All-Day Hike

I went on an all-day hike yesterday, leaving home before 6:00 and returning at around 19:00! It is the longest hike that I have done since my daughter was born. I estimate that the hike was about 34 km, and my pedometer registered over 60,000 steps.

About half of the hike was on a popular trail, and there were many people out hiking yesterday because the weather was great! Before reaching the popular trail, I would put my mask on only when around other people, but there were so many people on the popular trail that I kept my mask on the whole time that I was on it. Most of the people on the trail did not bother with masks, however.

It is common courtesy to greet fellow hikers in Japan, and most people did so even when the trail got crowded. I greeted so many people that my voice got hoarse. It reminded me of working at a Japanese company, where you greet every person you pass throughout the whole day. Like at a company, there are some people who just do not bother to say anything, or may just grunt.

At one point on the popular trail, I was behind a guy who had an otaku look. He was one who did not bother greeting people at all. When we were passed by a pair of very attractive (female) trail runners, however, he greeted them very enthusiastically!

There were significantly fewer people on the trails during my trip back, and almost nobody else once I got off of the popular trail. I saw two snakes, one in the brush by the popular trail, and one crossing a trail close to home. I was not able to identify the species, but they were both nonvenomous. I also came across a dead mole in the middle of the trail! Perhaps it was trampled by a trail runner.

I did not get too tired, as I have good hiking stamina, but my leg muscles started to get really sore on the return trip. Thankfully, I did not have any problems with my foot. (I fractured two bones last summer, and my foot hurt whenever I went hiking until a few months ago. I am still unable to move half of the foot, but it no longer hurts!)

I made it back to my bicycle just before dusk. Cycling downhill from the trail head gave me a good chance to gently stretch my legs. I then had a gentle, flat ride to get them moving again, and I had no problems by the time I reached the first hill. My legs are a still a bit sore today, so I am making sure to walk a lot: I took my daughter to a temple, a park, and shopping.