it's not life that matters but the journey...

This is a photo that we took from the 5th station at Fuji-san on Wednesday evening, around 4:30 p.m.  The clouds and the colors are almost surreal up there, especially at sunset.  We went up there Wednesday as it was a holiday and the weather was beautiful and clear - of course up at around 2,500 meters, it was extremely cold, too.  But we were prepared - we wore our North Face jackets, gloves, and hats, and we climbed to the 6th station and about halfway to the 7th (the absolute top of the mountain is station 9 1/2 - and quite a ways from the 6th or 7th).   

   We also walked out to see the big hole  (I guess you'd call it a fissure) that was formed years and years ago from the volcano exploding.   The whole atmosphere on that mountain is like being in another world, almost like being on Mars - the unstable, volcanic rock, the red color of the earth and the white whisps of clouds that you walk right through.  The place where the fissure formed was amazing - I could see black lines in the red rock, and with the mist around us (from the clouds moving in), it was just like being in some kind of dream . . . or like being in some science fiction film.  We were practically the only people up there (past the 6th station) and it was so peaceful.   The only word that comes to mind is awesome - I felt such awe at being a part of nature like that.  Because when you are on Mt. Fuji, you are so high, and so far away from reality, that you really feel like one with nature.  Its phenomenal!   I can't wait to go again next year - we plan to climb to the top during the regular season (summer) when its safe and much warmer.   This week was the last chance to go up there until next spring - tomorrow they will be closing the road up there for the winter and only a few brave (or shall I say reckless) souls will brave Fuji-san with ice and snow!