大台ヶ原山, 日出ヶ岳
Odaigahara-yama, Hidegatake
1.695 m2. May 2012
It was a stormy way back from Yakushima. Most of the passengers hiding insides, many through up or at least felt sick. In stormy see I prefer to go up and if possible out. Seeing the waves and sea can help against sea-sickness. Lucky I have no problem with rough sea.
Back on Kyushu island I drove back from Kagoshima via Kumamoto, Fukuoka, Hiroshima to Osaka and then south to Nara-ken and Wakayama-ken. Both next mountain are located on Wakayama-half-island, south of Kyoto and Nara.
It was not easy to find the road to Odaigahara – it took several hours to find the right entrance to the mountain area. Because of the very bad weather, and lots of rain, many roads have been closed.
日出ヶ岳 – Mt. Hidegatake. If I understand right, the meaning is “sunrise-mountain”. But if we have a look at the kanji, it also means日=sun出=exit/leave岳=steep mountain. This day, the name interpretation “Sun-has-left-the-Mountain” fit perfect.
No sun at all and the heaven opened all doors for rain and storm.
Next night the sky turned red and the moon hardly could break through the clouds. There is a story about two rabbits in the moon who are making mochi. What happened to the rabbits making mochi in this weather condition?
On May 2nd we drove through the mountain until we reached Odagahara visitor center and parking area. It was raining nonstop. No other car was there. I was wearing rain jacket and trouser and then went for the big round tour. The trail was under water – like walking in river – and the water was all over. It was no surprise that that day there was no view and I didn’t feel like spending to much time at one of the rest areas. Still – also a hike in rain can make fun if you are wearing the right clothes and know what you do. Jumping in the puddles reminded me of my childhood and made me feel young 😊 . And as usual – warm up at one of the local onsen – that’s the best!
Hiking-Keydata:
日出ヶ岳 Hidegatake 2. May 2012
Start 大台ヶ原ビジターセンター Odaigahara visitor center 1:30 pm 1.570 m
Top 日出ヶ岳Hidegatake 2:00 pm 1.695 m
Trail 正木峠 Masaki-toge pass 2:10 pm 1.641 m
Trail 大蛇嵓 Daijagura cliff 2:40 pm 1.579 m
Trail シオカラ谷 Shiokaradani Bridge 3:00 pm 1.430 m
Finish 大台ヶ原ビジターセンター Odaigahara visitor center 3:20 pm 1.570 m
Duration: 1 h 50 min Distance: 6,5 Km Height: 470 m
