to women. Timing is everything huh? Anyways I think its extra special doing something that women were once forbidden from doing! Definetely something that makes you go hmmm... I guess that its just feminist part of me that feels like mooning everyone once I get to the top as a celebratory gesture...that is, IF i get to the top without the mountain erupting. I know plenty of women have climbed the mountain before and all, BUT maybe none of them hasnt threatened the mountain's beauty like I will! HHHHHHHHHAAAA! K im done!


Anyways here are some random Mnt. Fuji Facts:

It is thought that the first ascent was in 663 by an anonymous monk. A sacred mountain since ancient times, Mt. Fuji's summit was forbidden to women until the Meiji Era.

The ascent can take anywhere between 3 and 7 hours while the descent can take from 2 to 5 hours.

Aokigahara: is a forest that lies at the base of the mountain. Many legends surround it; according to one, the rock of the mountain contains large iron deposits that cause compasses and even GPS to stop functioning, making it extremely easy to get lost.

These legends are untrue; the magnetic field generated by the iron is too weak to have any significant effect. Both the Self Defense Force and the Marines run regular training practices throughout the forest, during which compasses, GPS equipment and other navigational electronics have been verified as functioning properly.

The caverns found in this forest contain ice even during summer. Legends of monsters, ghosts, and goblins haunt the forest, adding to its sinister reputation. Furthermore, Aokigahara Jukai (The Sea of Trees) is the top suicide area in Japan; the spirits of those who kill themselves there are said to be cursed to forever haunt the area. Over 78 bodies have been discovered, prompting officials to put up signs prohibiting suicide in the forest.