Kurume mountains, still not rainy! 発心山・白山・グライダー山・桝形山・耳納山・兜山・月見山・高良山 2021/6/26

In this (still not) rainy season I took a trip down to Kurume to hike a set of mountains. Actually my plan was to hike Tenpaizan to Kiyama but I changed my mind on the train and stayed on all the way to Kurume. 

I started the hike at around 10:40 which was late compared to when I like to start. I started with the tallest mountain first and went straight up to Hosshinzan. It was a tiring climb but made a little more difficult due to the heat, good job a brought a towel! After enjoying top I hiked along to Korasan. Gliding Mountain was interesting it has panoramic views and I guess it was once a popular place to hand glide from. 

Crossing over the mountains was pretty easy, there is a popular road which says close to the hiking trail. You can sometimes choose to be on the road or use the hiking trail to cut of bends. But some of the forested areas had many spiders, over grown bushes and long grass. I went off the trail to explore a number of times and found other small mountains, an old camp site and many shrines and statues. Eventually I made it to Korasan and went down to the bus stop (It is more frequent than the train) and headed back to Kurume station. 

The best point is I finally hit more than 250 mountains which was my target for the year. So now a new target 275 by December!

Rainy season mushroom hike, Bamboo Mushroom 赤城山・城山・金山南岳・金山北岳・弥勒山

 Rainy season mushroom hike, Bamboo Mushroom 赤城山・城山・金山南岳・金山北岳・弥勒山 2021/6/12

It truly finally rainy season! I had seen reports of a strange a rare mushroom in a mountain in Munakata city so I got my rain gear ready and headed off to hunt down the mushroom. 

I found it near the bottom when I heard excited voices of people nearby. I was told that there were more further up so I kept my eyes peeled hunting for more as I hiked. A woman saw one a little way off the trail so I went to confirm it. There were more at the top and I even managed to find two more with white skirts on the other side of the mountain. The mushroom is Phallus indusiatus which according to Wikipedia has many names such as "bamboo mushrooms, bamboo pith, long net stinkhorn, crinoline stinkhorn or veiled lady". The top part the mushroom has a sticky slime which contains spores which are spread by insects that land on the mushroom to feed on the ooze. 

The rest of the hike was also wonderful Mirokuyama surprised me as I didn't expect much but it had many Buddhist statues, a sign and even a small hut on the way down. From there I walked back to Akama station. A wonderful rainy season hike! 

Click on the title to see the route map and Yamap post

In hunt of Miyama Kirishima at Hiijidake in Kuju 平治岳 2021/6/5

 In hunt of Miyama Kirishima at Hiijidake in Kuju 平治岳 2021/6/5

Today we got up early (2am) and set off to Oita to hike Hiijidake and see the Miyama Kirishima. Miyama Kirishima is a special species of Alpine Rhododendron that grow at around 1000m altitude and are smaller than typical Rhododendron Azaleas Tsutsuji. The names from Mt. Kirishima where they grow in abundance but the also are a popular sight in the Kuju Mountains and Mt. Unzen as well. 

We got to the Oike pond car park at 4:30am and rested a little until sunrise before setting off to hike Hiijidake. The trail is not too difficult but does involve climbing higher than most trailheads at Kuju. A Utongoshi mountain pass we found Hiijidake covered in bright pink flowers. It is a wonderful thing to see and is very beautiful. 

After coming down we went to visit Oike pond a small pool with beautiful blueish water. From there we went to Meisui waterfall which involved climbing over many fallen trees and ignoring lots of keep out signs. The water was raging and had the same blueish tint.

Please click on the title to see the Yamap link and route map

Kaho Alps hiking in Asakura 屏山・江川岳・馬見山・古処山 2021/5/22

 Kaho Alps hiking in Asakura 屏山・江川岳・馬見山・古処山 2021/5/22

Nice cool hiking weather before it becomes rainy and humid in the Japanese rainy season. Fukuoka is once again in a SoE with lots of shop, public services and Onsen closed. 

I stayed in Fukuoka and headed out to complete the Kaho Alps starting from Akizuki and headed the four main peaks in the area. Heavy rain during the previous week had left the streams and rivers swollen and it had spilled over to the main trail in many places. This meant crossing is more difficult than usual and it much more slippery.

I first headed to Heizan, Egawadake and then to Umamiyama which was my first time hiking to that peak. I visited Koshosan on the return journey because it is the one I have been to the most. On the way down I took a different route along the road and then used an old disused trail which used to have steps which are now becoming buried under the soil. 

Please click on title to see the Yamap post and map.