On Climbing Mt. Fuji

CATEGORY

life

Half a lifetime ago, I climbed Mt. Fuji, but I didn’t make it all the way to the top
Thinking back, it’s silly really, why I had to stop
I got up early, to take the bus from Yokosuka’s Navy base
To join a few shipmates, who invited me to take somebody else’s place
But nobody showed up for the 4am bus, so I went all alone!
I realized, after rushing to get there, that I forgot my wallet AND phone!
All I had was my ticket, a jacket, and a few hundred yen
When I arrived, I spent all of the money that I had, just to check in!
They gave me a map and a walking stick, but I couldn’t buy any water to quench my thirst
Half way up the mountain, I couldn’t decide which was worse
Watching groups of older folks, easily passing me by
Or the fact that I couldn’t catch my breath, because we were up so high!
The terrain of the mountain side, was like fine black sand
As I checked into the next station, they marked my walking stick with another kanji brand
They had oxygen, water and food for sale, but again, I had no money left
So I just meditated and took a few deep breaths
And tried to psych myself out, by pounding on my chest!
When I made it up to the next station, I was dizzy and breathing like I had almost drowned!
A guide spoke to me (in Japanese), and basically said, ‘You need to take your tired a$$ back down!’
I was so thirsty, but there weren’t any drinking fountains
So I slowly made my way back down, the world’s 35th tallest mountain (12,388 feet)
It was suddenly covered with a dense fog/mist
I was glad that I had made the trip
But honestly, I was so pissed
That I left my phone and wallet back on the ship!
But then half way down the mountain, I remembered this…
I had a disposable camera in the pocket of my jacket
So I asked an old lady (in the limited Japanese that I knew) if I posed for a picture, would she snap it?
She did
And here it is!