August Update

HI Gang                                                 19 August 2004

Several things have happened/not happened/changed since I wrote in June.

Climbing Mt Fuji (July 12-13) was quite an experience.  I didn't
really know what to expect, except that it would probably be reallly
difficult.

No one could give me an idea of what that felt like.  Would I be able
to do it?  I didn't know.  But I did know that I had to choose the
most difficult route, the Gotemba trail, for a few different reasons.

1) personal choice:  If there are stairs next to an escalator, I will
usually take the stairs.  I always want to be going, working, doing
the best, hardest, most challenging thing.  In some arenas, that is.
In others, if I don't think I can win, I won't even try.

2) fewer people on the trail: If 500 people all climb the mountain at
the same time, it will seem much less like a cool thing to have done.
(After I climbed, a friend of mine climbed one of the more popular
trails and assured me that the crowds were horrific.  Literally a
solid line of people, and one couldn't get any momentum. She described
it as "step step stop.  step step stop."  She gave up because it was
so slow.)

3) bragging rights.

So, if I planned to climb Mt Fuji; I might as well boost the
challenge.

[[ I must admit one thing though, to those who don't know Mt Fuji
well.  Though it is 3776 meters tall, most people climb from "fifth
station" a general name given to starting points about half way up
the mountain.  Different fifth stations are at different heights.
Gotemba's fifth station is 1400 meters high.  So we actually don't
climb the entire mountain.  Just 2400 meters or so. ]]

Before the climb, I was well prepared by Hitomi's mom, who is an avid
hiker.  She provided all the climbing stuff I would need: big
backpack, spats, walking stick, flashlight, and rain cover for the
backpack and my head.  I also borrowed a full body rain suit.  I had
already purchased boots for $140 (15,000 yen) so I was happy to not
have to purchase more.  I didn't take a coat, but I did take the quilt
janette made for me.  And I took my computer.

Highlights of the climb:

1) I didn't have to figure out how to get to the mountain, nor how to
reserve a space in the 8th station hut; my friends did this for us.

2) Incredible wind.  No one really focused on the wind as a factor
during a climb.  I don't know if it was unusually windy when we
climbed... the wind was incredible.  We often had to crouch and hang
on to rocks so that we would remain on the trail.  A tumble down the
steep rocky slope would have been ... difficult to recover gracefully.

3) Incredible fog.  For a few hours of our climb (at night), the fog
was so dense that our flashlights couldn't see beyond 1 meter.  We
had to stop and wait for sunrise before starting again.

4) Incredibly big piles of gravel.  On the way down the mountain, for
a couple of kilometers it seemed, we were walking on a huge pile of
pea gravel.  The pile was so big that I invented, played, and tired
of three different sports on the way down.  Had I a sled with me, I
would have tried sledding down the gravel.  Maybe next time.

5) Incredible food.  But after climbing 7.5 hours from sweltering hot
to freezing cold wind and rain, any hot food would have been
welcome.  I was moved nearly to tears when we arrived at 8th station
where we could eat and sleep.

Lowlights of the climb:

1) forgetting to bring my walking staff from 8th station to the top
of the mountain, where it would have been stamped to prove I had been
there.

Next time I climb:

I will bring my computer, and I will bring a change of clothes so I
can change on top of the mountain.

Answers to frequently asked questions: It was really hard.  It took 10
hours of climbing, not including when we slept at 8th station.  It was
5 degrees C inside the building on top of the mountain.  We didn't
see sunrise; it was too foggy.

- - - -

I was not accepted to teach English on Peaceboat, sailing around the
world in 100 days on a cruise ship.  I will apply again for their
February voyage.

- - - -

I got a new weekend job.  I'll be doing computer stuff for a friend of
mine.  This job is less work, shorter hours, easier, and more pay than
teaching at Gaba, so I'll gladly give up my teaching job on weekends
for this.  I'll still work at Gaba during the week.

- - - -

I've recently started placing ads via google's adwords program for
web-based businesses, so that I can make money on commissions.
Turned a quick profit, but since then I've been negative overall;
we'll see how it goes.

- - - -

I haven't really put any effort toward my roller coaster book.

- - - -

My next wild idea is to save money for the next five months, buy an
awesome bicycle, and ride my bike back to Texas by way of Europe,
starting in March, unless I'm accepted on Pb.

   I hope you're well
   - Rob!