Happy Golden Week training…Hello Soundtrack friends! Back from completing CP4-6. A Saturday well spent with lovely, grand vistas; Fuji gorgeous with her white cap and cloudy veil from Myojingatake, cool green forests, rows of bushy tea, pampas grass, roots, roots, roots. The blonds leading the blind…it’s some trip. Combined with yummy onigiris, good rest stops, Stability tights doing their job, ITBS flare ups and meeting lots of new friends; fellow Oxfamers and others along the way…oh, yes, it was a fab 28km adventure.
Started with trying to find CP6. It took some time, dodgy navi skills notwithstanding. And again we realize we should probably consult the map more, not just rely on an old wooden sign with kanji that looks like, but is not exactly quite where we need to be. Hello Yagurasawa public home, we found you…but visited quite a lot of other local abodes and their inhabitants en route. Took the first bus to Sekimoto, heavy breathing, happy driver helped us on our way. Then took the mini matchbox Daiyuzan carriage to Odawara. Transferred to the Togendai bus…again…and made it to the end of Lake Ashi without too much GW traffic nonsense.
Beautiful day to explore the hills. Course was challenging but doable. Anything is after CP7 to the end...right? Jumped for joy at each checkpoint. As we do. Loved exploring Daiyuzan Saijo-ji. Almost to the end we discover that Verdi will obey any command. And when you ask him to “Come, Verdi”…he will…even if it means a 3 meter drop…in a single bound. Super dog. He impressed, shocked, pounced, surprised, pranced all day…then doggy snored the whole way home.
No huge trail drama’s unless we count Megan’s frantic phone call about 22km in. No she wasn’t in labor… just wanted to know if we knew if there was a Mister Donut in Jiyugaoka? Um…to our overdue, very pregnant friend…we say..Sure. And just so you know we were totally sincere we found a store for you in Oi-Matsuda on the way home, should you ever be in that neck of the woods. Then because we couldn’t think of anything else but donuts…thanks for that subliminal obsession… we discovered super delicious Soy Donuts at the Nakai rest stop. Bought them, demolished them…thinking of you…
Swim day today.Trace, killing it doing laps. Dee, floating around, spa-ing, massaging and whirlpooling at the gym. Nat circled Mt Cootha twice – you are awesome. Good girl. Heading out to knock off the last 16km CP-6-7 hopefully on Tuesday. Then it’s getting down to the wire with some big wardrobe decisions to be made.
Much LOVE and lots of trailwalker THANKS to JILL for her wonderful $100 AU donation. So generous. THANK you for thinking of US.
And as always...what's this journey without a few photies along the way...
Today's walking inspired track:
Keep on Walking -Scouting for Girls
Today's walking inspired quote:
The heights charm us, but the steps do not; with the mountain in our
view we love to walk the plains. ~Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
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