God and the Golden Field

I’m sore and cold and my stomach may never be the same again, and I’ve just had probably the single most empowering and spiritual experience of my life. Just 24 hours ago I finished backpacking in Northern Kyushu. Mark T., Johnny (his son), Danny M. (older friend of Mark T.), Danny (my roommate), John-O, and myself decided to climb the second tallest mountain in Kyushu for fun. It was a two hour drive from Nagasaki to the base of the hiking trail. After donning our packs we headed off into a field of wheat-like 5 foot tall golden grass. These golden fields were accented by crisp blue skies and ominously tall orange brown mountains in the distance. We hiked a good hour and a half of hard up hill climbing until the mountain finally leveled off. Then, in a very Land Before Time moment, we crested the hill and looked down on a great valley of rippling golden grass, with a dark blue river cutting through it, and mountains steaming with volcanic activity on all sides. Add a quick forty minute hike down the hillside and with rubber legs we set up camp. This was easily the most spectacular place I’ve ever spent a night! The sounds of rushing water and wind rushing through grass made campfire chili that much better as we settled in for the night. As soon as it got dark it dropped to freezing and all the dew from the day froze creating a cold hard shell over everything. Luckily we had harvested a small forest worth of firewood to get us through a night of stories. The next morning came all too soon as we got up at 9 and ate a rushed breakfast. This was the big trek up the second tallest mountain in all of Kyushu. It was hard, but we didn’t have the packs this time so it went slightly quicker. After about three hours we reached the peak and oh what a glorious view it was. Clouds whipped around me and a frozen breeze chilled me to the bone, but I loved every second of it! At one point I mentally revisited my childhood fear of heights after looking down over a very steep drop off. So I crouched down between two rocks and watched the blasts of wind whip about through the ice encrusted azalea bushes that bloom pink in the spring. No fear, no remorse, just a sense of peace with the world and sheer wonder at the fact that I was having an experience like this. My sleep pattern needless to say has been greatly thrown off yet again and I’m drop dead tired. I’ve posted half of my photos from this trip and the days that led up to it. On flickr you’ll see some pictures of a family with a little girl dressed as a cat. They own a bar that loves Americans and serves the best fried chicken stomachs in all of Nagasaki. The man is hysterical, the woman is beautiful and 6 months pregnant and the little girl is cute enough to make your eyes explode! I’ve only been to the bar twice but they have come up and eaten lunch with me at the school many many times. There are also some pictures of my friends Charlie, EO, and K. Enjoy. I’ll put the other 50 up when I catch up on sleep. The weekend was such a joy! This trip is such a joy, and words will never do it justice. . . how can they.