暑寒別岳 Mt. Shokanbetsu

Autumn in Hokkaido is a fickle season.  It acts like an end to summer when in fact it's just the gate for winter.  I am certain that winter is where I have the most fun living here in Hokkaido, but I am not certain that it is my favorite season. Autumn is full of expectation and romance.  I love autumn... I'm infatuated with winter.

When my family had decided that they wanted to join some friends for a lastish camp in Mashike, I knew my chance had come to go up Mt. Shokanbetsu. The entrance to the trail is about 11km from the coastal town of Mashike, at the end of a long winding road that is dotted with fruit stands fronting their orchards.  Autumn harvests include apples, pears, grapes, prunes, and plums... as far as I know. After crossing the bridge to enter the trail a look back at the lodge where apparently you may stay for no cost.

The trail starts here.  There is a rough map on the left and Mt. Shokanbetsu is shown off in the upper part of the map.

Even the forest leaves around the entrance to the forest trail had started to turn a bit yellow.

It was a beautiful day and the sun was starting to peak out from behind the trees.  On the 11 km    drive to the trail head I could see the peak of Shokanbetsu and the surrounding highlands. I knew these mountains were behind these trees but after clearing the trees I was most surprised at how far back they were.  Apparently the round trip to the top starting at the Mashike trail head is 20 kilometers!

Being fully into the autumn climate there were fungi here and there and I suppose some of them were edible. I'm also pretty sure I'm not taking my chances with this one.

After a fairly long walk, the first stage came into sight.  The sun was promising to do it's best to raise the temperature and soften the snow I had seen in the upper parts of the mountain.

No wind and just the sounds of nature on an absolutely beautiful forest on a pretty well maintained trail throughout.  There are even ropes for the steeper sections although on this day the ones near the top were unusable, buried in the snow..

The trail continued back toward Shokanbetsu.  Multiple highlands were marked by signs and before I knew it, I was rather high up on a ridge between relatively deep gorges, the deeper one being to my right (south). This is a sign marking one of those high points.

Snow!  I knew I would encounter snow but before I got half way up the mountain???  I was a little surprised and a bit apprehensive too.

Finally got to the half way point where the marker informed me that I had walked 6.2 km (I think)., and that I would have a 3.8 km walk to the top.  There was also a natural spring where you can apparently drink from. I was a little turned off by the blue sheet, but if I had been thirsty enough I suppose I would have given it a go.  Looked clean enough...

The view from the halfway point looking back on t he town of Mashike.

Beauty.

And more

Getting nearer the top the vegetation turns alpine and the pines are stubby, strong looking, earth stabilizing friends.

The views of the peak are starting to make me walk faster but they also keep me from holding a steady pace as I keep whipping out the camera for a quick snapshot.

The gorge to the southwest looks pretty deep from here.

Footing is starting to get tricky.  I decided to take my time with careful steps.

The town really looks far from here.  I would say it was roughly 20 km from this rock.

The opposite view from the previous picture.  The wind was coming hard now and the fellow who had been walking ahead of me decided to call it quits here.  I agreed that the top would probably be very cold and then I left him to his lunch, put on my jacket, and proceeded on.

More snow now...

Snowboarding down that bowl in winter would be a rush.  Apparently that way is a bit sketchy...

Everybody comes down this way and goes off to the north side (left).

After charging up that last little icy section in the picture above, I came up to the flatland that is the quite wide area at the top.  After a 10 or 15 minute stroll I was at the marker for the top of the mountain.  I couldn't resist snapping one of myself, being the small spirited person I am, continually searching for some kind of praise.  The third picture below is the view of the other side from the top.

It was a great climb and the trip down really was all about enjoying the changing of the seasons. I am hoping to make quite a few white climbs this season, but this yellow one was pretty satisfying too.

Back at the mountain hut.  Said good bye to the some people I had conversations with on the mountain and started back down to the riverside campsite.  Along the way I stopped by the fruit stand and bought pears and apples.  I was so thirsty and hungry, I ate the pear pesticides and all!!  Lived to tell about it too.

Summary:
Hike up time: 4.5 hours
Hike down time: 2 hours
Stamina: ★★★☆☆
Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆

Access:  There are two routes.  The more popular trail starts 11 km from the town of Mashike.  If you are driving into Mashike, the 7-11 on the left is the first mark.  Turn right there and about 800 meters up the street there is a sign for the Shokanbetsu Trail Entrance.  Follow that road for the next 11km and you'll find the trail.