Autumn Camp 2023:Hike up Hiwadayama and Takasashiyama.

After a long and hot summer, TAK got back in action today with a hike to the top of Hiwadayama and Takasashiyama in Saitama.

The day began with a far drive out to our destination. The scouts got to know each other quickly, and we reached the starting point of the hike in no time. The scouts put on some bug spray, and tried on helmets to make sure they fit. Seeing as there were going to be many steep ascending and descending sections on the hike, we decided to have the younger two scouts go backpack-free, giving us their essentials to carry in our larger backpacks.

We started walking up the mountain, before stopping at the main trail's entrance to go over some safety precautions and rules, along with an introduction to our photography activity that we would be working on throughout the whole day. The focus was patterns and textures in nature, trying to get detailed macro shots of things the scouts found interesting (with Mark's phone).

Once all that was finished, we were off! The scouts immediately began finding things to take photos of. After a steep, but mostly smooth, dirt uphill, we reached a large Torii, where we bowed before continuing the journey up to the summit.

Only a bit of easy strolling later, and the trail started to show off some of its really challenging terrain. Steep, spikey, and rocky, with other sections of twisting roots to boot. The scouts donned their helmets and got right to it. All three of them made it up with minor - if not any - help at all. With everyone very tired, we had reached the first gorgeous viewing point, being able to see endless countryside and city in the distance.

It was just a bit further up the mountain from there that we sat down to have lunch. The scouts got their lunches and water bottles, we set out the picnic mats, and everyone got stuck in. Once we were all done eating, the scouts edited their photos to their liking, and soon after, with everyone well rested, we continued on up the final stretch to the summit.

There really wasn't much of a struggle to get there from lunch, especially compared to what we climbed up before. After placing some stones on a small cairn, and taking some photos of the group, we made our way down the other side of Hiwadayama to Takashiyama.

Though it was initially quite the steep downhill, we made it down safely, and cruised through the rest. It was a slow, steady, and short incline up to the top, where we took pictures with a sign showcasing our progress and some cool sticks the scouts picked up on the way. But with that finished, it was time to head to the car.

We mostly retraced our steps back to the parking, besides some rerouting to skip the harder sections, as the scouts were pretty tired by now. We kept going strong though, and in no time at all we had arrived at the car. Everyone packed up their things, and with some time left before we needed to drive into Tokyo for pick-up, the river was our next destination.

After a quick stop at a convenience store for some well deserved ice cream, we got to the river. The scouts collected cool rocks, tried to skip stones, and helped with some final touches on the photos before it was finally time to head back home. And after everyone had napped for a bit, we were there.

Today was a great start to TAK Autumn Camp 2023, and we're really looking forward to what's coming up next!