[{"content":"For Easter this year, I spent a week sport climbing in Buoux, France with A, T, M from the DAV climbing group.\nBuoux is located in the south of France, in the area of Luberon in Provence. It\u0026rsquo;s a beautiful area with many ruins and forts, delicious food and abundant sun.\nAuberge des Seguins We decided to stay at the Auberge des Seguins, which is a little hard to access without a car. So we drove (or my friends did, really need to learn to drive) from Berlin to Buoux. I was afraid of the 16h journey on the car even though I didn\u0026rsquo;t even have to drive, but it ended up being quite ok with some good company.\nBefore this trip, I had never heard of Buoux (pronounced \u0026ldquo;Bewx\u0026rdquo; by the way) - which seemed to have been a legendary 1980s sport climbing mecca known for its technical pocket-climbing on vertical limestone/sandstone.\nGetting there \u0026amp; accommodation # 16 hours in the car One could stay either in Bonnieux or Apt which are the nearby towns. We met some groups who were staying in a camp site in Bonnieux or there were a few parking spots near the crags where people camped out with their vans.\nFort de Buoux We decided to stay at the auberge, since it was at the center of all crags, all walking distance. I had imagined it to be a classic climbing hostel, but it was more like a mountain hut experience. We got the demi-pension that came with a 3 course dinner every night and breakfast! The food may have been the highlight, probably the best food I\u0026rsquo;ve had on a climbing trip in Europe.\nThe climbing # The rock formations were often beautiful with a mix of limestone and sandstone in one route. Most classic crags on the western side of the auberge were pretty hard, sandbagged and runout, mostly starting from 6a (which felt more like a 6b). The rocks felt sharp despite them being quite old, very grippy but lost quite a bit of skin even from the first day.\nThis was my first sport climbing trip after my ulnar nerve injury last year, and felt quite weak and frustrated overall, but still enjoyed hanging out at the crag in the sun.\nWe climbed on 6 days in total (Scorpion, P1, Colorado, Les Rives De L\u0026rsquo;Aigebrun).\nNote to self (for next time) # Saturday market I\u0026rsquo;d love to come back again when I\u0026rsquo;m much stronger. It\u0026rsquo;s also a nice place to maybe bring my parents since it offers not just climbing but also hiking, cycling and other sight-seeing options around the area (saturday markets, pretty cute villages). And the food is just amazing!\nComing to Provence also made me a bit nostalgic of the time back when I was living in the Pyrenees with M, there\u0026rsquo;s something about this place that makes me feel creative.\n","date":"April 11, 2026","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/week-climbing-buoux-france/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eFor Easter this year, I spent a week sport climbing in Buoux, France with A, T, M from the DAV climbing group.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBuoux is located in the south of France, in the area of Luberon in Provence. It\u0026rsquo;s a beautiful area with many ruins and forts, delicious food and abundant sun.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \n      \n      \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n    \u003cpicture\n      class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\n      \n    \u003e\n      \n      \n      \n      \n        \u003csource\n          \n            srcset=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/week-climbing-buoux-france/auberge-des-seguins-exterior_hu_28ccbd92ae9c1b11.webp 330w,https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/week-climbing-buoux-france/auberge-des-seguins-exterior_hu_affcbfe80aaf14c4.webp 660w\n            \n              ,https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/week-climbing-buoux-france/auberge-des-seguins-exterior_hu_596881fb02e7f021.webp 1024w\n            \n            \n              ,https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/week-climbing-buoux-france/auberge-des-seguins-exterior_hu_7a5d587f45877ecb.webp 1320w\n            \"\n          \n          sizes=\"100vw\"\n          type=\"image/webp\"\n        /\u003e\n      \n      \u003cimg\n        width=\"6000\"\n        height=\"4000\"\n        class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\n        alt=\"Auberge des Seguins exterior\"\n        loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\n        \n          src=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/week-climbing-buoux-france/auberge-des-seguins-exterior_hu_7244b9044708280b.jpg\" srcset=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/week-climbing-buoux-france/auberge-des-seguins-exterior_hu_1e62a20699dc700f.jpg 330w,https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/week-climbing-buoux-france/auberge-des-seguins-exterior_hu_7244b9044708280b.jpg 660w\n          \n            ,https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/week-climbing-buoux-france/auberge-des-seguins-exterior_hu_33f24169b232e57d.jpg 1024w\n          \n          \n            ,https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/week-climbing-buoux-france/auberge-des-seguins-exterior_hu_737ae09e96b03d33.jpg 1320w\n          \"\n          sizes=\"100vw\"\n        \n      /\u003e\n    \u003c/picture\u003e\n  \n\n\n    \u003cfigcaption class=\"text-center\"\u003eAuberge des Seguins\u003c/figcaption\u003e\n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eWe decided to stay at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.aubergedesseguins.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eAuberge des Seguins\u003c/a\u003e, which is a little hard to access without a car. So we drove (or my friends did, really need to learn to drive) from Berlin to Buoux. I was afraid of the 16h journey on the car even though I didn\u0026rsquo;t even have to drive, but it ended up being quite ok with some good company.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A week climbing in Buoux, France"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/activities/","section":"Activity","summary":"","title":"Activity"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/activities/climbing/","section":"Activity","summary":"","title":"Climbing"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/france/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"France"},{"content":"Hi, I\u0026rsquo;m Aya 👋\nWelcome to the Mountain Diaries, a public diary of my time spent outdoors.\nSee Komoot for GPX tracks and collections.\nFor any questions, ask away ❤️\n","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/","section":"Mountain Diaries","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHi, I\u0026rsquo;m Aya 👋\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWelcome to the \u003cstrong\u003eMountain Diaries\u003c/strong\u003e, a public diary of my time spent outdoors.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSee \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/user/1038695908463\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot\u003c/a\u003e for GPX tracks and collections.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor any questions, \u003ca href=\"mailto:mountaindiaries.blog@gmail.com\"\u003eask away\u003c/a\u003e ❤️\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mountain Diaries"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Places"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Posts"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/activities/information/","section":"Activity","summary":"","title":"Information"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been blogging on and off on the internet for about 10 years on different platforms, one of them being my outdoor blog where I document stuff about my outdoor outings (mostly to jot down things I want to remember). I\u0026rsquo;ve used wix.com, then migrated it to wordpress.org, tried self-hosting but that never happened.\nLast month, my wordpress.org subscription expired and I wanted to reflect whether this was something I wanted to continue paying for. And decided against it for various reasons.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t want to pay for it It\u0026rsquo;s slow UI is clunky and hard to customise Lack of portability Lack of AI ingest-ability (not that I want to necessarily do that) So I wanted something where it was\nSimple, fast Markdown (portability, timelessness) Customisable Version control Free Hugo and Congo #I\u0026rsquo;d heard of static site generators before but never used one. The main options were Hugo, Jekyll, and Eleventy. I went with Hugo mostly because it\u0026rsquo;s fast, has a large ecosystem of themes, and the documentation is decent. No real strong reason over the others — it just seemed like the one with the most momentum for the type of site I wanted.\nFor the theme, I found Congo which is clean, well-documented, and actively maintained. Out of the box it was already close to what I wanted. I spent some time customising it with my own CSS — a sage green palette (#e4e7e0 background, dark text, Inter font) — and at some point it finally felt like it was actually mine, which WordPress never really did.\nGetting the content out #WordPress lets you export everything as an XML file, which sounds straightforward until you open it. The actual post content is buried in there but comes out loaded with WordPress-specific metadata, mangled image paths (encoded URLs), old category names that made no sense anymore, and various other cruft.\nI wrote a Python script (cleanup_posts.py) to batch-process all ~97 posts. It:\nStripped WordPress metadata fields from the frontmatter Decoded and normalised image paths Remapped old category names to new ones Converted the frontmatter schema to the clean format I wanted Running it on all posts at once meant I could start fresh rather than spending weeks manually editing each file. The bulk clean wasn\u0026rsquo;t perfect — it got maybe 90% of the way there — but it meant the remaining manual work was much more manageable.\nRedesigning how things are organised #In WordPress I had a mess of categories accumulated over 10 years. Some were activity types, some were destinations, some were vague and overlapping. I wanted to start clean.\nI settled on two taxonomies: activities and countries. That\u0026rsquo;s it. Activities covers what I was doing (climbing, hiking, cycling, skiing, etc.) and countries covers where. For an outdoor travel blog, these two axes cover almost everything I actually want to filter by.\nI also added a layer of grouping — activities are grouped into Sports and Reflections, and countries are grouped by region (Europe, Asia, Middle East). This made the taxonomy pages more usable than a flat alphabetical list.\nThe editorial pass #After the bulk clean, every post was technically valid but not actually good. Images were missing alt text, some posts still had dead WordPress links, a lot had dated openers (\u0026ldquo;Last weekend I\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo;) that would read strangely years later, and the spelling and formatting was inconsistent.\nI did a post-by-post editorial pass in eight batches. What I was fixing each time:\nAdding descriptive alt text to images (not just filenames) Removing or replacing broken WordPress links Rewriting dated openers to be timeless Fixing spelling and typos Adding or correcting cover images Assigning the right activities and countries values Going through old posts one by one is a strange experience. Some I barely remembered writing. A few I was happy with. Quite a few were rougher than I\u0026rsquo;d remembered. It was a useful exercise in that it forced me to actually read everything I\u0026rsquo;d published over the years, even if most of it was just trip notes for my own reference.\nBuilding the logbook #Partway through the migration I realised I wanted a way to see all my mountaineering and climbing activity in one place — something like an IFMGA-style logbook. Not just links to posts, but a structured list with route, grade, date, partners, and notes.\nI designed a log: frontmatter block that can be added to any eligible post:\nlog: activity: mountaineering date: \u0026#34;2019-07-14\u0026#34; route: \u0026#34;Aiguille du Midi North Face\u0026#34; grade: \u0026#34;AD\u0026#34; partners: [name1, name2] notes: \u0026#34;Short note\u0026#34; The logbook page pulls all these entries and renders them in a table. I also backfilled historical entries that predate the blog as stub files — no body content, just the log: frontmatter — so the logbook has a complete record going back further than the posts do.\nIt took more work than I expected to build the layout and get the data flowing correctly, but it\u0026rsquo;s one of the things I\u0026rsquo;m most pleased with about the new site.\nGetting it live #For the theme, I ended up using Hugo modules instead of keeping Congo as a git submodule. This makes upgrades cleaner and means the theme isn\u0026rsquo;t tracked in my own repo.\nDeployment is via GitHub Actions — the workflow builds the site and pushes it to GitHub Pages. Getting the workflow right took a couple of iterations. The first version had an invalid hugo mod download step that broke the build; once that was removed it worked.\nWhere it stands now #The infrastructure is done. The content is mostly clean. The editorial pass is still ongoing — there are posts I haven\u0026rsquo;t fully reviewed yet — but the bulk of the hard work is behind me.\nThings I\u0026rsquo;d do differently: start with a cleaner taxonomy from the beginning rather than inheriting the WordPress category mess. The remapping worked but it required a lot of manual decision-making post-hoc that would have been easier to get right upfront.\nThings I\u0026rsquo;m happy with: the logbook, the aesthetic, having everything in git, Markdown that I can actually read and edit in any text editor. The site is fast, it costs nothing to run, and it feels like mine.\n","date":"March 31, 2026","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/moving-this-blog-to-hugo/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been blogging on and off on the internet for about 10 years on different platforms, one of them being my outdoor blog where I document stuff about my outdoor outings (mostly to jot down things I want to remember). I\u0026rsquo;ve used wix.com, then migrated it to wordpress.org, tried self-hosting but that never happened.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLast month, my wordpress.org subscription expired and I wanted to reflect whether this was something I wanted to continue paying for. And decided against it for various reasons.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Moving this blog to Hugo"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/austria/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Austria"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/activities/skiing/","section":"Activity","summary":"","title":"Skiing"},{"content":"I took a cross-country skiing course organized by the DNA Trails community in Seefeld (Langlaufschule Rückenwind Seefeld), which is about an hour away from Innsbruck by public transport.\nWhat’s cross-country skiing? #Cross-country skiing (XC) is part of Nordic skiing and is done on prepared tracks (“loipes”) or off-track in the backcountry. You move using a combination of leg push and pole push, with skis that allow you to go both uphill and downhill.\nThere are two main styles: classic (in parallel tracks) and skating (V-shaped, like ice skating).\nApparently, skiing for transport in snowy regions dates back several thousand years in northern Eurasia, especially Scandinavia and Russia. In the 19th century, it evolved into a sport in Norway and Sweden, with organized races and military patrol competitions. It became an Olympic sport for men in 1924 and for women in 1952 (interesting), and today there are multiple sprint, distance, and relay events.\nSince it’s the Winter Olympics season right now, I looked up what kind of XC-related events will be happening in 2026.\nThe Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will host 12 XC events, with men and women racing the same distances for the first time (also interesting):\n10 km + 10 km skiathlon (half classic, half skate) Classic sprints 10 km freestyle individual events 4 × 7.5 km relays (typically classic legs first, then skate) 50 km mass-start classic Equipment #The funny thing is that the skis, boots, and poles are different for classic versus skating. (I genuinely don’t know how people in Austria own so much gear for everything.)\nSkis: Longer and narrower than alpine skis. Bindings and boots: Lightweight, with a flexible toe and free heel. Poles: Longer than hiking poles — roughly shoulder height for classic, and almost up to your nose or chin for skating. I loved how light the skis were, and the boots were surprisingly comfortable.\nSummary #First, we learned how to glide and put all our weight on one foot while pushing with the other — basically skating along the engraved tracks on both sides. It was really difficult to balance. The skis are so thin and wobbly, and you have to put a lot of pressure on the inner side of your feet. It didn’t help that I have flat feet and they would completely collapse inward.\nIt was also interesting how much core engagement it required. You really have to hold your core tight and not let your hips sink whenever you transfer weight from one leg to the other. I quickly realized this was a movement I’m not very good at — it highlighted a lot of weaknesses and things I’d need to train more. I do think it would complement my running really well, though.\nIt was very exhausting overall, especially going uphill. Going downhill felt quite insecure. A lot of people seemed to pick it up very naturally. I was definitely one of the worst ones — but I still really enjoyed it and would love to go again to improve.\nI think it’s such an amazing activity on a nice sunny winter day. I’d especially love to try it in the woods next time, not just on a loipe.\nI really enjoyed it. I met some wonderful people, and I genuinely love these community events. I think they’re amazing.\n","date":"February 15, 2026","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/trying-cross-country-skiing-in-seefeld/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI took a cross-country skiing course organized by the DNA Trails community in Seefeld (Langlaufschule Rückenwind Seefeld), which is about an hour away from Innsbruck by public transport.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"whats-cross-country-skiing\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eWhat’s cross-country skiing? \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#whats-cross-country-skiing\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eCross-country skiing (XC) is part of Nordic skiing and is done on prepared tracks (“loipes”) or off-track in the backcountry. You move using a combination of leg push and pole push, with skis that allow you to go both uphill and downhill.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Trying Cross-Country Skiing in Seefeld"},{"content":"Date: Jan 31 2026\nLocation: Ice park near Innsbruck 47°01'53.4\u0026quot;N 10°44'50.1\u0026quot;E, Austria\nJ and I hired a private IFMGA-certified guide for about 5-6 hours.\nThe ice park is apparently open from December/January through early April. They even have lights so you can climb in the evenings during winter – pretty cool discovery.\nOur guide grew up in this area. His two brothers and father are all IFMGA mountain guides too. It made me think about how different our childhoods were – him growing up surrounded by mountains, me in Tokyo\u0026rsquo;s concrete jungle.\nEquipment basics # Before we touched the ice, we went through all the gear. Super helpful because I had no idea about the details.\nBoots \u0026amp; crampons: Learned about C-rated vs B3-rated boots. For technical ice climbing you need B3 boots – fully rigid mountaineering boots. They\u0026rsquo;re stiffer and work with technical crampons that have toe bail and heel clip systems (step-in crampons). Way more stable. For this course, I climbed in my 10yo hiking boots (C) and felt a bit more stiffness could\u0026rsquo;ve made things easier.\nThe guide also explained different crampon types – single-hook vs double-hook, how front point angles vary for waterfall ice vs dry tooling. For ice climbing: vertical or dual front points, steel not aluminum (they need to handle rock contact).\nIce tools: We tried different brands. Modern ice tools have curved shafts (not like traditional ice axes) which makes a huge difference on steep ice.\nFound this website from INTERNATIONAL ALPINE GUIDES BLOG very useful to understand different types of crampons and ice axes. The most important thing though about equipment is that you understand your tools and how to use them well. It\u0026rsquo;s never about the equipment but the user.\nMovement #The movement felt completely different from rock climbing. Some of it would actually help my sport climbing though.\nStarted by just walking up the wall with crampons while the guide pre-placed tools for handholds. The pattern: stance about shoulder-width, thrust hips out, step up while kicking firmly into ice, bring hips back in.\nTrust your feet: Biggest lesson. Unlike rock climbing where I hang on my arms too much, ice climbing is about keeping weight on your crampons. Keep heels down – if you point feet down or cock them sideways, crampon teeth won\u0026rsquo;t engage and you\u0026rsquo;ll slip.\nSmall steps: The guide kept emphasizing this. Small, deliberate steps instead of big reaches. I struggle with this in sport climbing (always making huge reaches because I\u0026rsquo;m short) so practicing it on ice felt like good cross-training.\nIce tool technique #Swing from the shoulder with loose grip, good wrist flick, let the tool strike cleanly. The downward pull is crucial so if you stand up too high above the ice axe, it won\u0026rsquo;t hold. This is something I had to remind myself constantly as I kept going higher above the holds (something I should do less in general even in sport climbing)\nPlacement matters too. On bulging surfaces you\u0026rsquo;ll break the ice. It\u0026rsquo;s crazy how easily ice can fracture if you\u0026rsquo;re not careful. I found it hard to aim precisely and get solid sticks in one swing (guide made it look effortless) but that\u0026rsquo;s practice.\nTop-roping and my bad habits #After practicing traverses on lower-angle terrain, we moved to top-rope on vertical sections. This is where all my gym climbing habits came out:\nKept forgetting to keep heels down Tried moving both hands at once instead of three points of contact Took big steps like on plastic instead of small controlled movements Guide was patient and corrected me in real-time. Made me aware of habits I never thought about.\nReading ice #Interesting learning to assess ice quality:\nBlue ice = generally good, solid Water flowing underneath = not good (melting/unstable) Check for aerated ice, ash layers, air pockets, snow layers – all compromise strength Ice screws and protection # Ice screws are hollow tubular steel screws you twist into ice for protection when leading.\nPlacement: Around 90 degrees perpendicular to ice surface, or slight downward angle (10-15 degrees) in poor quality ice. Place them hip to chest height for best leverage. Place in depressions or good solid ice – never on bulges where fracture lines could reach the surface.\nSharp teeth bite into ice initially, then threads guide it in as you turn clockwise. When hanger hits the wall, back it out slightly so hanger points in expected direction of pull.\nWhat surprised me: Tried yanking on ice that was only about 1 cm thick. Couldn\u0026rsquo;t break it off at all. Held my full body weight easily. This whole exercise made me feel way more secure about ice climbing than expected – maybe even more than trad climbing on rock.\nV-thread anchors (Abalakov anchors): Guide showed us how to create these by drilling two ice screw holes that intersect at roughly 60 degrees, then threading old rope through for rappel anchors. You can descend without leaving expensive gear. He showed us how to check existing ones on popular routes (make sure they\u0026rsquo;re not frozen in place or damaged).\nAfterthoughts # Not being in a big group was absolutely worth it. Guide could climb beside me, watch my technique in real-time, correct me immediately. Instead of just telling me what to do, he\u0026rsquo;d ask questions: \u0026ldquo;Why are you placing the screw here? Is it secure? Can you check?\u0026rdquo;\nLetting me figure things out with guidance rather than just giving answers made it stick better.\nWay more enjoyable than I expected. Really rewarding day. Now I\u0026rsquo;m curious about dry tooling and mixed climbing. Already thinking about when I can do it again.\nLinks:\nClimbers Paradise Eis Total Tips and techniques for ice climbing (Petzl) ","date":"February 1, 2026","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/first-time-ice-climbing/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDate: Jan 31 2026\u003c/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eLocation: Ice park near Innsbruck \u003ca href=\"https://share.google/3IBN8jYbusYO6Qx9B\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003e47°01'53.4\u0026quot;N 10°44'50.1\u0026quot;E\u003c/a\u003e, Austria\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJ and I hired a private IFMGA-certified guide for about 5-6 hours.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe ice park is apparently open from December/January through early April. They even have lights so you can climb in the evenings during winter – pretty cool discovery.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur guide grew up in this area. His two brothers and father are all IFMGA mountain guides too. It made me think about how different our childhoods were – him growing up surrounded by mountains, me in Tokyo\u0026rsquo;s concrete jungle.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"First time ice climbing"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/germany/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Germany"},{"content":"They say it’s the coldest winter Berlin has seen in 15 years = ice skating on a lake! My first time skating on a surface that isn\u0026rsquo;t an artificial ice rink. I was sceptical about the thickness and safety at first, but felt more comfortable as I got used to it. Lake near Buch north of Berlin Pankow.\n","date":"February 1, 2026","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/ice-skating-on-a-real-lake-in-berlin/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThey say it’s the coldest winter Berlin has seen in 15 years = ice skating on a lake! My first time skating on a surface that isn\u0026rsquo;t an artificial ice rink. I was sceptical about the thickness and safety at first, but felt more comfortable as I got used to it. Lake near Buch north of Berlin Pankow.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"gallery gallery-cols-1\"\u003e  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/img_8903.jpg\" alt=\"ice-skating-lake-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/a388b866-b2eb-4b2c-8264-85a419ab3b00.jpg\" alt=\"ice-skating-lake-2\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e","title":"Ice skating on a real lake in Berlin"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/activities/skating/","section":"Activity","summary":"","title":"Skating"},{"content":"When: Jan 30 2026\nWhere: Hochfügen\nWoke up at 4am to ski towards sunrise. Wished there were a bit more snow, but ski-touring before breakfast and work is 🤌\n","date":"February 1, 2026","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/sunrise-ski-touring/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhen: Jan 30 2026\u003cbr\u003e\nWhere: \u003cem\u003eHochfügen\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWoke up at 4am to ski towards sunrise. Wished there were a bit more snow, but ski-touring before breakfast and work is 🤌\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/img_2438.jpg\" alt=\"sunrise-ski-touring-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/img_2444.jpg\" alt=\"sunrise-ski-touring-2\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/img_9019.jpg\" alt=\"sunrise-ski-touring-3\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/img_2449.jpg\" alt=\"sunrise-ski-touring-4\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/img_2451.jpg\" alt=\"sunrise-ski-touring-5\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e","title":"Sunrise ski touring"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s already December so it\u0026rsquo;s time to look back on the year.\n2025 Goals # Long distance bike trip in Europe (Berlin - Northcape) ✅ Climbing more consistently ✅ Go on a few climbing trips (Leonidio, South America? or somewhere I haven\u0026rsquo;t been yet. Could be nice to go to Antalya for my birthday or Christmas/NY) ✅ Up my mental game, fight my fear of falling, just stay chill + calm. ✅ Always happy moods + good vibes while at the crag, esp on a bad day or when I\u0026rsquo;m shit scared. ✅ Comfortably lead 6c. ✅ A longer multi-pitch. ✅ 10 pull-ups in a row ❌ Improve finger strength ❌ Run more consistently for my mental health and more on trails! ⚠️ Trail race in Japan ✅ Trail race in Europe ❌ DON\u0026rsquo;T GET INJURED = consistent strength \u0026amp; functional training + conditioning ❌❌❌ Volunteer at an event ❌ Some bonuses:\nSpent time in Innsbruck, city in the mountains ✅ Completed the \u0026ldquo;30 day trail running challenge\u0026rdquo; and climbed the height of Mt Everest in 30 days ✅ I hiked up a snowy mountain and a glacier with crampons and ice axe! ✅ I did a few multi pitches and lead a few of them too! ✅ I learned to trad climb, and took courses in projecting ✅ I skied in Austria, and bought touring skis ✅ I learned a lot about ultra cycling and recovered from a nerve injury ✅ I sent a 6c+ outside in Spain ✅ I went on a 2 week solo climbing trip to Spain ✅ I did my first Via Ferata ✅ 2026 Goals #Running # Be consistent with running (2000km/year) Innsbruck Alpine K25 in May (under 3 hours) Berlin Marathon 2026 (finish without injury) Start strength training for running Biking # Go on a bikepacking trip Unicycle trip Mountains # Do a solo week long hiking tour Get better at skiing Go on a ski tour Do an alpine mountaineering course Climbing # At least two overseas climbing trips Climb a 7a outdoors 10 pull-ups in a row Big Wall Climbing!!! Improve finger strength A festival? Other # Change the way I make content and record my activities Transfer this blog somewhere else Try high-lining Do a paragliding course ","date":"January 2, 2026","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/2026-outdoor-goals/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s already December so it\u0026rsquo;s time to look back on the year.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"2025-goals\" class=\"relative group\"\u003e2025 Goals \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#2025-goals\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLong distance bike trip in Europe (Berlin - Northcape) ✅\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eClimbing more consistently ✅\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGo on a few climbing trips (Leonidio, South America? or somewhere I haven\u0026rsquo;t been yet. Could be nice to go to Antalya for my birthday or Christmas/NY) ✅\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUp my mental game, fight my fear of falling, just stay chill + calm. ✅\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlways happy moods + good vibes while at the crag, esp on a bad day or when I\u0026rsquo;m shit scared. ✅\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComfortably lead 6c. ✅\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA longer multi-pitch. ✅\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e10 pull-ups in a row ❌\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eImprove finger strength ❌\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRun more consistently for my mental health and more on trails! ⚠️\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTrail race in Japan ✅\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTrail race in Europe ❌\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDON\u0026rsquo;T GET INJURED = consistent strength \u0026amp; functional training + conditioning ❌❌❌\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVolunteer at an event ❌\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome bonuses:\u003c/p\u003e","title":"2026 Outdoor goals"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/activities/goals/","section":"Activity","summary":"","title":"Goals"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/activities/cycling/","section":"Activity","summary":"","title":"Cycling"},{"content":"Some stats from the Northcape 4000 2025 finishers list.\nFinishers by Gender \u0026amp; Start Location\nGender Berlin Rovereto Total Female 13 30 43 Male 62 201 263 Total 75 231 306 Note:\nThis table counts only finishers whose gender could be inferred from the first name and who had a clear start location (Berlin or Rovereto). Finishers with unclear or missing start locations were excluded from the table. The earlier total (313) includes 7 participants with missing/ambiguous start locations, which is why the table totals 306. CategoryParticipantsFinishersFinish RateFemale734561.6%****Male44126860.8%Total51431360.9%\n","date":"November 28, 2025","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/ultracycling-finishers-list-gender-analysis/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSome stats from the \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aWoOQt-6LWaXAAU7n_GAMIgNstjtm-lq/view\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eNorthcape 4000 2025 finishers\u003c/a\u003e list.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinishers by Gender \u0026amp; Start Location\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable\u003e\n  \u003cthead\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003eGender\u003c/th\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003eBerlin\u003c/th\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003eRovereto\u003c/th\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003eTotal\u003c/th\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003c/thead\u003e\n  \u003ctbody\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eFemale\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e13\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e30\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e43\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eMale\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e62\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e201\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e263\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTotal\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e75\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e231\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e306\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNote:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis table counts only finishers whose \u003cstrong\u003egender could be inferred\u003c/strong\u003e from the first name \u003cem\u003eand\u003c/em\u003e who had a clear start location (Berlin or Rovereto).\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFinishers with unclear or missing start locations were excluded from the table.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe earlier total (313) includes 7 participants with missing/ambiguous start locations, which is why the table totals 306.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCategoryParticipantsFinishersFinish Rate\u003cstrong\u003eFemale\u003c/strong\u003e7345\u003cstrong\u003e61.6%****Male\u003c/strong\u003e441268\u003cstrong\u003e60.8%\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTotal\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e514\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e313\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e60.9%\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Ultracycling finisher's list gender analysis"},{"content":"Went on a road trip around the alps with J. Wrote about it in detail on my Japanese blog here.\nAustria, Italy, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein Innsbruck - Finale Ligure - Verdon Gorge - Mont Ventoux - Grenoble - Annecy - Chamonix - Furkapass - Vaduz Spent a day climbing in Ligure visiting C \u0026amp; P from Berlin, a really cute town and great rocks Visited J\u0026rsquo;s friend and did a multi-pitch in Verdon Gorge in France. It was a rappel-first 8 pitch multi-pitch 5b. Didn\u0026rsquo;t realise how sandbagged the grading was in France and cried \u0026amp; got pulled my way up. Very bad idea esp. when recovering from a nerve injury. There was a group of highliners from Marseille and a 400m highline - that looked very cool Night-hike Mont Ventoux - For J and his dad Grenoble - visiting J\u0026rsquo;s friends living in Grenoble. Cool city, not sure if I want to live here though Annecy - very cute, stayed in a tiny but super central Airbnb. Loved the city compared to Grenoble. Chamonix - touristy, did a small hike up to the glaciers Furkapass - another small hike up with a view to the glaciers A quick pass through Liechtenstein and back to Innsbruck Things I learned Was fun but only because of good company Highlights were bathing in lakes at night, camping out under the stars Prefer bike packing over road trips probably Spent around 650 EUR for gas + food + accommodation probably ","date":"November 10, 2025","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/9-day-road-trip-around-the-alps/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWent on a road trip around the alps with J. Wrote about it in detail on my Japanese blog \u003ca href=\"https://note.com/babysteps_ippo/m/md7c63a9bad53\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAustria, Italy, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInnsbruck - Finale Ligure - Verdon Gorge - Mont Ventoux - Grenoble - Annecy - Chamonix - Furkapass - Vaduz\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSpent a day climbing in Ligure visiting C \u0026amp; P from Berlin, a really cute town and great rocks\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVisited J\u0026rsquo;s friend and did a multi-pitch in Verdon Gorge in France. It was a rappel-first 8 pitch multi-pitch 5b. Didn\u0026rsquo;t realise how sandbagged the grading was in France and cried \u0026amp; got pulled my way up. Very bad idea esp. when recovering from a nerve injury. There was a group of highliners from Marseille and a 400m highline - that looked very cool\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNight-hike Mont Ventoux - For J and his dad\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGrenoble - visiting J\u0026rsquo;s friends living in Grenoble. Cool city, not sure if I want to live here though\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnnecy - very cute, stayed in a tiny but super central Airbnb. Loved the city compared to Grenoble.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChamonix - touristy, did a small hike up to the glaciers\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFurkapass - another small hike up with a view to the glaciers\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA quick pass through Liechtenstein and back to Innsbruck\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThings I learned\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWas fun but only because of good company\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHighlights were bathing in lakes at night, camping out under the stars\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePrefer bike packing over road trips probably\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSpent around 650 EUR for gas + food + accommodation probably\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/image.png\" alt=\"alps-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/image-1.png\" alt=\"alps-2\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/image-2.png\" alt=\"alps-3\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e","title":"9 day road trip around the alps"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/activities/hiking/","section":"Activity","summary":"","title":"Hiking"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/italy/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Italy"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/liechtenstein/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Liechtenstein"},{"content":" Similaun von vent (one night at the Similaun Hut) Full report here Is giving up an act of courage or an escape? Where is the line between the two?\nIn mid-September, I went on one last mountain climb of the summer season with J. This time, we were climbing Similaun, a 3,606-meter peak on the border between Austria and Italy.\nIt’s technically a snow-season climb, but with a difficulty rating of F (Facile) on the SAC scale - the easiest level so I figured it would be easy enough.\nWe spent a night at Similaunhütte, a mountain hut at 3,019 meters, planning to head for the summit early the next morning. But I was already feeling unwell at the hut. (fainted from anemia) The weather wasn’t ideal either.\nAround 3,400 meters, I was unusually nauseous and felt my knee injury. The clear sky suddenly clouded over and turned into a blizzard. It became a true winter mountain - visibility less than 10 meters. My hands were so frozen I could barely grip my ice axe (especially with my ulnar nerve non-functioning, I could barely use my hands, not super safe in hindsight)\nJ asked me repeatedly if I wanted to turn back but I refused stubbornly until he made the decision to turn back for the both of us - smart of him, stupid on my part. Very ashamed how stubborn I was and also very indecisive about whether to keep going or to turn back.\nEven though we didn\u0026rsquo;t make it to the top, I still learned a lot and enjoyed parts of the trip.\n","date":"November 10, 2025","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/similaun-von-vent-3606m/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.bergsteigen.com/touren/hochtour/similaun-von-vent/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eSimilaun von vent\u003c/a\u003e (one night at the Similaun Hut)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFull report \u003ca href=\"https://note.com/babysteps_ippo/n/n85ed20a8924b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/cleanshot-2025-11-10-at-14.16.35402x.png\" alt=\"similaun-vent-3606m-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eIs giving up an act of courage or an escape? Where is the line between the two?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn mid-September, I went on one last mountain climb of the summer season with J. This time, we were climbing Similaun, a 3,606-meter peak on the border between Austria and Italy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s technically a snow-season climb, but with a difficulty rating of F (Facile) on the SAC scale - the easiest level so I figured it would be easy enough.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Similaun von Vent (3606m)"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/switzerland/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Switzerland"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/activities/injury/","section":"Activity","summary":"","title":"Injury"},{"content":"Two months have passed since my 3 week ultra cycling race in August, and I wanted to share an honest update about my recovery journey - both for my hands and my knee. It’s been a slow, humbling process.\nUlnar nerve compression: 8 weeks later #After the race, I was diagnosed with ulnar nerve compression in both hands, more pronounced on the right side.\nSymptoms and progress # Motor function: My right hand still shows noticeable weakness. I struggle to extend my ring and pinky fingers when my hand is at a 90° angle, but I can now almost do it - a big improvement compared to the early weeks. Grip strength: Still around 50% of normal on the right, and maybe 60% on the left. Everyday tasks like pinching or holding objects are easier now, though climbing proved challenging - I couldn’t maintain a strong grip during a short bouldering session. Sensation: Tingling persists in both fingers, especially in the pinky and ring fingers. However, the constant pain in my palm has largely subsided. Muscle atrophy: I’ve noticed some visible recovery in muscle mass, though there’s still a lingering tension in my palm even at rest. Overall, while the healing feels slow, I’m seeing gradual improvements in strength and mobility. It’s a reminder that nerve recovery often happens on its own timeline - measured in months, not weeks.\nI\u0026rsquo;m also still unsure whether the compression is actually in the guyon canal on my palms or my elbows. I\u0026rsquo;ve always felt some tingling on my left arm and my nerve conduction test results came back suggesting the compressions are in the elbows, more severe in my left. It is possible that I have compression both in my palms and my elbows though. Left side is improving slower, although right side was more severe in terms of symptoms.\nKnee pain and biomechanics #Alongside my hand issues, I’ve been managing pain in my right knee, particularly when I overextend or run downhill. The area still feels tender and slightly inflamed, but the pain is fading over time. I do also feel like my knees changed shape - or still inflamed but maybe I\u0026rsquo;m over-paranoid.\nA recent session with a biomechanics specialist Spiraldynamik suggested that my knee issues stem from improper hip engagement during running. I tend to rotate my knees inward instead of driving through my hips, which puts unnecessary stress on the knee joint and contributes to my lower back problems (including a mild herniated disc, plantar fasciitis from before).\nLearning to retrain movement patterns - using my hips efficiently, trusting my stride, and maintaining alignment - has been an eye-opener. It’s not just about strength, but about coordination and awareness.\nNext steps #The next phase of recovery is about gradual reintegration:\nContinuing nerve gliding and grip exercises Building upper body and core stability Figure out bike fit (change to shorter cranks, get better saddle) Progressive mobility work for the hips and feet ","date":"October 14, 2025","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/injury-update-ulnar-nerve-compression-and-knee-pain-after-ultra-cycling-8-weeks-post-race/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eTwo months have passed since my 3 week ultra cycling race in August, and I wanted to share an honest update about my recovery journey - both for my hands and my knee. It’s been a slow, humbling process.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"ulnar-nerve-compression-8-weeks-later\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eUlnar nerve compression: 8 weeks later \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#ulnar-nerve-compression-8-weeks-later\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter the race, I was diagnosed with \u003cstrong\u003eulnar nerve compression\u003c/strong\u003e in both hands, more pronounced on the right side.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Injury update: ulnar nerve compression"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/finland/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Finland"},{"content":"Cycling 3000km across 5 countries from Berlin to the North Cape in 18 days.\nDate: 31.07.2025 - 17.08.2025\nKomoot collection: Berlin to North Cape in 18 days 2025\nDay Distance Elevation (↑/↓) Route / Location Accommodation 1 158 km 600m / 600m Berlin → Star Camp Cosa (Mecklenburg, 🇩🇪) Komoot Camp (Star Camp Cosa) – 7 EUR/person 2 69.2 km 420m / 540m Świnoujście (🇩🇪/🇵🇱) Komoot Ferry to Ystad – 23.96 EUR/person 3 161.7 km 1460m / 1390m Ystad → Älmhult (🇸🇪) Komoot1, Komoot2 Shelter (56.599500, 14.002400) – 0 EUR 4 200 km 1680m / 1730m Gränna (🇸🇪) Komoot Camp (First Camp Gränna) – 4 EUR/person (bivouac) 5 179 km 2160m / 2240m Örebro (🇸🇪) Komoot Hotel (Hotell Örebro) – 80 EUR 6 108 km 1770m / 1560m Kloten (🇸🇪) Komoot Kloten Camping (Dorm bed) – 30 EUR 7 183.3 km 2500m / 2550m Svabensverk (🇸🇪) Komoot1, Komoot2 Svabensverk Natural Camping – 10 EUR/tent 8 241 km 3290m / 3580m Sundsvall (🇸🇪) Komoot1, Komoot2 Hotel – 65 EUR/room 9 201.3 km 2530m / 2550m Överhörnäs (🇸🇪) Komoot1, Komoot2 Hostel Högsnäsgården – 58 EUR/room 10 192 km 1950m / 1780m Lycksele (🇸🇪) Komoot1, Komoot2, Komoot3 First Camp Ansia – Lycksele 11 75.9 km 750m / 670m Norsjö (🇸🇪) Komoot Airbnb – 30 EUR/person 12 199 km 1990m / 2240m Boden (🇸🇪) Komoot Boden First Camp (Cabin) – 17 EUR/person 13 163 km 1670m / 1560m Övertorneå / Aavasaksa (🇸🇪/🇫🇮) Komoot Airbnb – 50 EUR/person 14 104 km 970m / 1050m Rovaniemi (🇫🇮) Komoot Airbnb – 30 EUR/person 15 181.3 km 1370m / 1190m Peurasuvanto (🇫🇮) Komoot1, Komoot2 Cabin (Peurasuvanto Cottages \u0026amp; Camping) – 40 EUR/person 16 204.2 km 2220m / 2250m Inari (🇫🇮) Komoot1, Komoot2 Cabin (Muotkan Ruoktu Tunturikylä) – 30 EUR/person 17 137 km 1320m / 1560m Lakselv (🇳🇴) Komoot Verdde Hotel Lakselv – 60 EUR/person 18 188 km 2270m / 1940m North Cape (🇳🇴) Komoot Bivouac – 0 EUR/person Cost \u0026amp; Logistics #Total: Just under 3000 EUR 😅\nCategory Cost Bike + gear ~€1,200 Entry fee €397 Doctor\u0026rsquo;s signature (health certificate) €60 Accommodation (18 days) €548.96 Travel €391.50 Food \u0026amp; road purchases €823 Accommodation – €548.96 (18 days) # Range: €0 (free shelters/bivouacs, 2 nights) to €80 (hotel in Örebro) Average per night: ~€30.50 total / €15.25 per person Breakdown: camps (€4–30), hotels (€60–80), hostels (€58), Airbnbs (€30–50/person), cabins (€17–40/person), 2 free nights Travel – €391.50 # Item Cost Ferry (Świnoujście → Ystad) €23.96/person North Cape visitor centre entry €11.97 Honningsvåg → Alta bus €35.57 Alta → Berlin flight + bike fee €260 + €40 = €300 Bike box €20 Food \u0026amp; Road Purchases – €823 #Food: €30–40/day\nBike shop: bike tube (€10), new bike shoes (€150), sunglasses (€40), bike shoe rain cover (€30), chain lube (€10), spare cleat screws (free), sandals (€5), elastic cords (€10?), spare socks (€20), leggings (€8)\nMeds (~€80): ibuprofen, vaseline, magnesium tablets, anti-inflammatory cream, baby cream, baby wipes, contact lens solution, kinesio tape\nAn introduction to endurance cycling (and road biking in general) — I made amazing new friends, discovered more about my limits, and learned how I handle pain and injury (especially in the aftermath!). It was without a doubt one of the more memorable experiences of my life. I’m so so grateful to everyone I met along the way and to all who supported me throughout. Especially the Leprottis - I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have reached the half-point without these guys and to J and my family for all the encouraging words. And in general, the kindness and support I received along the way is just crazy - not sure if I deserved it all - but I definitely want to live up to it, you\u0026rsquo;ve all been so inspiring ❤️\n","date":"September 13, 2025","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/northcape4000/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eCycling 3000km across 5 countries from Berlin to the North Cape in 18 days.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDate: 31.07.2025 - 17.08.2025\u003cbr\u003e\nKomoot collection: \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/collection/3815388/-berlin-to-north-cape-in-18-days-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eBerlin to North Cape in 18 days 2025\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/img_6604-2-1.jpg\" alt=\"northcape4000-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/img_6152-1.jpg\" alt=\"northcape4000-2\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/img_6293-1.jpg\" alt=\"northcape4000-3\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003ctable\u003e\n  \u003cthead\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003eDay\u003c/th\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003eDistance\u003c/th\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003eElevation (↑/↓)\u003c/th\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003eRoute / Location\u003c/th\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003eAccommodation\u003c/th\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003c/thead\u003e\n  \u003ctbody\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e1\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e158 km\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e600m / 600m\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eBerlin → Star Camp Cosa (Mecklenburg, 🇩🇪) \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2454521477\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eCamp (Star Camp Cosa) – \u003cstrong\u003e7 EUR/person\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e2\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e69.2 km\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e420m / 540m\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eŚwinoujście (🇩🇪/🇵🇱) \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2455383669\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eFerry to Ystad – \u003cstrong\u003e23.96 EUR/person\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e3\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e161.7 km\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e1460m / 1390m\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eYstad → Älmhult (🇸🇪) \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2456219828\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot1\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2461086108\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot2\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eShelter (56.599500, 14.002400) – \u003cstrong\u003e0 EUR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e4\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e200 km\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e1680m / 1730m\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eGränna (🇸🇪) \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2461099897\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eCamp (First Camp Gränna) – \u003cstrong\u003e4 EUR/person (bivouac)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e5\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e179 km\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e2160m / 2240m\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eÖrebro (🇸🇪) \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2463708047\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eHotel (Hotell Örebro) – \u003cstrong\u003e80 EUR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e6\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e108 km\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e1770m / 1560m\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eKloten (🇸🇪) \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2466340982\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eKloten Camping (Dorm bed) – \u003cstrong\u003e30 EUR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e7\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e183.3 km\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e2500m / 2550m\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eSvabensverk (🇸🇪) \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2475718468\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot1\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2475721751\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot2\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eSvabensverk Natural Camping – \u003cstrong\u003e10 EUR/tent\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e8\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e241 km\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e3290m / 3580m\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eSundsvall (🇸🇪) \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2475741570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot1\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2475742094\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot2\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eHotel – \u003cstrong\u003e65 EUR/room\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e9\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e201.3 km\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e2530m / 2550m\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eÖverhörnäs (🇸🇪) \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2475743241\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot1\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2475749444\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot2\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eHostel Högsnäsgården – \u003cstrong\u003e58 EUR/room\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e10\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e192 km\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e1950m / 1780m\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eLycksele (🇸🇪) \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2479143598\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot1\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2479147083\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot2\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2479149348\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot3\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eFirst Camp Ansia – Lycksele\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e11\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e75.9 km\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e750m / 670m\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eNorsjö (🇸🇪) \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2482724144\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eAirbnb – \u003cstrong\u003e30 EUR/person\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e12\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e199 km\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e1990m / 2240m\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eBoden (🇸🇪) \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2486104924\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eBoden First Camp (Cabin) – \u003cstrong\u003e17 EUR/person\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e13\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e163 km\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e1670m / 1560m\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eÖvertorneå / Aavasaksa (🇸🇪/🇫🇮) \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2488669617\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eAirbnb – \u003cstrong\u003e50 EUR/person\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e14\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e104 km\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e970m / 1050m\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eRovaniemi (🇫🇮) \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2491522770\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eAirbnb – \u003cstrong\u003e30 EUR/person\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e15\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e181.3 km\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e1370m / 1190m\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003ePeurasuvanto (🇫🇮) \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2492290514\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot1\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2494846356\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot2\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eCabin (Peurasuvanto Cottages \u0026amp; Camping) – \u003cstrong\u003e40 EUR/person\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e16\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e204.2 km\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e2220m / 2250m\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eInari (🇫🇮) \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2497170440\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot1\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2497179927\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot2\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eCabin (Muotkan Ruoktu Tunturikylä) – \u003cstrong\u003e30 EUR/person\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e17\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e137 km\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e1320m / 1560m\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eLakselv (🇳🇴) \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2500174284\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eVerdde Hotel Lakselv – \u003cstrong\u003e60 EUR/person\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e18\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e188 km\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e2270m / 1940m\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eNorth Cape (🇳🇴) \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/tour/2505070782\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eBivouac – \u003cstrong\u003e0 EUR/person\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"cost--logistics\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eCost \u0026amp; Logistics \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#cost--logistics\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTotal: Just under 3000 EUR 😅\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Northcape4000"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/norway/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Norway"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/poland/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Poland"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/sweden/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Sweden"},{"content":"I participated in a cycling race where I cycled 3,000 km in 18 days without any training or ever having ridden a sports bike before. I did a 60K ultra run 10 years ago where I ended up with a hip flexor injury that lasted six months, so I knew there was a big risk of injury going in. I just didn\u0026rsquo;t know or underestimated how much it would affect me afterward.\nThis post is a reminder not to repeat the same mistake again.\nKnee Pain #On the third day, I started feeling some discomfort around my right knee. This got worse over time, and I started taking 400 mg ibuprofen every morning and evening. I would wake up not feeling any pain in the morning sometimes, but the pain would come back during the day while riding, always around after 150km, especially on days with a lot of elevation. I started using kinesiology tape, which helped a little to stabilize my knee. I also felt less pain in my knee after two weeks of riding. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure if this was because my legs were getting used to the riding or because I got used to the pain.\nI tried everything: putting the saddle up, putting the saddle down, changing the seat position, changing the handlebar position, the tilt of the handlebar. The problem was that I didn\u0026rsquo;t get a professional bike fit, it was a very new bike, and I had never ridden a bike with drop-down handlebars or clipless pedals before.\nAfter the bike trip, with a bit of rest, the pain is very noticeable when I go down stairs or need to step on a big step. I feel it when I have to put pressure or force while bending my knee.\nBike fitting #After the bike trip, I went to see a professional bike fitter to try to figure out the cause of the knee pain. The main culprit seems to be the crank length —the crank was too long for my height. I am 155 cm tall and have relatively shorter legs than average and I was using a 165cm crank length which seems to be the shortest that bikes come in by default. The bike fitter suggested that I get max 150 mm cranks (apparently the most typical manufacturer for this is ROTOR, 150mm is also the shortest they offer)\nThis video was very helpful too:\nOther recommendations:\nwider saddle narrower handlebar I am always sad that the cycling industry is really catered towards average white male body size and that it\u0026rsquo;s very hard to find things that fit me. Brands like Liv, Canyon, Specialized and Cannondale seem to have options though. Notes to future self.\nAnkle Pain #I started the bike trip with a brand new pair of Shimano clip-on shoes that were a bit too big for me, especially when it rained and the shoes got wet. I decided to buy a new pair on the way, which turned out to be too small, and I think I bruised my Achilles a little bit. This was painful and still is a few weeks after the bike trip. Maybe I need to get better-fitting shoes and I don\u0026rsquo;t think Shimano shoes work for me in general, something to remember.\nCyclist\u0026rsquo;s palsy #I started noticing that I was losing grip strength after a week or two into cycling, but I didn\u0026rsquo;t think too much of it because I assumed it was normal to have numb, weak hands after gripping onto the handlebars for so long. It was also cold, so I didn\u0026rsquo;t really notice it. I started noticing it more in the last week when I got a flat tire and was not able to change my tire on my own. I started really struggling to shift gears and needed to use my entire hand to push the shift levers, but I thought if I stopped cycling, this would go away.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s been three weeks since I stopped cycling, and I\u0026rsquo;m still feeling numbness in both hands, weakness in both hands, and some discomfort and tightness around the guyon tunnel and wrist. I might have a bad case of cyclist\u0026rsquo;s palsy.\nI know that hand numbness is quite common and takes a few weeks or months to recover. I think the cause of the hand issues is a combination of different things:\nI wasn\u0026rsquo;t trained for this, so after long days of cycling, I didn\u0026rsquo;t have enough core strength to keep my body upright and leaned heavily against my hands, which put a lot of pressure on my palms I didn\u0026rsquo;t have aero bars, which would\u0026rsquo;ve significantly reduced the pressure on my hands This is an assumption, but because of the long cranks, I felt very unstable on my bike and had to balance with my hands a lot, which meant putting a lot of pressure on my hands It was a gravel bike, but on the first day, I changed the 38mm tires to 25mm slick tires just to keep up with my friend who had a road bike. This significantly increased the vibration from the road. In hindsight, I should\u0026rsquo;ve bought a bike for the specific occasion The handlebar was a bit too wide, which led to me rolling my hands inward, increasing pressure on my palms. Also, halfway into the trip, I tilted the handlebars slightly upward to reduce reach, which may have been too extreme and tilted my wrist angle too much, putting it in an awkward position that could\u0026rsquo;ve worsened the condition I\u0026rsquo;ve never been able to let go of my right hand when riding a bike in general, all my life, which meant I was constantly holding the bike with my right hand without ever letting go. This makes sense as to why my right hand is worse—my ulnar nerve is significantly compressed to the point that I cannot extend my ring and pinky fingers, whereas I\u0026rsquo;m only feeling numbness and weakness in my left hand. I also have imbalances between my right and left sides, as does anybody, and this is something I could definitely work on for better performance and health. I am right-handed, and I noticed I was getting sores only on my right side of my butt and knee pain only on the right knee, which is something I need to figure out. I also know my right arm is significantly stronger, and I can even see the imbalance from behind when I\u0026rsquo;m climbing—I am more stable on the right side. I think this is a good time to assess my body imbalances and work on weaknesses to prevent further injuries. I didn\u0026rsquo;t notice any of the above symptoms while riding the bike, so it would\u0026rsquo;ve been helpful if I hadn\u0026rsquo;t had the knee pain, which really focused my attention on the knee and prevented me from giving attention to other parts of my body. I was also constantly on painkillers, which numbed me out. In hindsight, I should never continue with any kind of endurance race if I have to be on painkillers—I think this should be a new rule in my rulebook.\nRecovering from the Injury #I never had a nerve injury, so this has been a very scary experience—not having motor function in my right hand and not being able to do day-to-day activities like opening a jar, opening a door, or holding onto things. Also, the fact that symptoms seemed to worsen every day was very scary.\nNutrition and Recovery #Through this experience, I learned how important nutrition, fueling, and recovery are, especially in a long-distance endurance event like this.\nTakeaways # When getting into a new sport, always assess injury risk. Preferably prepare as much as I can, train for it, and get a coach for better feedback Do not continue any activity if I have to take ibuprofen continuously. Make a rule for when to continue and when to push through. Not finishing is not a bad thing—sometimes it takes courage to stop and choose health over dealing with long-term consequences of an injury I\u0026rsquo;ve always been scared of injuries and am a little hypochondriac, but maybe this is a good time to learn to deal with injuries better, which is part of the game. I need to learn to deal with injuries if they happen in the future How to Deal with an Injury # Give yourself a moment to grieve, but set a time limit Diagnose aggressively Create a recovery plan Record the progress Focus on the Positives #Everything can be a blessing in disguise if you choose to look at it that way. I really got scared and panicked after losing sensation in my hands and not being able to do daily tasks. I was already used to having pain in my knee and feet, but not being able to work on the computer without pain or hold things and open things—normal things—was a really humbling experience that made me realize things I just took for granted.\nNow that I can\u0026rsquo;t really use the keyboard, I am using my voice more, and that\u0026rsquo;s been an interesting journey. For example, I wrote this whole thing without typing. Pretty cool! Will keep posted on my recovery journey here.\n","date":"September 6, 2025","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/thoughts-on-injury-pain-nutrition-and-recovery/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI participated in a cycling race where I cycled 3,000 km in 18 days without any training or ever having ridden a sports bike before. I did a 60K ultra run 10 years ago where I ended up with a hip flexor injury that lasted six months, so I knew there was a big risk of injury going in. I just didn\u0026rsquo;t know or underestimated how much it would affect me afterward.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Thoughts on Injury, Pain, Nutrition and Recovery"},{"content":"Thoughts after moving to a city near the mountains to see how I feel for a month.\n✍️ Here\u0026rsquo;s a list of things I learned about moving to Innsbruck.\nWeek 1: Be patient, first week is never easy Week 2: Show up, be social, reach out Week 3: Finding a routine Week 4: What\u0026rsquo;s next? I\u0026rsquo;ve kept this blog for more than 5 years now and called it the \u0026lsquo;Mountain Diaries\u0026rsquo; which is very ironic considering I spent majority of those years in Berlin, one of the flattest (?) cities in Europe.\nAs much as I loved the city for its freedom and openness, its artsy music scene, the countless events and communities of all niches, the greenery and parks, the lakes, diversity and international community, the tech scene, the startup scene \u0026hellip; not to mention friends and relationships I\u0026rsquo;ve built over the years.\nBut I just missed the mountains.\nSo when I heard that an acquaintance of mine was looking for someone to take over her room in Innsbruck, I thought \u0026lsquo;why not\u0026rsquo;?\nIt took me a while to really commit to the decision though I must say, and I also didn\u0026rsquo;t have the courage to sublet my Berlin room straight away (in case I needed to come running back) - I was scared of moving, of re-basing, of moving to a city I didn\u0026rsquo;t know anyone, without a good reason (e.g. a job, a study program etc) Especially now that I know how hard it is to start from scratch in a new city. Would I be able to make friends? Would I not be lonely?\nBut like any decision, it\u0026rsquo;s always better to take action than to choose not to. So I did.\nWeek 1: Be patient, first week is never easy #I landed in Innsbruck without having ever visited the city before, and I\u0026rsquo;m not sure if moving to a city you\u0026rsquo;ve never visited is a completely nonsensical thing to do or an actually kind of smart (in hindsight, more on this later)\nI just knew that Innsbruck would be a city I might enjoy, based on multiple people I\u0026rsquo;ve interacted with in the past (it\u0026rsquo;s funny how these chance encounters and casual conversations with random strangers plant a seed of an idea in you that just seems to grow over the years)\nI do believe that one should commit to a place for at least a few weeks before deciding whether the place is a right fit for them or not, and I feel like a weekend trip to Innsbruck wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have really helped anyway. I might have hated it and decided never to move. But then again, maybe taking a sublease for a month or two before renting out an unfurnished apartment would\u0026rsquo;ve been a smarter thing to do.\nThe first few days were tough - I felt like I missed my friends in Berlin all of a sudden, feeling FOMO from all the artsy events I was missing out on that I never would\u0026rsquo;ve attended anyways, and wondered \u0026lsquo;Are existing friends and relationships more important than exploring a new city or a place to live that felt more \u0026lsquo;right\u0026rsquo;?\u0026rsquo;\nI was here in Innsbruck to do one thing - to be outside, to go climbing, trail running - things I knew already I would enjoy. So I set myself a goal of attending as many related events and communities as I could.\nI also set myself a goal that I would go running every single day for the next 30 days and climb the height of Everest while doing it (because why not) - when you don\u0026rsquo;t have a job or a study program tying you to a place, you need to come up with some kind of a made-up goal or a reason for a bad day when you\u0026rsquo;re contemplating on every decision in your life. Let\u0026rsquo;s see how that goes.\nSome highlights:\nWent climbing outside! Hiked to and swam in Möserer See Joined the first Innsbruck Parkrun Ran the Zirbenweg Climbed in Kletterzentrum Innsbruck Ran to Umbrüggler Alm and had coffee all before work Week 2: Show up, be social, reach out #I was calling a friend and he pushed me to attend any meetup/event I found slightly interesting, so I did. I hadn\u0026rsquo;t done this in a while - in Berlin, I rarely joined a new community anymore and stuck to existing friends or activities I knew I enjoyed already.\nI joined a German language meetup, where I met some people who invited me to some hiking and climbing Whatsapp groups. I also found a Whatsapp group for outdoorsy girls in Innsbruck where I met some climbing partners - and went climbing outdoors with them on weekends and even weekdays (!!!).\nI also joined a bunch of running groups in the morning\nI discovered the joy of eating out in the huts, of hiking up a mountain afterwork, sleeping on the mountain top with just your sleeping bag, looking up at the stars.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s interesting how the environment shapes what\u0026rsquo;s considered \u0026rsquo;normal\u0026rsquo; - for example, here in Innsbruck, it\u0026rsquo;s normal for everyone to commute on their mountain bike, normal to go on bike + hike, to do at least 2 sports (seriously), most people climb (it\u0026rsquo;s a matter of how often). WGs I\u0026rsquo;ve been to have hangboards, homemade system boards in their basement (!?) \u0026hellip;\nSome highlights:\nJoined a few community runs (morning and afterwork trail runs) Did my first easy klettersteig called Glungezer Sagen Klettersteig Tulfes (A/B grade), not sure if I really enjoyed constantly having to clip and unclip, eager to do something a bit harder. Week 3: Finding a routine #I more or less have a routine now - I wake up, go for 1 - 1.5h trail run, login to do some work, sometimes work from the climbing gym, meet up with some new friends and go climbing outside/run/hike/swim in a lake \u0026hellip; I\u0026rsquo;m eating healthier, my bulimia is a lot better, I\u0026rsquo;m in a better mood in general.\nSome highlights:\nGot to see some professional climbers leading up to the week of IFSC Climbing World Cup in Innsbruck. The gym is partially open to the public during the day even during the World Cup so I got to climb next to them (or mostly watching \u0026amp; admiring) A few easy multipitches around Innsbruck with J, so much fun! Attempted hiking Habicht but retreated at the Innsbrucker Hütte due to bad weather, still fun though Vertical 1000m climb up to Seegrube from Innsbruck city center (4km) was hard but satisfying and doing it in a group was super fun Week 4: What\u0026rsquo;s next? #I keep bumping into people I met in the past few weeks I\u0026rsquo;ve lived here and it reminds me how small the city feels compared to places like Berlin or Tokyo. Do I like that? I\u0026rsquo;m not sure yet but coming here has opened me up to a lot of different outdoor activities I\u0026rsquo;d be interested in getting into and mountain ranges. It\u0026rsquo;s so easy to meet people with similar hobbies here. I do wonder how I would like it here in the winter, or if I get injured and can\u0026rsquo;t do sports, how things would feel for me then. But it sure feels good to be surrounded by mountains and the accessibility to trails.\nI did manage to run every day for 30 days with 8000d+ which I\u0026rsquo;m a little proud of.\nNext Steps # Want to get into more alpinism (basic mountaineering course, glacier course) Big wall climbing \u0026amp; multi-pitching More trad climbing Ski touring in the winter! Dry tooling and ice climbing? Connect with female mountaineers (start a podcast?) Bike touring, mountain biking Try out other mountain areas in the Alps (Annecy? Pyrenees? Chamonix?) Run a UTMB trail race Run an ultra 50k+ Do something for the community Volunteer at a sporting event (maybe next climbing world cup?) ","date":"August 26, 2025","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/innsbruck/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThoughts after moving to a city near the mountains to see how I feel for a month.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e✍️ \u003ca href=\"https://babystepsippo.notion.site/innsbruck\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eHere\u0026rsquo;s a list of things I learned\u003c/a\u003e about moving to Innsbruck.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/innsbruck/#week-1-be-patient-first-week-is-never-easy\"\u003eWeek 1: Be patient, first week is never easy\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/innsbruck/#week-2-show-up-be-social-reach-out\"\u003eWeek 2: Show up, be social, reach out\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/innsbruck/#week-3-finding-a-routine\"\u003eWeek 3: Finding a routine\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/innsbruck/#week-4-what-s-next\"\u003eWeek 4: What\u0026rsquo;s next?\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve kept this blog for more than 5 years now and called it the \u0026lsquo;Mountain Diaries\u0026rsquo; which is very ironic considering I spent majority of those years in Berlin, one of the flattest (?) cities in Europe.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A month in Innsbruck, Austria"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/activities/running/","section":"Activity","summary":"","title":"Running"},{"content":"Climbing is a vibe-based sport.\nDate: June 24th - June 30th\nWhere: Stayed in Muggendorf ( Wald\u0026amp;Wiesent apartment Muggendorf - a lovely apartment great for 4-5 people and a beautiful balcony!)\nI took half days off for a week at work and did a small work-ation with some friends I met through the DAV climbing group from Berlin.\nI looked back at some of my older posts and realised that I had been to Franken before, 4 years ago before I even started climbing:\n/posts/a-weekend-trip-to-frankenjura/\nand in it I said:\nSome things on my mind right now: I want to take a beginner’s course in top-rope climbing and lead-climbing, get my own gear (at least the minimum necessary things) and get stronger physically. I want to join the alpine club in Germany \u0026hellip;\nSince then, I\u0026rsquo;ve taken both courses, got my own gear and got stronger (a bit? feeling comfortable leading 6s, RPing some 7s and 8- didn\u0026rsquo;t feel impossible), and here I was back in Frankenjura with some friends I\u0026rsquo;ve met through a climbing group from the DAV. I have to say, I feel a little proud to have done what I\u0026rsquo;ve said I wanted to do.\nMuggendorf #We stayed in an apartment in Muggendorf, a small village in the Frankenjura region. There\u0026rsquo;s a direct bus to the village (about a few bus/train rides and 1.5-2h from Nuremburg).\nSo many crags nearby, also some historical ruins, caves and hiking paths to explore and there\u0026rsquo;s a small river that runs through where you can also swim and kayak. There\u0026rsquo;s a small shop in the village that has pretty much everything you need including fresh bread in the morning, and is open on Sunday mornings.\nEven though I was there to climb, I went for a different trail run every morning exploring the nearby ruins. Really nice hills and trails to explore around this region!\nAccess to the crags #Crags we explored: Intensivstation, Jubiläumswand, Obere Muggendorfer Wände, Streitberger Schild Leienfelser Pfeiler Dornröschenwand\nThere were a lot of crags within a few km and within 20-30 minute drive. Many were also walkable, for example. When we missed our last bus, we managed to get a ride by hitchhiking very easily, but maybe bringing a bike next time could be an option instead of a car.\nThe Climbing #We all mostly worked half days in the mornings, and then would take the afternoons off and head out around 3/4pm which gave us solid few hours to climb with the long summer days.\nTo my surprise, I really liked the rocks there(soft limestone), quite soft on the skin but felt grippy too. I finally understood what people meant by \u0026lsquo;pockets\u0026rsquo; in Frankenjura, \u0026lsquo;sparse bolting but bolting that kind of makes sense\u0026rsquo; and \u0026lsquo;it\u0026rsquo;s good to have trad gear for placing extra protection on sport routes\u0026rsquo;.\nThoughts #Frankenjura is a huge place with over 1000 crags and more than 15k routes, but in the middle of nowhere in a random crag, I bump into some people I\u0026rsquo;ve met on another climbing trip (what a small world!). It makes me wonder how small/big the world really is. They were here for a festival - Der Altmühltaler Kletter- und Kulturkosmos -, something I keep forgetting to check the calendar for. Maybe something to look out for next year (also Ecopoint festival, the Arcteryx Academy etc)\nWhat\u0026rsquo;s made this trip especially enjoyable was the people. Just great people. And I really enjoyed sharing a common hobby, cooking together, spending time together, talking about each other\u0026rsquo;s work and life. Climbing was what brought us together, but I enjoyed the company and the vibe more than anything else.\nIn my post 4 years ago, I said:\n\u0026hellip; I’ve been feeling quite lonely in Berlin ever since the pandemic hit. I was doing my best to make new friends despite the restrictions, and I was meeting people (with social distancing of course) and yet was still really struggling to find meaningful connections, to a point where I felt somewhat hopeless. Was I naive to think I could start over, make new friends, build up a life from ground-up in a new city where I didn’t speak the language? Maybe. But this trip made me hopeful. Or at least, gave me motivation to at least give it a try – to connect and really build on relationships I can feel a part of.\nClimbing has definitely given me a community and even though this time it was M who organised all of this for us, I\u0026rsquo;d love to do something like this myself one day. I felt grateful I got to be a part of it. I think I\u0026rsquo;m relatively a good participant, but it\u0026rsquo;s nice to be the person to create a space for people to join, to build something that people can be a part of. And maybe that\u0026rsquo;s my next goal?\n","date":"June 30, 2025","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/climbing-in-frankenjura/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eClimbing is a vibe-based sport.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDate: June 24th - June 30th\u003cbr\u003e\nWhere: Stayed in Muggendorf ( \u003ca href=\"https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/35105432?search_mode=regular_search\u0026amp;adults=1\u0026amp;category_tag=\u0026amp;check_in=2025-09-20\u0026amp;check_out=2025-09-25\u0026amp;children=0\u0026amp;infants=0\u0026amp;source_impression_id=p3_1751323457_P3ciykeOu0HNBdjq\u0026amp;previous_page_section_name=1000\u0026amp;federated_search_id=7245009f-f55a-424e-98db-f31578391812\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eWald\u0026amp;Wiesent apartment Muggendorf\u003c/a\u003e - a lovely apartment great for 4-5 people and a beautiful balcony!)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI took half days off for a week at work and did a small work-ation with some friends I met through the DAV climbing group from Berlin.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI looked back at some of my older posts and realised that I had been to Franken before, 4 years ago before I even started climbing:\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Climbing in Frankenjura"},{"content":"I took a course from the German Alpine Club or DAV (Deutscher Alpenverein) to learn the very basics of trad climbing. So I can tag along on climbing trips with friends that involves trad gear. This is a note to self.\nCoures info:\nKursnummer: 253006\nKursname: Mobile Sicherungsmittel\nOrt: Harz, Okertal bzw. Schierker Gebiet\nKurszeit: 29.05.2025, 9:00 Uhr bis 01.06.2025, 18:00 Uhr\nCourse details:\nPre-meeting: Some info session at the DAV halle in Berlin Reviewed course details, logistics Reviewed how to set up anchors Day 1: Vogelherdklippe Explanation about different types of gear (nuts, offset nuts, softer nuts like brass/copper nuts, cow bells, tricams (+tricam EVO), different types of friends Practice placing them in cracks, checking how good/bad the placement is Day 2: Kleiner Feuerstein Building trust with the gear (climb up a wall on top-rope by only stepping on slings attached to the trad gear that you placed) Top-roping a route while placing trad gear along the way Making a tape glove Basics of crack climbing technique Day 3: Nördliche Schnarcherklippe + Mäuseklippe Lead-climbing an easy route (Grade 2, 3, 4, 5) - 5 felt really hard! Some explanation about pitons Drop testing (dropping on Day 4: Back to Berlin! Trad multi-pitch anchor building workshop (due to rain) Explanation on more gear Accommodation: Harz Camping\nAccess: 3h by car from Berlin (possible by public transport, there\u0026rsquo;s a bus that goes directly to the camp site)\nDay 1 #Learned about different types of gear, which materials they\u0026rsquo;re made from, why, when and when not to use them etc.\nDay 2 #Day 2 was all about building trust with the gear. We tried going up a wall only using slings while being on top rope. This was really hard but good practice. Also did a crash course on crack climbing and revised rappelling techniques (something I keep forgetting how to do)\nDay 3 #Day 3 was about lead climbing on gear we placed ourselves, getting feedback about our placement, drop testing to try dropping into the gear and some talks about pitons and how to identify which ones are good and bad.\nDay 4 # Next steps: # Take a multi-pitch course and climb a lot of easy well-bolted sport multi-pitches. Maybe an Alpine Climbing course at some point? Resources: # How to set up an anchor Anchor building techniques Load testing trad gear Alpine Extension for Rock Climbing Things I learned about myself: # I definitely need to improve my head game for trad climbing and build trust and confidence in my gear placement to really enjoy trad climbing. Placing my own gear has made me think a lot about sport route bolting and how they\u0026rsquo;re thought-through to make sure that falling is safe. It was a lot more theory than actual climbing (since it was a course) and not sure if I really enjoyed that. I think I was itching to just get moving although I know that theory is also super important to stay safe. P.S. Got bitten by a tick in the butt, which was no fun. Note to self: check for ticks when pulling down my pants to pee in the bushes.\n","date":"June 3, 2025","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/trad-climbing-course-in-harz/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI took a course from the German Alpine Club or DAV (Deutscher Alpenverein) to learn the very basics of trad climbing. So I can tag along on climbing trips with friends that involves trad gear. This is a note to self.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCoures info:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKursnummer: 253006\u003cbr\u003e\nKursname: Mobile Sicherungsmittel\u003cbr\u003e\nOrt: Harz, Okertal bzw. Schierker Gebiet\u003cbr\u003e\nKurszeit: 29.05.2025, 9:00 Uhr bis 01.06.2025, 18:00 Uhr\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/cleanshot-2025-06-03-at-14.02.35402x.png\" alt=\"trad-climbing-course-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/img_4536.jpg\" alt=\"trad-climbing-course-2\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eCourse details:\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Trad climbing course in Harz"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s been 2 years since I took my first Top Rope course at the local climbing gym here in Berlin and I\u0026rsquo;ve been climbing consistently since. Lately, I felt like I was plateau-ing in terms of the grades I was climbing so I signed up for a \u0026quot; Technik- und Taktiktraining. Planvolles projektieren einer Route\u0026quot; Technique and tactics training. Systematic projecting of a route.\n2025/05/24, 25 (Sat, Sun) 11:00 - 15:00, 85 EUR Day 1 #Before the course, we were asked about our climbing level and what we wanted to work on. The instructor (let\u0026rsquo;s call him T) wanted to know what grade I usually could on-sight in a gym, RP(Red Point) after a few attempts and the hardest RP grade indoors.\nFor me, that was on-sight 6+, RP 7+, hardest RP 8- (indoors, UIAA). I had to think a while to come up with this, which just goes to show how \u0026lsquo;intentional\u0026rsquo; I am with my climbing sessions.\nThere were 5 of us, we all sat down in a circle and discussed theory.\nLeistungskomponenten Sportklettern (sport climbing performance components) # Category Subcategory Elements Technique (Technik) Movement Principles Entkoppeln (isolation of movement), Präzises Treten (precise footwork), Nachgeben (yielding), Drüber \u0026amp; Rauf (up and over), Langer Arm (long arm), Weich greifen (soft grip), Statisch vs. Dynamisch (static vs. dynamic), Eingedreht vs. Frontal (twisted vs. frontal) Mental (Mentales) Fear \u0026amp; Focus Sturzangst (fear of falling), Versagensangst (fear of failure), Fokus (focus), Erregungslevel (arousal control), Umgang mit Scheitern (dealing with failure) Mindset \u0026amp; Self-image Entschlossenheit (determination), Biss/Wille (grit/will), Siegeshaltung (winning attitude), Mentale Gesundheit (mental health), Motivation, Selbstbild (self-image) Mental Strategies Routinen/Rituale (routines), Visualisierung (visualization), \u0026ldquo;Anker\u0026rdquo; finden/abrufen (mental anchors), Bewegungsabfolge merken (memorize movement), Probestürzen (practice falling) Social Factors Kletterpartner (climbing partner) Tactics (Taktik) Route Strategy Ausbouldern (solving sections), Wiederholung \u0026amp; Variation (repetition), Clip-Positionen (clipping points), Ruhepositionen (rest spots), Griffe/Tritte markieren \u0026amp; putzen (mark/clean holds), Bewegungsabfolge merken (memorize sequence) Efficiency Pausen (rest), Länge der Abschnitte (section length), Pacing, Plan vs. Abweichung (plan vs. reality), Suchen vs. Abrufen (search vs. recall) Preparation Durchstiegsversuch (redpoint attempt), Äussere Bedingungen (external conditions), Regeneration \u0026amp; Ressourcenplanung (recovery/resource planning), Vorclippen (pre-clipping), Unterstützung durch Seilzug (pulley assist), Unterstützung organisieren (organize support), Chalken (chalk use), Atmung (breathing) Physical (Physisches) Strength Kraft (general), Maximalkraft (max strength), Schnellkraft (explosive strength), Kraftausdauer (strength endurance), Kraftentfaltungsrate (rate of force development) Other Physical Skills Ausdauer (aerobic endurance), Beweglichkeit (flexibility) We then picked a route to project in the gym (a route that we were less than 50% confident that we will on-sight). On our first attempt, we took our time to figure out each move, stopping often to save energy and not to get pumped, re-doing moves and sequences by going down the wall a few times before reaching the top. We took 20 - 30 minutes, exploring one route. Taking longer rests and figuring out the best positions.\nWe then tried sending the route in one go (Durchstiegsversuch). The goal was to have memorised all the moves and sequences so that you\u0026rsquo;re not thinking or hesitating when climbing.\nI found it difficult to memorise all the moves and holds on the first attempt, and ended up fumbling a lot in my first RP attempt (Durchstiegsversuch). Better luck on Day 2?\nDay 2 #We started the day at the bouldering hall. We picked a few \u0026lsquo;challenging routes\u0026rsquo; where we climbed one route over and over until we had every move memorised. Then, we watched each other climb but before we went on the wall, we had to close our eyes, and explain while making the moves in the air how I would be climbing the route. (this was hard!) A few learnings:\nArticulating the moves made me more conscious of what I was doing on the wall Climbing over and over even after topping the route made me want to climb more efficiently (oh, I can skip this hold here, I can use my feet this way so I don\u0026rsquo;t need to step multiple times etc) Visualising really helped to make the move effortless to a point I didn\u0026rsquo;t have to think about the route at all. I can still remember each single move while I write this. We then went back on the bigger wall with ropes and picked a route that was a bit challenging (a 8-) and tried the same thing as the day before. First two attempts to project, figure out the moves and memorise each move (15 mins x 2), then a RP attempt.\nOn my first try, I had to remember to consciously take breaks so I don\u0026rsquo;t get pumped. Figuring out the clipping position was also important. Re-do moves and sections over and over. That didn\u0026rsquo;t come naturally to me since until today, I\u0026rsquo;ve always tried on-sighting routes and when I\u0026rsquo;m not able to do them, I never re-did them again.\nIn my first RP attempt, I took once and managed to send the second time. What I liked about projecting was that I was moving more dynamically because I was more confident about each move and my feet placement became more precise. What felt impossible the first time felt much doable the last time, and that gave me confidence too.\nOne thing I noticed is that at my limit, I become a bit sloppy and less precise in my hand/feet placement. When people cheer me up and I get overexcited, I also become sloppy so I need to find a way to calm myself down in those situations.\nAfter each RP attempt, the climber and belayer both evaluated themselves and each other and compared our evaluations. That was quite interesting. Is my self-evaluation accurate? Am I evaluating others fairly?\nTranslation of the evaluation sheet\nItem Question Bouldering Out Duration of the bouldering sequences, pauses, sequences memorized, optimal solution for crux, clipping positions? Pumped Arms Did you get \u0026ldquo;pumped arms\u0026rdquo; (lactic acid buildup) while bouldering out? Accompanying Measures Did you make use of accompanying measures while bouldering out (e.g., pre-clipping quickdraws, marking holds/footholds, cleaning holds/footholds)? Movement Visualization How clearly did you visualize the movement for the route/crux just before the attempt? Execution How did the redpoint attempt go in terms of the existing plan? Quality of Boulder Solutions How well did the bouldering-out solutions prove themselves during the redpoint attempt (pre-fatigue)? Pacing (Tempo/Dynamics) How was your tempo, climbing flow, and dynamics? Resting How long were the resting positions during the route? Precision How precise were your movements overall? Climbing Technique at the Limit Did you pay attention to clean climbing technique in the limit range? Arousal State Was your arousal level in the optimal range during the redpoint attempt? Final Thoughts #I really struggled with my German but learned a lot about projecting and why I should do this more often!\nAlso, watched a few videos of top climbers incorporating visualisation to their training:\nhttps://youtu.be/C_N8znD3exI?feature=shared\u0026amp;t=219\nThe End\n","date":"May 25, 2025","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/how-to-project/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s been 2 years since I took my \n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/taking-climbing-courses-in-berlin/\"\u003efirst Top Rope course\u003c/a\u003e at the local climbing gym here in Berlin and I\u0026rsquo;ve been climbing consistently since. Lately, I felt like I was plateau-ing in terms of the grades I was climbing so I signed up for a \u0026quot; \u003cstrong\u003eTechnik- und Taktiktraining. Planvolles projektieren einer Route\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026quot; Technique and tactics training. Systematic projecting of a route.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e2025/05/24, 25 (Sat, Sun) 11:00 - 15:00, 85 EUR\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"day-1\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eDay 1 \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#day-1\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eBefore the course, we were asked about our climbing level and what we wanted to work on. The instructor (let\u0026rsquo;s call him T) wanted to know what grade I usually could on-sight in a gym, RP(Red Point) after a few attempts and the hardest RP grade indoors.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"How to project a climb"},{"content":"Date: 2025.04.19 - 20 (sat/sun) Osterwochenende\nWeather: Rainy the night before on Fri, sunny on Sat\nLogistics: We went by public transport this time using the D-Ticket (On the way there, we took the train to Nauendorf(Saalkr) + 30 mins walk, on the way back we took the 301 bus from Löbejün village to Halle, and took the train back. Both took around 4h each way) We stayed at Zeltwiese Löbejün (10 euros/person) where I stayed last time for 10 EUR/person/night.\nI wrote about visiting Löbejün last March — last time I was there mainly just to hang out, watch people rig high lines and climb a few easy routes. This time around, I really wanted to climb harder, but ended up not climbing much mostly because I was in a weird headspace (probably lack of sleep the night before) which seems to be the main problem for me these days.\nI climbed Alzheimer and Inkontinenz in Altherrenwand, both grade UIAA 6 (5c) as a warm-up, or was supposed to be and really struggled mentally. I remember climbing the Flying Fox close by and enjoying it last year so I was a little frustrated. Need to learn to not show that though, to prioritise having fun over anything else.\nThen I tried Ernster Witz in Lässig (which apparently translates to \u0026lsquo;casual\u0026rsquo;) on top rope because the runout looked quite scary. It made me anxious (and again, I let it show which kills the vibe). I don\u0026rsquo;t think I would\u0026rsquo;ve tried it if I had known it was a 7+, but frankly that in itself is a problem.\nOn Day 2, I felt a bit better and seconded Hangelmarathon (6/6-) which we rappelled down (I had forgotten how to rap down since it\u0026rsquo;s been months since I used it. I felt like a hypocrite knowing that I don\u0026rsquo;t like it when people don\u0026rsquo;t know how to use their own gear) I felt comfortable but still over-gripped everything. Then I tried the Midsummernightfever 7+ on top rope and couldn\u0026rsquo;t figure out the moves - as soon as it becomes slightly overhangly with no feet to smear on (or so I think) I\u0026rsquo;m useless. Need to train core + overhangs (systemboard?) in general and stop avoiding overhangs.\nFor the last route, I tried Kalte Spalte 7- where there was one hard-ish move I fell on like 5 times. It was a few big falls and I\u0026rsquo;m happy I did that. At least I tried. But then if I had relaxed more, gone a bit more dynamically and trusted that I could hold on, I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have fallen.\nThe theme of the trip seemed to be \u0026ldquo;doubt \u0026amp; fear\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;negative self-talk\u0026rdquo;.\nFear of falling: If I could improve my head game, I think it would improve my climbing (and enjoyment of it) significantly. Wherever I felt scared, I kept telling myself \u0026ldquo;it\u0026rsquo;s ok if I fall here\u0026rdquo; — as if falling was by default. I need better positive affirmation. I think it\u0026rsquo;s important to differentiate knowing that I can fall without injuring myself, and allowing/almost expecting myself to fall. If I overcame my fear of falling, I will stop over-gripping, can focus on technique more. So how will I train for this? Stop clipping in the anchor in the gym and always take a fall (and then don\u0026rsquo;t clip two draws and fall etc) Positive affirmations Try harder routes (try grades that are beyond my comfort level) Always clip at the hip (especially in the gym) Stop saying stuff like \u0026ldquo;oh, I\u0026rsquo;m still a beginner so I can\u0026rsquo;t xxx\u0026rdquo; - like why does that matter? I keep doing this thing where I Overhangs: I like crimpy vertical walls because I simply haven\u0026rsquo;t trained for overhangs and have no idea how to use body tension or feet. System board sessions once a week? Sleep: I have to remind myself how detrimental sleep is to my wellbeing - to be someone fun (or at least tolerable) to be around. I was so underslept, that I was in a cranky mood letting negative thoughts affect how I was showing up. I had bad cravings all day and kept tripping over, sprained my knee a little which got me really anxious about injury. Doing my own research, being more active in trip planning on group trips: I went with two more experienced climbers who knew the crag very well so I didn\u0026rsquo;t do enough research on my side or knew what I wanted out of it which is never good. I was passive about what I wanted to climb, less than enthusiastic and also beat myself up internally for not being able to follow their German conversation after having lived in Berlin for over 5 years. Confidence - what is it even? why am I just so full of self-doubt? In general, I felt quite disappointed with not only my performance but state of mind and my attitude/the way I was showing up to the world and around people during the entire trip.\nA big trigger that kind of overshadowed everything during this trip was me not being able to join German conversations. I moved to Berlin more than 5 years ago on a whim, thinking it would be temporary. Then covid happened when I lost the momentum. That temporal mindset has never changed. I\u0026rsquo;ve been in this ambivalent state of rootlessness forever which resulted in me not putting effort into learning the language or the culture. Committing to friendships, groups and communities. And every time someone switches from German to English out of kindness so I can understand them - is almost like a reminder of my rootlessness \u0026amp; directionlessness and it hurts. Need to do something about that.\n","date":"April 21, 2025","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/lobejun-2025/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eDate: 2025.04.19 - 20 (sat/sun) Osterwochenende\u003cbr\u003e\nWeather: Rainy the night before on Fri, sunny on Sat\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLogistics: We went by public transport this time using the D-Ticket (On the way there, we took the train to Nauendorf(Saalkr) + 30 mins walk, on the way back we took the 301 bus from Löbejün village to Halle, and took the train back. Both took around 4h each way) We stayed at Zeltwiese Löbejün (10 euros/person) where I stayed last time for 10 EUR/person/night.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Climbing in Löbejün 2025"},{"content":"Location: Liebethaler Grund, Google Map, 2h drive from Berlin\nRock: Sandstone\nDate: 30.03.2025\nRecommended to arrive early (before 9am) to get a parking spot close to the crag. A lot of varied routes for all levels and styles in a compact area. Very much enjoyed everything there and would definitely come back!\n","date":"March 30, 2025","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/climbing-in-liebethaler-grund/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLocation: \u003ca href=\"https://www.thecrag.com/de/klettern/germany/saechsisches-huegelland/area/246741912\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eLiebethaler Grund\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1\u0026amp;query=50.996548,13.958161\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eGoogle Map\u003c/a\u003e, 2h drive from Berlin\u003cbr\u003e\nRock: Sandstone\u003cbr\u003e\nDate: 30.03.2025\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRecommended to arrive early (before 9am) to get a parking spot close to the crag. A lot of varied routes for all levels and styles in a compact area. Very much enjoyed everything there and would definitely come back!\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/img_4028.jpg\" alt=\"climbing-liebethaler-grund-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/img_4030.jpg\" alt=\"climbing-liebethaler-grund-2\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/27ac8ebf-2f9f-478a-a02b-3fd62c2375ae.jpg\" alt=\"climbing-liebethaler-grund-3\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e","title":"Climbing in Liebethaler Grund"},{"content":"I spent 2 weeks towards the end of March 2025 in Spain, El Chorro. This was my first time traveling solo for climbing.\nI wanted to go some place new I\u0026rsquo;ve never been before, where it was easy to find partners and easily accessible from Berlin.\nI initially thought about going to EL ALTICO in Chulilla, Nannai Climbing home in Ulassai, Sardinia or El Chorro near Malaga, since they all had a \u0026lsquo;climbing hostel where I thought might make it easier to meet climbing partners. I ended up choosing El Chorro for its ease of access and easier routes friendly for beginners like myself.\nAccommodation # I booked a bed in the bunkhouse at the Olive Branch. I loved everyone I met there, it was too easy to find partners as most people came alone and were looking for partners, I also loved that they serve dinners every night for 12 EUR where I also got to chat with a lot of people from all walks of life. You can also order hot breakfast meals, and buy some homemade bakeries and snacks.\nThe bunkhouse had two rooms with 4 beds each, also had its own kitchen, a dining area and a bathroom. The wifi was also good enough to do work on rainy days and phone reception was pretty good everywhere around El Chorro compared to some places I\u0026rsquo;ve been to. Good water pressure with warm water which is always a plus!\nI extended my stay for 3 nights at Finca La Campana, which is another climbing hostel next to the Olive Branch. They have a dorm with 14 beds but everyone was very respectful and very quiet at night so I managed to sleep ok. It has a much bigger common room than OB which I liked. But they only have one kitchen which is really well equipped but got busy at times. They don\u0026rsquo;t serve dinners but have pizza nights and serve burgers, also a store with basic essentials at the reception. Wifi in the common room wasn\u0026rsquo;t the greatest though, but manageable.\nI was too lazy to cook during the last few days so I went up to the OB to have dinner there instead even while staying at Finca.\nGetting there # It was only a 3h30 flight from Berlin (direct, 50-100 EUR + luggage one way), then a 55 minute train ride to El Chorro station, and a 20 minutes walk up the hill to the accommodation, one of the most accessible climbing hostels I\u0026rsquo;ve been to.\nI did feel guilty about flying though, and if I had a bit more time maybe I would\u0026rsquo;ve taken train/bus. In that case, I guess I could do Berlin - Paris - Montpellier - Barcelona - Valencia - Malaga - El Chorro or through Madrid.\nRental cars seem very cheap (100 EUR for a week?) and it is quite handy to have one if you need to travel to a crag with more shades or for doing groceries. I felt a bit uneasy driving so didn\u0026rsquo;t rent one this time but luckily met some people who gave me rides when I needed them.\nGroceries \u0026amp; Rest day activities #The town El Chorro itself doesn\u0026rsquo;t have much (there\u0026rsquo;s a tiny shop that\u0026rsquo;s rarely open), so you would have to go to Alora (a town 10km away) or Malaga to do some grocery shopping. Finca has a little store at reception where you can get some beans, grains, pasta, sauces, snacks and some basic veggies and eggs (if they don\u0026rsquo;t sell out).\nSome people were doing the Caminito del Rey hike which you need to book in advance, or took some day trips to nearby cities like Seville, Ronda and Granada. Might do that if I come back next time.\nEl Chorro has some amazing trails that\u0026rsquo;s perfect for running (not too steep, clearly marked) so I loved it for that as well.\nWeather #One of the reasons why I chose Spain was for the warmer sunnier weather in March but it turned out that El Chorro was experiencing one of the rainiest few weeks in the past decade or so, causing flooding and landslides. It was raining so much that I didn\u0026rsquo;t get many days of full-day climbing, and had to climb on a lot of wet rocks. It was also pretty cold (I\u0026rsquo;m glad I brought my sleeping bag since I found the nights to be too cold with the blankets they provided.)\nMeteblue seem to be the weather app of choice around here. I would check the weather a bit more in advance before booking a trip next time.\nDespite the terrible weather, the people I met there made my stay very much worthwhile.\nClimbing \u0026amp; some personal notes #This part is more a note to self.\nThe crags I went to were all within a 10- to 30-minute walk from the accommodation.\nMy favorite spots have been:\naround the Tooth in Arab Steps, beautiful view of the whole valley some long routes on Momia in Frontales Bedees - a small cozy crag with short but nice slab routes hike up to the Arab Steps from the back (via the road behind OB and Finca towards B\u0026amp;B) Some memorable routes:\nProminent Flake 6c+ at Bedees felt impossible at the beginning which turned out to be not so impossible after multiple tries. Happy I sent my first 6c+! Blank Slab 6c also at Bedees, terrified of the runouts but managed to reach the top in one piece mentally - a bit proud of that. Blade Runner 6a, simply enjoyable. Momia: Seco y Pedro Right (50m) looked very cool which I didn\u0026rsquo;t get to do but maybe next time. Would love to try Insomnio de equipmento on lead and redo the first pitch of Seco y Pedro (6b+), very nice long routes. Some personal notes for future self:\nStop top-roping on 6s Do a little fall training at the beginning of every session (not falling = negative mileage) Feel more confident leading a route at my limit (even if going bolt-to-bolt) No negative self-talk on the crag Don\u0026rsquo;t spread my leg too wide, smaller steps, stable hips, hip closer to the wall, trust my feet more, look at my feet more, read the route before going up blindly, don\u0026rsquo;t over-grip, breathe more By the end of two weeks, I felt good about warming up on a 6a/6a+ and leading 6bs (although not always able to send). All the moves on most 6cs felt do-able and sent my first 6c+ after multiple tries. I top-roped a 7a and learned how to jam my feet and hands into cracks (crack gloves are amazing!)\nThe thing I love about coming to a place like this is that I get to meet so many people from all over the world where I can ask for recommendations about other climbing spots they\u0026rsquo;ve been to. So here are a few more things to add to my todo list:\nvisit Norway/Sweden for climbing (ice-climbing around Oslo!?) creative approach to a crag (e.g. canoeing, biking) trad-climbing in Ireland climb on other types of rocks (since so far, I\u0026rsquo;ve mostly climbed on limestone) explore Germany for climbing while I live here This trip was all about regaining the confidence to travel alone again. From climbing with different partners every day, I got to learn so much from everybody, from watching how they approached climbing, how they climbed/projected and how they spent their days around the crag or planned their day in general.\nIt felt good to put myself out there a little bit. So grateful to everyone I met on this trip!\n","date":"March 29, 2025","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/climbing-in-el-chorro/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI spent 2 weeks towards the end of March 2025 in Spain, El Chorro. This was my first time traveling solo for climbing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/img_6059.jpg\" alt=\"climbing-el-chorro-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eI wanted to go some place new I\u0026rsquo;ve never been before, where it was easy to find partners and easily accessible from Berlin.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI initially thought about going to \u003ca href=\"http://chulillaclimbing.com/where-to-stay-2/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eEL ALTICO in Chulilla\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.climbingulassai.com/?gad_source=1\u0026amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjwtJ6_BhDWARIsAGanmKfNI__2u_wzL4VFJIKDlOFpXSaT91igGCP3TfJaSDLti4LBSwbjAtAaAmkSEALw_wcB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eNannai Climbing home in Ulassai\u003c/a\u003e, Sardinia or El Chorro near Malaga, since they all had a \u0026lsquo;climbing hostel where I thought might make it easier to meet climbing partners. I ended up choosing El Chorro for its ease of access and easier routes friendly for beginners like myself.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Climbing in El Chorro"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/spain/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Spain"},{"content":"Things I learned about climbing and bouldering in and around Tokyo in the winter of 2024/2025.\nA work-in-progress.\nGyms in Tokyo #Things I noticed about gyms in Tokyo (compared to gyms in Germany)\nA lot of gyms have a \u0026ldquo;joiner fee\u0026rdquo; which is a one-off fee for first time customers which can be between 500 - 2000 yen (3 - 15 EUR) Average entry fee for gyms around Tokyo were between 10-18 EUR Some gyms have different pricing for female/male. Or what they call \u0026ldquo;ladies day\u0026rdquo; on a specific day of the week where there are discounts for female climbers to attract more female climbers. Some gyms offer special early-bird/late-night discounts A lot of gyms don\u0026rsquo;t open till after lunch which was sad since I had to start working in the afternoon. Lots of spray walls Some gyms have their own unique rules like \u0026ldquo;for routes with these tapes, you can use any hold for the feet\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;if there is a hold with the same color on a volume, you\u0026rsquo;re allowed to step on it\u0026rdquo; etc. I think these are mainly due to limitation in space and it\u0026rsquo;s a creative way to have more variety in the routes they have. Climbing Grades #For sport-climbing, Japan seems to mainly use the American grading system (e.g. 5.11c).\nFor bouldering, they use the \u0026ldquo;dan\u0026rdquo; (段) and \u0026ldquo;kyu\u0026rdquo; (級) grading system which comes from traditional Japanese martial arts according to unknown sources. \u0026ldquo;Kyu\u0026rdquo; represents beginner to intermediate levels, while \u0026ldquo;dan\u0026rdquo; is used for advanced practitioners. So you have this weird system where the numbers go down as the levels go up until you reach \u0026ldquo;dan\u0026rdquo; where the numbers go up again.\nJapan French US 6 kyu 3+ 4 V0- 5 kyu 4+ V0 5 V0+ 4 kyu 5+ V1 3 kyu 6a V2 6a+ 2 kyu 6b V3 6b+ 1 kyu 6c V4 6c+ 7a V5 1 dan 7a+ V6 2 dan 7b V7 7b+ 7c V8 3 dan 7c+ V9 8a V10 4 dan 8a+ V11 8b V12 5 dan 8b+ V13 8c V14 6 dan 8c+ V15 V16 Source: climbing-net.com\nWhere to find gear #To buy # Outdoor shops (Kanda Jinbocho area has a lot of outdoor shops from mountaineering equipment, climbing to ski/snowboarding, also good second hand bookshops and food) Bouldering gyms (Bpump had a large variety of shoes) Online Tips # I couldn\u0026rsquo;t find ropes longer than 60m in stores around Tokyo. We tried finding a 70m+ rope but we couldn\u0026rsquo;t find any in any of the shops we looked. Possibility because most of the sport climbing routes in Japan aren\u0026rsquo;t that long. Most climbing shoes are imported from Europe/US so they are more expensive, less variety. Buy them back home if you\u0026rsquo;re from Europe or US. If you\u0026rsquo;re planning a climbing trip in Asia in general, bring everything with you. To rent # Climbing rope: I only went rope climbing in one gym in Tokyo (B-pump Kawasaki) and they didn\u0026rsquo;t rent out ropes due to safety reasons. They had some top ropes but if you want to lead, you should bring your own rope. Some climbing gyms I went to only rented out ATCs (maybe bring your own?) Communities, finding partners # Facebook groups (e.g. Rock Climbing Japan、 Tokyo Bouldering and Climbing 東京ボルダリング・クライミング) Ask at the gym - some gyms do weekend courses etc Where to go outdoor climbing in and around Tokyo # 【関東の外岩】行ってみて良かったフリークライミングのゲレンデまとめ( Outdoor Rock Climbing in Kanto: A Summary of Recommended Free Climbing Spots) Resources # Checkout personal blogs and websites of local alpine clubs: 登るあほうに見るあほう, 鵬翔山岳会 A quick climbing guide to Japan Mountain project | Japan Crag.com | Japan Ogawayama Topo in English ","date":"February 1, 2025","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/climbing-in-tokyo-a-guide/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThings I learned about climbing and bouldering in and around Tokyo in the winter of 2024/2025.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA work-in-progress.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"gyms-in-tokyo\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eGyms in Tokyo \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#gyms-in-tokyo\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThings I noticed about gyms in Tokyo (compared to gyms in Germany)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA lot of gyms have a \u0026ldquo;joiner fee\u0026rdquo; which is a one-off fee for first time customers which can be between 500 - 2000 yen (3 - 15 EUR)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAverage entry fee for gyms around Tokyo were between 10-18 EUR\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSome gyms have different pricing for female/male. Or what they call \u0026ldquo;ladies day\u0026rdquo; on a specific day of the week where there are discounts for female climbers to attract more female climbers.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSome gyms offer special early-bird/late-night discounts\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA lot of gyms don\u0026rsquo;t open till after lunch which was sad since I had to start working in the afternoon.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLots of spray walls\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSome gyms have their own unique rules like \u0026ldquo;for routes with these tapes, you can use any hold for the feet\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;if there is a hold with the same color on a volume, you\u0026rsquo;re allowed to step on it\u0026rdquo; etc. I think these are mainly due to limitation in space and it\u0026rsquo;s a creative way to have more variety in the routes they have.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"climbing-grades\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eClimbing Grades \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#climbing-grades\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor sport-climbing, Japan seems to mainly use the American grading system (e.g. 5.11c).\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Climbing in Tokyo: A Guide"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/japan/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Japan"},{"content":"Race: Senba coastal cliff trail running race, Race Route (18.1km Middle)\nWhen: January 19th 2025\nWhere: Kaifugun, Minamicho (JP)\nA small friendly local race along the Senba coastal cliff in Tokushima prefecture, Japan.\nRace overview # CategoryDistanceSingle TrackPaved RoadForest RoadCoastalElevation GainCutoff TimeCheckpointsAid StationsShort10.4 km85%15%——890 m2h 10mNoneNoneMiddle18.1 km74%10%2%14%1390 m3h 55m21Long36.5 km71%12%10%7%2833 m8h 43Elite49.6 km68%15%6%11%3856 m8h 15m4 + 1 extra4\nMy brother and I were looking for a race we could run together in January and found this one randomly online. I\u0026rsquo;d never been to this part of Japan so we thought it would be a fun weekend trip to do together.\nWe signed up for the Middle distance which had a mix of paved road, forest trails and some coastal running involving walking/running on slippery rocks, sandy/stoney beach paths and sometimes while knee deep in water.\nI flew into Kochi to do some sight seeing around the southern coastal area of Shikoku and it was a 4h drive to the bib-pick up. It was hard to get around without a car although there were some public transports options available. My brother flew into Tokushima which was closer, about a 2h drive to the bib pickup point.\nReally enjoyable run on a varied terrain. Also a great excuse to visit parts of Japan I\u0026rsquo;ve never visited before. Highly recommend running distances over Middle that includes the coastal path which was the most interesting part of the race. It was nice participating as a family and would love to make this type of thing a regular family event :)\n","date":"January 19, 2025","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/senba-coastal-cliff-trail-running-race/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eRace: \u003ca href=\"https://www.outdoor-sports.info/senba-coastal-cliff\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eSenba coastal cliff trail running race\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://tracedetrail.fr/en/event/senba-coastal-cliff-trail-running-race-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eRace Route\u003c/a\u003e (18.1km Middle)\u003cbr\u003e\nWhen: January 19th 2025\u003cbr\u003e\nWhere: Kaifugun, Minamicho (JP)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA small friendly local race along the Senba coastal cliff in Tokushima prefecture, Japan.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"race-overview\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eRace overview \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#race-overview\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/cleanshot-2025-03-29-at-08.39.34402x.png\" alt=\"senba-coastal-cliff-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eCategoryDistanceSingle TrackPaved RoadForest RoadCoastalElevation GainCutoff TimeCheckpointsAid Stations\u003cstrong\u003eShort\u003c/strong\u003e10.4 km85%15%——890 m2h 10mNoneNone\u003cstrong\u003eMiddle\u003c/strong\u003e18.1 km74%10%2%14%1390 m3h 55m21\u003cstrong\u003eLong\u003c/strong\u003e36.5 km71%12%10%7%2833 m8h 43\u003cstrong\u003eElite\u003c/strong\u003e49.6 km68%15%6%11%3856 m8h 15m4 + 1 extra4\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Senba coastal cliff trail running race"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s January 2025 so I thought it would be nice to reflect on how 2024 went for me, and set some intentions for the new year.\n2024 Goals # Keep climbing (safe + without injury) ✔ Go on a trip to Kalymnos, Antalya, and some crags around Japan! ✔ Lead climbg a 6c ✔ Try outdoor bouldering ✔ Get back into running Run a trail race with my brother (in Jan 2025 hopefully) Run more consistently ❌ Hikes A solo hiking trip (Norway? Sweden? The alps?) ❌ Hike with my parents ✔ 2024 Reflection # 2024 was a great year for climbing. I started keeping track of how long \u0026amp; hard I was climbing, where and with whom in one Google Sheet, mostly to keep track of my training intensity to prevent injury but has also motivated me to log more hours throughout the year. I spent 325 hours climbing this year, which is quite a lot especially since I hardly climbed at all in Nov/Dec. I traveled to Tenerife in the Canaries, Kalymnos in Greece and Antalya in Turkey for some outdoor sport climbing. I didn\u0026rsquo;t sport climb outdoors in Japan, but bouldered in a few different gyms in Tokyo and bouldered a bit outside for the first time which has been a fun experience. I lead my first multi-pitch in Kalymnos, and lead my first 6c there too. I know it\u0026rsquo;s not all about the grades but it feels good to be making progress. I didn\u0026rsquo;t get to run as much as I\u0026rsquo;d hoped to this year due to pure laziness and my focus on climbing. I logged around 500km in total which isn\u0026rsquo;t nothing though so I should be proud and grateful. I was sad I didn\u0026rsquo;t run the Zugspitze trail race. Running a trail race in the European alps in the summer is still on my list I ran a few trails in Tokyo with my brother and signed up to a race in Jan with my family which has been a nice bonding experience. I spontaneously joined a 24h relay trail race in Czechia which has been the most fun. Want to do this again this year too. I ran every day for 30 days towards the end of summer which was a really fun experiment! Would do this again. Hardly hiked all year but went on a small hike in the snow with my parents in November which was really nice. Want to cherish the time I have with my family when I can, really grateful I got to spend some time with them in nature and we were all healthy enough to be active outdoors. Besides that, I went skiing for the first time in a very long time in Hokkaido, which was amazing. I traveled a lot this year (spent 1/4 of the year outside of Berlin) and if there\u0026rsquo;s one thing I learned, it\u0026rsquo;s that I\u0026rsquo;m only really interested in travels or holidays that involve some form of running/climbing/activity outdoors + hot springs/spa/sauna + food. Learned a lot about living with others vs traveling with others. I think I still prefer traveling on my own but learned a lot about myself through traveling with others.\n2025 Goals # Long distance bike trip in Europe (Berlin - Northcape) Climbing more consistently Go on a few climbing trips (Leonidio, South America? or somewhere I haven\u0026rsquo;t been yet. Could be nice to go to Antalya for my birthday or Christmas/NY) Up my mental game, fight my fear of falling, just stay chill + calm. Always happy moods + good vibes while at the crag, esp on a bad day or when I\u0026rsquo;m shit scared. Comfortably lead 6c. A longer multi-pitch. 10 pull-ups in a row Improve finger strength Run more consistently for my mental health and more on trails! Trail race in Japan Trail race in Europe DON\u0026rsquo;T GET INJURED = consistent strength \u0026amp; functional training + conditioning Volunteer at an event I also want to try out different cities in Europe where I can do these activities more often (ideally on the weekends) without having to take holidays or travel long term to do them. I am also considering taking some structured courses from the DAV. Really consider moving to another city and make plans for it.\n","date":"January 1, 2025","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/outdoor-goals-2025/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s January 2025 so I thought it would be nice to reflect on how 2024 went for me, and set some intentions for the new year.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"2024-goals\" class=\"relative group\"\u003e2024 Goals \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#2024-goals\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKeep climbing (safe + without injury) ✔\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGo on a trip to Kalymnos, Antalya, and some crags around Japan! ✔\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLead climbg a 6c ✔\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTry outdoor bouldering ✔\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGet back into running\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRun a trail race with my brother (in Jan 2025 hopefully)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRun more consistently ❌\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHikes\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA solo hiking trip (Norway? Sweden? The alps?) ❌\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHike with my parents ✔\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"2024-reflection\" class=\"relative group\"\u003e2024 Reflection \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#2024-reflection\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e2024 was a great year for climbing. I started keeping track of how long \u0026amp; hard I was climbing, where and with whom in one Google Sheet, mostly to keep track of my training intensity to prevent injury but has also motivated me to log more hours throughout the year.\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI spent 325 hours climbing this year, which is quite a lot especially since I hardly climbed at all in Nov/Dec.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI traveled to Tenerife in the Canaries, Kalymnos in Greece and Antalya in Turkey for some outdoor sport climbing. I didn\u0026rsquo;t sport climb outdoors in Japan, but bouldered in a few different gyms in Tokyo and bouldered a bit outside for the first time which has been a fun experience.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI lead my first multi-pitch in Kalymnos, and lead my first 6c there too. I know it\u0026rsquo;s not all about the grades but it feels good to be making progress.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI didn\u0026rsquo;t get to run as much as I\u0026rsquo;d hoped to this year due to pure laziness and my focus on climbing. I logged around 500km in total which isn\u0026rsquo;t nothing though so I should be proud and grateful.\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI was sad I didn\u0026rsquo;t run the Zugspitze trail race. Running a trail race in the European alps in the summer is still on my list\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI ran a few trails in Tokyo with my brother and signed up to a race in Jan with my family which has been a nice bonding experience.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI spontaneously joined a 24h relay trail race in Czechia which has been the most fun. Want to do this again this year too.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI ran every day for 30 days towards the end of summer which was a really fun experiment! Would do this again.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHardly hiked all year but went on a small hike in the snow with my parents in November which was really nice. Want to cherish the time I have with my family when I can, really grateful I got to spend some time with them in nature and we were all healthy enough to be active outdoors.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBesides that, I went skiing for the first time in a very long time in Hokkaido, which was amazing.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI traveled a lot this year (spent 1/4 of the year outside of Berlin) and if there\u0026rsquo;s one thing I learned, it\u0026rsquo;s that I\u0026rsquo;m only really interested in travels or holidays that involve some form of running/climbing/activity outdoors + hot springs/spa/sauna + food. Learned a lot about living with others vs traveling with others. I think I still prefer traveling on my own but learned a lot about myself through traveling with others.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Outdoor goals 2025"},{"content":"A weekend trip to Mitake for some bouldering + baths + fall leaves.\nWe went bouldering outdoors on a weekend in November, when it wasn\u0026rsquo;t too cold yet. One of the popular spots for outdoor bouldering in Tokyo is in Mitake which is about 2.5 hours train ride in the west of Tokyo. A lot of people don\u0026rsquo;t know that western third of Tokyo consists of mostly mountains. (We even have bears!)\nMitake is also known for other outdoor sports like river rafting and canoeing in case you want to combine a few outdoor activities. The area is also good for hiking and quite scenic especially in the fall with all the leaves turning red and yellow.\nWe rented crashpads at a used outdoor shop Maunga (1500 yen) which is right in front of the Mitake station. You can book them in advance, but I don\u0026rsquo;t think it\u0026rsquo;s very necessary. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure if there are English Topos available, but you can always take a look at the Crag.com. Some Boulder gyms in the city also sell some Topos (I saw a few in one of the B-Pump gyms)\nMost people do day trips and go back into the city but we decided to take it slow and stay a night in the mountains. Since it was a fall weekend, hotels in Mitake were booked out so we booked a room in a ryokan (type of traditional Japanese inn, kind of like B\u0026amp;B) in Okutama, which is another 20 minutes train ride further into the mountains and a slightly bigger town than Mitake.\nWe stayed at Gyokusuisou (we got one of the public bath all to ourselves!) which I really liked and ate at a very nice local Izakaya (Japanese bar) called Kimichan which was the only place that was open when we got off the station around 6pm on a Sunday.\nA great weekend getaway with a bit of bouldering, relaxing baths, fall leaves and some good soba noodles.\n","date":"December 31, 2024","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/explore-mitake-outdoor-bouldering-and-scenic-views/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eA weekend trip to Mitake for some bouldering + baths + fall leaves.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe went bouldering outdoors on a weekend in November, when it wasn\u0026rsquo;t too cold yet. One of the popular spots for outdoor bouldering in Tokyo is in Mitake which is about 2.5 hours train ride in the west of Tokyo. A lot of people don\u0026rsquo;t know that western third of Tokyo consists of mostly mountains. (We even have bears!)\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Outdoor Bouldering in Mitake, Tokyo"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been wanting to run a bit on the trails to prepare for a race in January. Here are some of the things I learned while planning some trail runs since I\u0026rsquo;ve been back in Tokyo.\nPopular routes # Mt. Takao (“Most Visited Mountain in the World”) is very popular for hiking, but also for trail running as well. It\u0026rsquo;s very touristy and fall weekends can be so crowded you\u0026rsquo;ll see more people than trees, but if you avoid the major routes between Takaosanguchi station and the summit, you can find some nice routes in the area. Here\u0026rsquo;s a website where you can find these alternative routes near Mt Takao and downloadable GPX files. (It\u0026rsquo;s in Japanese so you might have to use browser translation) Instead of hiking from Takaosanguchi station like 90% of people do, hike from Sagamiko station instead which is a few station further on JR line. Trust me, it\u0026rsquo;s so much quieter. Mount Tonodake (14km) was a really nice \u0026amp; beginner friendly route with amazing view of the city and the ocean. One of the most enjoyable runs I\u0026rsquo;ve done. Kamakura \u0026amp; Hakone are also full of nice running-friendly trails and are also known sight-seeing spots. Useful resources and apps #Some offline maps and places you can download GPX files:\nYAMAP ( Komoot of Japan) Organic maps (maps.me but better) Strava (like everywhere in the world) Communities # Tokyo Trail Running facebook group posts frequent events that anyone can join (gets booked out pretty quick though) You can also browse past events to check out their routes to run on your own! Some outdoor gear shops have their own running groups but might be for long-term members only. I know that Trippers has a running group, and also Yamatomichi has one-off community events (these are more for long distance hikers, but maybe there are some overlap) Trail running races in Japan #I used TrailRunner.jp to check out races throughout the year. I think signing up for a race in the countryside is a great way to travel to less-traveled places and experience local culture.\nSome races are more English friendly than others. E.g. I found an English page for Izu Trail Journey but you might need a Japanese credit card to sign up to some of them. I asked my brother to help me sign up to the race in Jan. I really wish they would make the sign-up process easier.\nI also saw this video that recommends 3 trail running races for beginners in Japan (Spring 2023 version). I find their Youtube channel very helpful for any trail running related tips (I think it\u0026rsquo;s run by one of the owners of the trail running shop in Tachikawa Trippers?)\nWhere to get gear #To buy\nIf you\u0026rsquo;re looking to buy, my go-to outdoor shops are Ishii sports or Sakaiya sports in Kanda which is an area known for all things outdoors. You can find multiple shops selling backpacks, alpine and climbing gear, also skis. But most of the products are imported from Europe/US, and I don\u0026rsquo;t find them too cheap. I\u0026rsquo;d say Ishii sports is a bit pricier than Sakaiya sports. Another alternative is Montbell, a Japanese outdoor brand that sell quality outdoor gear (mostly hiking) for a decent price. They also have some cool smart gadgets great for gifts, very Japanese. There is a boutique shop specialised in trail running called Trippers in Tachikawa which is close to my home town. There are also a few shops selling ultra-light gear mostly for long distance hiking but you should be able to find decent trail shoes there. Yamatomichi in Kamakura or Hiker\u0026rsquo;s Depot in Mitaka. To rent\nIn some of the more popular trail heads, I saw that they rented out trail running shoes, running backpacks and even light-weight hiking poles for a very cheap price. Mt.TAKAO BASE CAMP hostel, cafe \u0026amp; bar (Renting out shoes from On) YAMA CAFE at the foot of Tonodake (popular trail running route, rented light-weight trekking poles for 500 yen!) Note that I\u0026rsquo;m pretty new to the sport, plus I don\u0026rsquo;t usually live in Japan. But here are some of the things I\u0026rsquo;ve discovered during my 2 month stay in Tokyo and as a Japanese-native. Hope this helps!\n","date":"December 31, 2024","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/trail-running-in-tokyo-101/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been wanting to run a bit on the trails to prepare for a race in January. Here are some of the things I learned while planning some trail runs since I\u0026rsquo;ve been back in Tokyo.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"popular-routes\" class=\"relative group\"\u003ePopular routes \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#popular-routes\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMt. Takao (“Most Visited Mountain in the World”) is very popular for hiking, but also for trail running as well. It\u0026rsquo;s very touristy and fall weekends can be so crowded you\u0026rsquo;ll see more people than trees, but if you avoid the major routes between Takaosanguchi station and the summit, you can find some nice routes in the area.\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHere\u0026rsquo;s a website where you can find these \u003ca href=\"https://takao-trail-manners.jp/trails/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003ealternative routes near Mt Takao\u003c/a\u003e and downloadable GPX files. (It\u0026rsquo;s in Japanese so you might have to use browser translation)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInstead of hiking from Takaosanguchi station like 90% of people do, hike from Sagamiko station instead which is a few station further on JR line. Trust me, it\u0026rsquo;s so much quieter.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/japan/kanagawa/mount-tonodake-okura\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eMount Tonodake\u003c/a\u003e (14km) was a really nice \u0026amp; beginner friendly route with amazing view of the city and the ocean. One of the most enjoyable runs I\u0026rsquo;ve done.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2166.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKamakura\u003c/a\u003e \u0026amp; \u003ca href=\"https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5200.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eHakone\u003c/a\u003e are also full of nice running-friendly trails and are also known sight-seeing spots.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"useful-resources-and-apps\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eUseful resources and apps \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#useful-resources-and-apps\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eSome offline maps and places you can download GPX files:\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Trail running in Tokyo 101"},{"content":"When: 2024 Sep 20 - 2024 Oct 13\nWhere: Geyikbayırı, Flying Goat Camp\nSector: Mağara, Anatolia, Koridor, Trebena East, Trebena West, Rüzgarlı Bahçe, Küllüin\nGrades: 6a+ to 6c+ (7a)\nSome thoughts: #I spent 3 weeks this September climbing in Geyikbayırı. It was the beginning of the season so a little too warm for my taste, but climbing in the shade was perfect. I stayed in Flying Goat - what a beautiful place! - and had an amazing time! Possibly my favourite climbing camp to date. I would probably come back later in the season, also curious to see what the place feels like with more people.\nI was working 2 out of 3 weeks, but next time I think I\u0026rsquo;ll come back just to climb (the internet wasn\u0026rsquo;t the greatest either). Also nice hikes around the mountains (especially around the Trebena ruins was nice), good for trail running and beach days.\nOn this trip, I was really struggling with my fear of heights and of falling, and letting my frustration affect how I interact with others - something I want to work on.\nDefinitely coming back for sure!\n","date":"November 2, 2024","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/climbing-in-geyikbayiri/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhen: 2024 Sep 20 - 2024 Oct 13\u003cbr\u003e\nWhere: Geyikbayırı, \u003ca href=\"https://www.flyinggoat.camp/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eFlying Goat Camp\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nSector: \u003ca href=\"https://www.thecrag.com/en/climbing/turkey/geyikbayiri/area/12562339\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eMağara\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.thecrag.com/en/climbing/turkey/geyikbayiri/area/280294815\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eAnatolia\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.thecrag.com/en/climbing/turkey/geyikbayiri/area/3189478311\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKoridor\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.thecrag.com/en/climbing/turkey/geyikbayiri/area/12562843\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eTrebena East\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.thecrag.com/en/climbing/turkey/geyikbayiri/area/12562843\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eTrebena West\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.thecrag.com/en/climbing/turkey/geyikbayiri/area/399677484\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eRüzgarlı Bahçe\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.thecrag.com/en/climbing/turkey/geyikbayiri/area/1038524988\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKüllüin\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nGrades: 6a+ to 6c+ (7a)\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cleanshot-2024-10-18-at-22.17.42.png\" alt=\"climbing-geyikbayiri-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/img_9797.jpg\" alt=\"climbing-geyikbayiri-2\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003ch6 id=\"some-thoughts\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eSome thoughts: \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#some-thoughts\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h6\u003e\u003cp\u003eI spent 3 weeks this September climbing in Geyikbayırı. It was the beginning of the season so a little too warm for my taste, but climbing in the shade was perfect. I stayed in Flying Goat - what a beautiful place! - and had an amazing time! Possibly my favourite climbing camp to date. I would probably come back later in the season, also curious to see what the place feels like with more people.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Climbing in Geyikbayırı, Turkey"},{"content":"When: Oct 16 - Nov 1 2024\nDate Crag Routes 16 Oct Symplegades Opera 6b, Musical 6a+, Mike\u0026rsquo;s Bike 6a 19 Oct Arginonta, Arhi Galopoula 6c, Killian 6b, and another 6b next to it. Couldn\u0026rsquo;t finish Galopoula so top roped it without take. Still scared of heights and exposure, leading and falling. Killian was slabby and scary. Well bolted in general though. 20 Oct Afternoon Harry Zona 6a, Svinelli 6a, Panacea 6c (1 time lead half way, 2 times top rope, final lead + send!) 26 Oct Griffig 5c, 6a, 6b, 6b+, 6c+ (Lead my first 6c+!!!) 27 Oct Alani Wall 6a, 6a+, 6b+ (top rope) 30 Oct Three Stripes (easy multi pitch) 6 pitch multi pitch 5c+ (4a lead, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5c+, 5b+) Wow, Kalymnos. I\u0026rsquo;ve heard too many things about Kalymnos over the past year that I just had to go. And so glad I did. Riding the scooter around the island was amazing, the weather, the food (the FOOD!), the climbing and the view \u0026hellip; my favourite so far.\nI had to cut the trip short due to family emergency but will definitely come back for more climbing in the future.\nNext on my list are: Japan, Chamonix (or France in general), Frankenjura, Spain (mainland), Leonidio, Albania\n","date":"November 2, 2024","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/climbing-in-kalymnos/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhen: Oct 16 - Nov 1 2024\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/6d318137-f865-4cd7-a974-6dc0c18c7160.jpg\" alt=\"climbing-kalymnos-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003ctable\u003e\n  \u003cthead\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003eDate\u003c/th\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003eCrag\u003c/th\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003eRoutes\u003c/th\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003c/thead\u003e\n  \u003ctbody\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e16 Oct\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eSymplegades\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eOpera 6b, Musical 6a+, Mike\u0026rsquo;s Bike 6a\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e19 Oct\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eArginonta, Arhi\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.thecrag.com/en/climbing/greece/kalymnos/arginonda/route/129992667\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eGalopoula\u003c/a\u003e 6c, \u003ca href=\"https://www.thecrag.com/en/climbing/greece/kalymnos/arginonda/route/129990321\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKillian\u003c/a\u003e 6b, and another 6b next to it. Couldn\u0026rsquo;t finish Galopoula so top roped it without take. Still scared of heights and exposure, leading and falling. Killian was slabby and scary. Well bolted in general though.\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e20 Oct\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eAfternoon Harry\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eZona 6a, Svinelli 6a, Panacea 6c (1 time lead half way, 2 times top rope, final lead + send!)\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e26 Oct\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eGriffig\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e5c, 6a, 6b, 6b+, 6c+ (Lead my first 6c+!!!)\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e27 Oct\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eAlani Wall\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e6a, 6a+, 6b+ (top rope)\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e30 Oct\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eThree Stripes (easy multi pitch)\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e6 pitch multi pitch 5c+ (4a lead, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5c+, 5b+)\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWow, Kalymnos. I\u0026rsquo;ve heard too many things about Kalymnos over the past year that I just had to go. And so glad I did. Riding the scooter around the island was amazing, the weather, the food (the FOOD!), the climbing and the view \u0026hellip; my favourite so far.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Climbing in Kalymnos, Greece"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/greece/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Greece"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/turkey/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Turkey"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/czech-republic/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Czech-Republic"},{"content":"Last Friday, I got a voice message from J telling me that his running team was potentially looking for someone who can sub for a team relay trail race this weekend. I had 2 hours to make a decision, wrap up work, pack my things and head to the station.\nI was in my worst shape ever, had not trained, but was really really desperate to get out of the city and clear my head somehow after a baaad week. And it felt like the universe was pushing me to just say yes.\nSo I threw in some changes of clothes, my sleeping bag and sleeping pad in my backpack and left. I got the call around noon, and was already leaving Berlin on a train at 2:50.\nThe event was called LEKI JEŠTĚD 24 SUMMER which took place near Liberec, a city near the German/Czech border on the Czech side. It took us around 5 hours with 3 transfers by regional train using the Deutschland ticket (at no extra cost!).\nhttps://youtu.be/K9xmjhQSzTw\nHere\u0026rsquo;s the route:\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a 10.5k loop and the idea is for each team to run as many loop as possible within 24h (Sat noon till Sun noon). Teams could consist of one person to five people (I think) and our team was 4 people including me.\nWe stayed at Hotel Praha that looked something like a Wes Anderson movie, had an amazing pre-race dinner at an Indian place in town called Indická Restaurace Mountain (or I was just simply hungry) and headed to the race venue the next morning.\nThe start/finish point was at the bottom of a ski slope (didn\u0026rsquo;t know you could ski within a few regional train rides from Berlin) and some people brought tents to sleep in, while others stayed in a big hall and other lucky ones like us had our own little containers with heaters and electric plugs.\nIt was rainy the whole weekend which I thought would be unfortunate but turned out to be quite fun regardless. Probably the most rain I had seen this whole season which meant that the entire route was muddy and slippery and got worse as time went by as all of us ran in loops on the same route.\nThe whole event is kind of crazy, with people running in loops sometimes up to ten, eleven times. That\u0026rsquo;s 100km, with a 600m ascent + descent per loop, in the rain, sometimes in pitch dark without sleep. Like, who comes up with these things? I was surprised to see a few hundred people turning up on a rainy day like this.\nI was a bit nervous because I\u0026rsquo;d never done a trail race with this much ascent/descent, especially in the rain and mud, or ran in the dark before. But then I guess there\u0026rsquo;s a first time for everything.\nI went fourth in my team, which meant I had a few hours to kill before my turn came. I uploaded the GPS route to my watch (so glad I did this, got lost a few times nevertheless) and bought a pair of new LEKI hiking sticks which were a bit expensive but I\u0026rsquo;m really glad I did. Don\u0026rsquo;t think I would\u0026rsquo;ve finished without them.\nThe route was varied, with some nice hike up on rocky terrain, long gentle downhills on asphalt and on gravel. Some parts were so muddy and slippery that I could barely walk while others flew past me (not sure how they manage to hold on to the ground) which was cool to see.\nI forgot how much I missed running until this weekend. I\u0026rsquo;ve been mostly running on flat land the past few years and I had forgotten why I started to run in the first place. I especially enjoyed running down a gentle downhill on the trail, dodging tree roots and rocks. You\u0026rsquo;re so in the moment, and you get tunnel visioned from the darkness. You feel like you\u0026rsquo;re going faster than you really are, it almost feels like flying. The cool fresh air. It\u0026rsquo;s quiet. Just you and the mountains. I forget everything — and that, is everything. That\u0026rsquo;s what I came here for.\nI also thought the whole relay thing was a genius. It lowers bars for trail beginners like myself because you can always drop out, come back to base depending on how you feel that day. It\u0026rsquo;s motivating at the same time because you want to do your best for your team, to pass on the baton (or GPS tracker in this case) and keep the relay going. There was something really nice about being able to see your team members and other teams every time they came back to base (start/finish point).\nAlso, the vibe was amazing. Good 80s music that my parents would\u0026rsquo;ve loved, good food, good people, not too big or intimidating but friendly and local. Good toilets and enough toilet paper!\nI ended up having to stop after two loops because of pain in my right foot, which I should\u0026rsquo;ve known was going to happen (was wearing my 2 year old worn out trail shoes because I had been too lazy to buy another pair) but funnily enough, I don\u0026rsquo;t regret going which is rare when I injure myself. But well, let\u0026rsquo;s see. Going to the doctors tomorrow, I just hope nothing is broken or too long-lasting.\nBecause now I really want to run again. And train for running again. I\u0026rsquo;m a bit more excited to be alive and that feels amazing. Thanks J for sending me that voice message on Friday.\nI really needed this.\n","date":"June 4, 2024","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/leki-jested-24-summer/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLast Friday, I got a voice message from J telling me that his running team was potentially looking for someone who can sub for a team relay trail race this weekend. I had 2 hours to make a decision, wrap up work, pack my things and head to the station.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI was in my worst shape ever, had not trained, but was really \u003cem\u003ereally\u003c/em\u003e desperate to get out of the city and clear my head somehow after a baaad week. And it felt like the universe was pushing me to just say yes.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"LEKI JEŠTĚD 24 SUMMER — 24h relay on the trail"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been complaining about how flat Berlin is and I\u0026rsquo;d never bothered to even look around the surrounding areas. This weekend, a friend of mine asked if I wanted to join them in Löbejün (2.5h car drive from Berlin, 3.5h by public transport?) so I went.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s an old quarry that was shut down and now a place for climbing and highlining. A beautiful place. How did I not know about this place after a year of climbing? I don\u0026rsquo;t know.\nThe camping close by was very nice as well and had a great time eating around a fire, cooking together, just doing nothing, relaxing, taking a nap, laying down, all the things I don\u0026rsquo;t do any more living in a big city.\nI would love to try out highlining at some point. Didn\u0026rsquo;t get to do it this time but definitely on my list to try this year. Also, want to camp out more, get better camping gear in general (almost froze to death in my old sleeping bag) and \u0026hellip; just get out more, period.\nAnother idea would be to cycle here (170km from Berlin, sounds doable?) This spontaneous trip gave me lots of ideas. Looking forward to the summer.\n","date":"March 31, 2024","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/climbing-in-lobejun/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been complaining about how flat Berlin is and I\u0026rsquo;d never bothered to even look around the surrounding areas. This weekend, a friend of mine asked if I wanted to join them in Löbejün (2.5h car drive from Berlin, 3.5h by public transport?) so I went.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s an old quarry that was shut down and now a place for climbing and highlining. A beautiful place. How did I not know about this place after a year of climbing? I don\u0026rsquo;t know.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Climbing in Löbejün"},{"content":"Two weeks climbing in Tenerife. My thoughts.\nTenerife seems to be a very popular winter destination for my friends in Berlin, so I decided to see what it\u0026rsquo;s all about this winter. It is the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands located off the coast of West Africa. There are cheap direct flights from most major European cities including from Berlin. (I found a 5h direct flight from Berlin for 30 Euros!)\nThe island is only a tiny bit smaller than the size of Tokyo (2034 m2) and maybe a bit bigger than Berlin x2. I spent two weeks in January, mostly at the Base Camp in Arico (for climbing) and some hiking in the mountains in the north in Anaga.\nOn rest days, you can go down to the beach and relax, lots of parties and raves, acroyoga session, everyone playing music every night, a great sense of community. There\u0026rsquo;s also a lot to explore on the island with varied landscapes and climates.\nThen there\u0026rsquo;s Mount Teide, a volcano in the middle of the island and the summit is the highest point in Spain at 3,715 m. The whole area looks like some place from a space movie. Maybe this is what being on Mars feels like. I don\u0026rsquo;t know.\nOne of the best sunsets I\u0026rsquo;d seen this year.\nOverall, really cool winter destination. But I really need to learn to drive to make the most out of the experience. Also being able to speak Spanish would\u0026rsquo;ve been a plus.\n","date":"March 31, 2024","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/climbing-in-tenerife/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eTwo weeks climbing in Tenerife. My thoughts.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTenerife seems to be a very popular winter destination for my friends in Berlin, so I decided to see what it\u0026rsquo;s all about this winter. It is the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands located off the coast of West Africa. There are cheap direct flights from most major European cities including from Berlin. (I found a 5h direct flight from Berlin for 30 Euros!)\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Climbing in Tenerife"},{"content":"Two weeks of rock climbing in Tonsai/Railey Beach and Ao Nang in Krabi, Southern Thailand and a month in Green Climbers Home in Laos as a beginner in rock climbing.\nWhen: Nov/Dec 2023\nWhere: Krabi (Tonsai/Railey Beach, Ao Nang) and Green Climbers Home (Thakhek, Laos)\nKrabi Green Climbers Home, Laos Krabi # From Bangkok, it\u0026rsquo;s an hour flight to Krabi Airport. From the airport, take a shuttle bus to Ao Nang (40 mins). From Ao Nang, it\u0026rsquo;s 20 mins boat ride to either Tonsai or Railey Beach. If you\u0026rsquo;re getting on the boat during high tide, you will most likely have to walk at least knee deep in water so I recommend sandles + shorts.\nMy climbing partner and I stayed on Tonsai Beach for around 2 weeks although as a beginner, I found all the routes on Tonsai Beach either too difficult or too polished for the easier routes. We ended up walking to Railey Beach almost every day (it\u0026rsquo;s around 20 mins walk along the beach) which was a bit of a hassle. If I were to go again, I would probably book something in Railey instead. I loved eating out at Mama\u0026rsquo;s Chicken in Tonsai (big portions, good value). Personally, not a huge fan of the vibe around Tonsai with all the walls built up around the resort, also felt a bit dead (but maybe because it was still the start of season).\nEven though Tonsai/Railey Beach are more known as the go-to beachside climbing destinations, there are some nice crags on the mainland close to Ao Nang (North Wall, Spirit Mountain) within short scootering distances. There are more options for accommodations, food and activities and the prices are cheaper. We stayed a week Ao Nang ( De Loft Hotel, recommend) which was a walking distance to the North Wall (new crag so not polished and rain proof) and 20 mins scooter ride to Spirit Mountain (morning crag, face climbing).\nI personally enjoyed climbing in Ao Nang much more than in Tonsai/Railey (I just didn\u0026rsquo;t really enjoy climbing by the beach with all the salt and sand) and didn\u0026rsquo;t enjoy the resort-y vibe in Railey and accomodation was better and cheaper in Ao Nang. So if I were to visit again, I\u0026rsquo;d probably stay longer in Ao Nang. I did enjoy sunset on Phra nang Beach, the hike + rapelling down Bat Cave and Deep Water Soloing in Tonsai.\nThere are plenty of rest day activities to nearby beaches, diving trips and hiking around Krabi too. One thing we did regret was not bringing our own rope. Rope rental costs around 10 Euros/day on either Tonsai/Railey and in Ao Nang, we couldn\u0026rsquo;t find a place to rent at all.\nGreen Climbers Home, Laos # I heard about GCH while climbing in Tonsai and decided to head there afterwards after parting with my climbing partner since people have told me that it\u0026rsquo;s easy to meet climbing partners there as a solo traveler. I booked for two weeks and ended up staying there for a month. The easiest way to get there to take a flight from Bangkok to Nakhon Phanom (1h, 50 EUR) and take a shuttle bus + bus to cross the border + taxi to GCH which is about 16km from Thakhek city. You can find details on their website here.\nGCH is in the middle of nowhere and there are about 400 routes within short walking distances from the camps. There are only climbers there and it\u0026rsquo;s so easy to find climbing partners, making it perfect for solo travelers with or without gear.\nThere are two camps (Camp 1 and Camp 2) which are run by two different couples. Even though they are 7 mins walking distances from each other and you can eat/rent gear from both camps no matter which one you\u0026rsquo;re staying at, the community feels quite separate somehow. A big difference is that Camp 1 has no cell reception while Camp 2 has some cell reception. I stayed at both camps but preferred Camp 1 (it\u0026rsquo;s so nice to not have internet, people are not on their phones and want to actually socialize!). I also initially stayed in dorms but ended up staying in tents instead which are cheaper and has more privacy. Plus, I slept much better in tents, highly recommend.\nThe rocks are quite sharp so it took a while for my skin to get used to it but I liked that there were a lot of options for beginner climbers like myself, lots of easy routes! There are some easier climbs on the roof that I could try (with fixed draws!) which is apparently rare.\nOnly downside to GCH is that there\u0026rsquo;s not much else to do around except for climbing. Some people did the infamous Thakhek loop on the motorbikes or went into the city for a day for some good internet and shopping. There are also many caves you can swim/explore but that\u0026rsquo;s about it. I personally loved the food at the camp but I can imagine that it can get a little repetitive after a few weeks.\nOverall, I really enjoyed my first long climbing trip which made me want to explore other parts of the world through outdoor climbing.\n","date":"January 3, 2024","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/climbing-in-thailand-laos/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eTwo weeks of rock climbing in \u003ca href=\"https://basecamptonsai.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eTonsai\u003c/a\u003e/Railey Beach and Ao Nang in Krabi, Southern Thailand and a month in \u003ca href=\"https://www.greenclimbershome.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eGreen Climbers Home\u003c/a\u003e in Laos as a beginner in rock climbing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen: Nov/Dec 2023\u003cbr\u003e\nWhere: Krabi (Tonsai/Railey Beach, Ao Nang) and Green Climbers Home (Thakhek, Laos)\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cleanshot-2024-01-02-at-14.29.22402x.png\" alt=\"climbing-thailand-laos-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/climbing-in-thailand-laos/#krabi\"\u003eKrabi\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/climbing-in-thailand-laos/#green-climbers-home-laos\"\u003eGreen Climbers Home, Laos\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"krabi\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eKrabi \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#krabi\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/img_6993.jpg\" alt=\"climbing-thailand-laos-2\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom Bangkok, it\u0026rsquo;s an hour flight to Krabi Airport. From the airport, take a shuttle bus to Ao Nang (40 mins). From Ao Nang, it\u0026rsquo;s 20 mins boat ride to either Tonsai or Railey Beach. If you\u0026rsquo;re getting on the boat during high tide, you will most likely have to walk at least knee deep in water so I recommend sandles + shorts.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Climbing in Thailand \u0026amp; Laos"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/laos/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Laos"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/thailand/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Thailand"},{"content":"Who: Me, alone\nWhat: Cycling 🚴‍♀️\nWhen: September 23 - 29 2023 (7 days)\nWhere: Berlin to Copenhagen ( Bikeway Berlin Kopenhagen)\nHow: 10 year-old city bike (cross bike)\nCopenhagen has always been in the top of the list of cities I\u0026rsquo;ve been wanting to visit. So this fall, when my father told me that he would be flying there, I decided to visit the city. I\u0026rsquo;ve heard from friends about a famous bike path from Berlin to Copenhagen, so instead of flying or taking the train, I decided to bike. This was my first ever solo bike-packing trip and it was so much fun! (and very doable too!)\nPlanning Planning the route Accommodation Warmshowers.org Shelters in Denmark Gear List Itinerary Budget Accommodation Coming back from Copenhagen Taking the ferries Thoughts on the road Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Planning #Like most of my trips I didn\u0026rsquo;t really plan so much. I started planning the route a few days before and mainly used whatever that was already available in terms of gear.\nFor planning, I used the following apps:\nMaps\nKomoot (route planning, downloaded offline maps) Google maps (downloaded offline terrain maps for northern Germany and Denmark) Organic maps (free Android \u0026amp; iOS offline maps app based on top of OSM data. Better alternative to maps.me) Planning Accommodation\nwarmshowers.org (community for bike tourists, couchsurfing for cyclists) Shelter app iOS/ Android (Map of primitive accommodation with shelter from the rain and bad weather in Denmark) Planning the route #With any trips I do, I didn\u0026rsquo;t plan too much. I went on Komoot and copied the route. It then allows you to \u0026ldquo;Plan day by day itinerary\u0026rdquo; by adjusting the number of days you have and your current level of fitness:\nI also made sure that there were some accommodation options for each day in the app:\nI also downloaded the routes for offline use before the trip in the Komoot app. I also downloaded some terrain maps on Google maps and downloaded some offline maps on Organic maps app too just in case.\nAccommodation #Warmshowers.org #My plan was to camp as much as I could. But I also wanted to make new friends along the way since I figured biking alone all day could become a little bit lonely at times. Warmshowers.org is like couchsurfing for bikers — you pay $30 to create an account and you\u0026rsquo;ll be able to find a community of fellow bikers who may host you during your bike trips or who you may be able to host.\nThe website is a little clunky but that\u0026rsquo;s what makes it nice, and my experience on there has been really positive so far. I only messaged 3 people on the platform and they all responded fairly quickly. 2 accepted and they\u0026rsquo;ve been the most welcoming hosts I\u0026rsquo;ve ever encountered!\nI didn\u0026rsquo;t use it this time, but I also recommend a platform called Couchers.org which is a couchsurfing platform but a much nicer one than the current couchsurfing.com.\nShelters in Denmark #In Denmark, there are free primitive wooden shelters usually with water source and a fireplace everywhere in the country where hikers and bikers can stay overnight. And there\u0026rsquo;s an app for it too, called the Shelter app (orange icon)\nIn the app, you can find a map with locations and reviews of the shelters in Denmark but you\u0026rsquo;ll also likely to stumble upon them on the way.\nOne problem I had with these shelters is that in one of the shelters, I got attacked by mice. They somehow got inside my bike panniers and bit into my food supply. Read more about Denmark\u0026rsquo;s shelters here.\nGear List #I managed to fit everything into two 40L Ortlieb bike panniers and a small handlebar bag. I tried to make do with what I already had at home but I did buy the handlebar bag from Decathlon (15 EUR) which turned out to be very useful.\nThere are gear lists online like this Bikepacking 101 list but I think they\u0026rsquo;re a bit of an overkill. Unless you\u0026rsquo;re biking somewhere far from civilization, you can pick most things up on the road so I always try to start with the minimum.\nFor the whole week, I wore the same cycling shorts, same T-shirt/long-sleeves and same clothes once I reached the campsites and you only really need a spare for each item in case it rains. It did get quite cold during the night so I\u0026rsquo;m glad I brought my jackets. I\u0026rsquo;m also glad I brought two battery banks. It\u0026rsquo;s also handy to have a fanny pack to put all your valuables when you want to leave your bike, especially when traveling alone because no one is going to look out for your stuff while you go to the toilets.\nItinerary #You can find my full itinerary and the route I took for each day on my Komoot collection.\nBut here\u0026rsquo;s the gist:\nRouteDistanceDay 1Hohen Neuendorf - Campingplatz am Großen Wentowsee59 kmDay 2Campsite at Großer Wentowsee - Sietow Dorf106 kmDay 3Sietow Dorf - Kanu Camp Westphal (Bützow)97 kmDay 4Kanu Camp Westphal (Bützow) - Rostock (rest day) 37 kmDay 5Rostock - Møn Camping (via Slotshaven shelterplads)87 kmDay 6Møn Camping - Stevens Klint106 kmDay 7Stevens Klint - Copenhagen83 km\nSince I started late on a Saturday afternoon and also took a rest day on Day 4 where I only biked for 2 hours, it would\u0026rsquo;ve been doable in 6 days. If I were to do it again though, I would spend maybe another day in Møn, maybe a tour around the island including the Møn Klint since it was probably the most beautiful part of the whole trip. The camping place on Mons Klint was highly recommended by another biker.\nBudget #Accommodation #Most camping places are about 10 euros/night in Germany, 15 euros in Denmark. Overnight shelters in Denmark are usually free but some nicer ones ask you to pay online (although nobody checks.) There are many B\u0026amp;B and hotels along the way but not too affordable for solo travelers.\nComing back from Copenhagen #I only planned to bike one way so I had booked a direct night bus from Copenhagen to Berlin which cost me around 50 euros and took about 9 hours. Flixbus has options to carry bikes with a small extra fee (I think 8 euros.) Train from Copenhagen to Berlin is around 7 hours which is faster but slightly more expensive than the bus if not booked in advance and has one transfer. To bring a bike, you need to reserve a bike spot for around 11 euros which can be done online unless you\u0026rsquo;re booking it last minute in which case you\u0026rsquo;ll need to go to the train station.\nTaking the ferries #I took the ferry twice during this trip. For both, there\u0026rsquo;s no need to reserve and costs around 10 - 15 euros.\nRostock - Gedser (every 2 hours, 15 euros, 2 hours) Stubbekobing - Bogø (every hour, 11 euros, 15 minutes) Thoughts on the road #Day 1 #I leave Berlin in the afternoon and accidentally take the wrong train out of the city. I end up in a place called Hohen Neuendorf, go into a cafe for a nice bowl of pumpkin soup and hit the road at 4pm. 2 hours in, I suddenly remember that I’d left my bike reservation tickets for my train ride back to Berlin and I panic. I also feel a nerve pinch in my lower back. Is my hernia back? I can’t do this. Should I go back to Berlin? I call up J, who helps me out with the ticket problem and he parts with some words of encouragement so I hit the road again. It’s dark by the time I arrive at the camp site in Wentowsee. It’s my first time pitching the specific tent I’m carrying and I’m nervous whether I can do this in the dark. It turns out to be easier than I thought. I message a few people on the Warmshowers.org app and hope that someone will reply in the coming days.\nDay 2 #Next morning, I get a text from one of the Warmshowers host Peter who lives in a small village that’s a little off the bike path from Berlin to Copenhagen. I stumble upon Ravensbrück’s Women’s Concentration Camp (now a museum) which used to be the largest women\u0026rsquo;s concentration camp in the German Reich (highly recommend visiting on the way, I would give it at least an hour) I’m using the offline navigation on Komoot but this is draining my phone’s battery really fast. I notice myself getting a little bored but music with earphones turn out to be a perfect distraction, enough to keep me going. I’m following the Berlin-Copenhagen route (which is also part of the Eurovelo 7 Sun route) but to get to Peter’s place, I take another bike path (there are so many great bike paths in Germany, it’s amazing) through Muritz. I get a little bit lost and arrive at Peter’s place just before sunset. He lives in a small village with his boyfriend and his chickens and geese and plants. Getting to meet Peter was probably the highlight of my day.\nDay 3 #Most of the paths are paved but not all are asphalt and some bike paths take you deep into the woods. On these roads, I really wished I had thicker grippier tiers or a proper gravel road and I worried that my old city bike won’t make it till the end or I worried if I had to change the tubes (and whether I still remembered how to do it.) At one point, the path reached a dead end (there was a road sign saying I cannot pass) so I took a detour and decided to go on the big road with the cars which was quite scary. Now I understand why there are bike paths. The cars in Germany really don’t expect bikers to be on the road. I eventually reached a camp site in Bützow where I met an Argentinian guy living in Copenhagen going the other direction to Berlin and a German couple doing a canoe/biking trip (such a nice vacation idea!) It feels a lot safer to be in a campsite with other people.\nDay 4 #I stopped listening to music for a change and it’s kind of meditative. The act of cycling is a great way to let your mind wander a bit. It’s a lot nicer than ruminating indoors. My dad calls to tell me that he just tested positive for COVID and that he most likely won’t be coming to Copenhagen. But since I’m already on the road, I decide to continue anyway.\nI biked 2 hours to Rostock and by lunch, I was already in the city. I met up with P who had been traveling in his van since the weekend and we decided to hang out for a day which was fun. Bouldering gyms are great places to shower/rest/exercise while on the road and I also took a job interview here, which didn’t go so well. One question they asked me that still haunts me “What’s one amazing thing you’ve achieved in your life that you’re proud of?” — I have no idea.\nDay 5 #We take a morning dip in the sea by the coast in Rostock (freezing but refreshing) and P drops me and my bike off at the port in Rostock so I can catch the 9am ferry to Gedser. I meet a Swiss couple doing the same route but with less stuff (staying in hotels) and I follow them onto the ferry. It was a little confusing getting from the ticket office to the ferry though. We parked our bikes with all the trucks and then went inside the ferry. I paid 20 euros for the breakfast buffet but don’t think it was worth it (so I made sandwiches for lunch.) 2 hours on the ferry goes really fast and I’m already in Denmark. Gedser is pretty deserted and all I see are roads and Danish flags and houses everywhere. It’s sunny and warm today and I’m taking off my long sleeves. The routes along the coast is absolutely beautiful. There are sandy beaches everywhere, amazing places to camp out too. And out of nowhere, there’s a kindergarden, in the middle of nowhere in the woods, by the beach. Kids playing. I wonder what it’s like to grow up here. I reach Stubbekobing at around 16:00 and then wait for the ferry for 30 mins. The ferry is very cool and also deserted. There are only three of us on it, me and a German couple on their electric bikes. At the port, I meet another bikepacker with an American accent who’ve been bikepacking all summer in Scandinavia and he tells me about an awesome app called the Shelter app which shows a map of free shelters around Denmark and he recommends me a place on Mon island. I decide to make this my destination for the day. The shelter place looks amazing, initially, until I’m woken up by rustling noises. I look around to see something dark moving in my dry bag. It’s a mouse. It’s just a mouse, I try to calm myself down but now, I cannot unhear them everywhere. They seem to be running around the entire place. I’m unable to sleep so I decide to move to the nearest camp site which is a few kilometers away. I open my bike pannier to find mice biting into another dry bag with my food inside. I’m alone in the dark, in the woods, by the beach, all alone with no mobile signals and for the first time during this entire trip, I feel a little scared. I cycle under the moonlight which is surprisingly bright and arrive at the camp site.\nDay 6 #I wake up to the sun and the sounds of the ocean. It’s an amazing camp site with the beach right beside it. My plan was to go to Mon Klint which adds another 30km to the route but I’m too tired from the mice incident so I decide to head on forward toward Copenhagen. I’m a little anxious about where to sleep tonight since I don’t see any campsites near where I’m headed but I do find a shelter area in the shelter app that has great reviews. On the way, I find a really nice bakery with possibly the best sourdough bread I’ve tasted. Bakeries in Denmark are amazing. I also stop using the Komoot app because the roads are so well marked in Denmark that there is practically no need to look at maps at all.\nThe shelter place is also a birdwatching area/park and has a few newly built shelters, a nice big toilet, fresh water and lots of space for a dozen tents. I meet a German woman who is also traveling alone on her bike, doing the same route as me. She is from Gorlitz and she tells me that it’s her first time traveling alone since having kids. Her oldest is now a college student. She is pretty badass, I want to be like her when I’m older.\nDay 7 #The roads aren’t as beautiful anymore, and I’m just excited to be reaching Copenhagen today. I find another amazing bakery and eat lots of bread with butter because why not. As I cycle into the city of Copenhagen, I can’t help but be amazed by how beautiful the place is. It’s also quite windy. I am greeted by D and H, a couple who’ve been around the world on their bikes for a year (for a year!!) and they have a whole YouTube channel with videos and documentaries of their experience. D is a midwife and H is a film editor and they’re both very cool people, amazing hosts. Their apartment is also charming, with a shared shower in the basement. Copenhagen is such a cool city, a little expensive, but very clean and feels very safe. D and H cook me a traditional danish dinner and I feel spoiled. I want to be amazing hosts like them one day. And have a place to host people as well.\nI was afraid that the trip was going to be a lonely one, spending a lot of time alone. Yes, I did spend a lot of time alone but I also met a lot of people at camp sites and through warm showers. I also appreciated every interaction I was able to have. And it made me realize that what I loved the most about the trip was actually these interactions with the people I met on the road, even though there weren\u0026rsquo;t so many of them. But then again, even when I\u0026rsquo;m living in the city, am I interacting with a lot of people? Or am I taking these interactions for granted?\nGood trip overall.\n","date":"October 11, 2023","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/cycling-from-berlin-to-copenhagen/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWho\u003c/strong\u003e: Me, alone\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWhat\u003c/strong\u003e: Cycling 🚴‍♀️\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWhen\u003c/strong\u003e: September 23 - 29 2023 (7 days)\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWhere\u003c/strong\u003e: Berlin to Copenhagen ( \u003ca href=\"http://www.bike-berlin-copenhagen.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eBikeway Berlin Kopenhagen\u003c/a\u003e)\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHow\u003c/strong\u003e: 10 year-old city bike (cross bike)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCopenhagen has always been in the top of the list of cities I\u0026rsquo;ve been wanting to visit. So this fall, when my father told me that he would be flying there, I decided to visit the city. I\u0026rsquo;ve heard from friends about a famous bike path from Berlin to Copenhagen, so instead of flying or taking the train, I decided to bike. This was my first ever solo bike-packing trip and it was so much fun! (and very doable too!)\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Cycling from Berlin to Copenhagen"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/denmark/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Denmark"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/ireland/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Ireland"},{"content":"This one is going to be a short one because I actually didn\u0026rsquo;t get to hike so much in the end. But here are some notes for future self as well as those wishing to hike the Wicklow Way in the future.\nGeneral Info The Route Preparation \u0026amp; Accommodation Thoughts General Info # The Wicklow Way is a 130 km long-distance trail that crosses the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. It runs from Marlay Park in the southern suburbs of Dublin through County Wicklow and ends in the village of Clonegal in County Carlow. (Source: Wiki) It\u0026rsquo;s super accessible (a bus ride away from the airport and the city) Air Lingus allows you to drop off a 10kg bag for free, enough for a hiking backpack and perfect for bringing hiking poles (because hiking poles aren\u0026rsquo;t usually allowed on carry-on luggage) You can get to the trailhead easily with a bus (pay in cash or Leap card) The Route # Here\u0026rsquo;s the route on Komoot and Official Website Tough Soles Blog on Wicklow Way + youtube videos were great resource! The guy at the outdoor shop in Dublin recommended that I do the northern part from Marley Park to Glendalough which is apparently the more beautiful part of the trail. Preparation \u0026amp; Accommodation # You should carry a water filter with you as well as enough water (at least a few liters) and a few days worth of food. There are plenty of places to camp on the trail and there are three shelters along the route (Brusher\u0026rsquo;s Gap, Mucklagh and Mullacor) but no fires are allowed in Wicklow and camping is forbidden in Glendalough according to The Unwritten Rules of Wild Camping It can get quite windy at night so choose camp gounds wisely. Knockree youth hostel is currently being used for Ukrainian refugees and many youth hostels along the route gets booked out so make sure to reserve them in advance if you want to stay there. Weather can change quite quickly. Thoughts # Sadly, I had to quit the trail on the second day since I didn\u0026rsquo;t feel so well. It was fairly easy to hitchhike back into the city and I guess that\u0026rsquo;s another great thing about this trail, its proximity to Dublin. Maybe another day.\n","date":"October 11, 2023","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/trip-to-dublin-two-days-on-the-wicklow-way/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis one is going to be a short one because I actually didn\u0026rsquo;t get to hike so much in the end. But here are some notes for future self as well as those wishing to hike the Wicklow Way in the future.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/trip-to-dublin-two-days-on-the-wicklow-way/#general-info\"\u003eGeneral Info\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/trip-to-dublin-two-days-on-the-wicklow-way/#the-route\"\u003eThe Route\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/trip-to-dublin-two-days-on-the-wicklow-way/#preparation-accommodation\"\u003ePreparation \u0026amp; Accommodation\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/trip-to-dublin-two-days-on-the-wicklow-way/#thoughts\"\u003eThoughts\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"general-info\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eGeneral Info \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#general-info\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Wicklow Way is a 130 km long-distance trail that crosses the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. It runs from Marlay Park in the southern suburbs of Dublin through County Wicklow and ends in the village of Clonegal in County Carlow. (Source: Wiki)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s super accessible (a bus ride away from the airport and the city)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAir Lingus allows you to drop off a 10kg bag for free, enough for a hiking backpack and perfect for bringing hiking poles (because hiking poles aren\u0026rsquo;t usually allowed on carry-on luggage)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYou can get to the trailhead easily with a bus (pay in cash or Leap card)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"the-route\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eThe Route \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#the-route\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHere\u0026rsquo;s the route on \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/collection/1255848/the-wicklow-way-discover-ireland-s-east\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eKomoot\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"https://www.wicklowway.com/trail-description/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eOfficial Website\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://toughsoles.ie/blog/tag/Wicklow\u0026#43;Way\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eTough Soles Blog on Wicklow Way\u003c/a\u003e + youtube videos were great resource!\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe guy at the outdoor shop in Dublin recommended that I do the northern part from Marley Park to Glendalough which is apparently the more beautiful part of the trail.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"preparation--accommodation\" class=\"relative group\"\u003ePreparation \u0026amp; Accommodation \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#preparation--accommodation\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYou should carry a water filter with you as well as enough water (at least a few liters) and a few days worth of food.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThere are plenty of places to camp on the trail and there are three shelters along the route (Brusher\u0026rsquo;s Gap, Mucklagh and Mullacor) but no fires are allowed in Wicklow and camping is forbidden in Glendalough according to \u003ca href=\"https://toughsoles.ie/blog/the-unwritten-rules-of-wild-camping-in-ireland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eThe Unwritten Rules of Wild Camping\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt can get quite windy at night so choose camp gounds wisely.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKnockree youth hostel is currently being used for Ukrainian refugees and many youth hostels along the route gets booked out so make sure to reserve them in advance if you want to stay there.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWeather can change quite quickly.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"thoughts\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eThoughts \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#thoughts\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/img_6351.jpg\" alt=\"dublin-days-wicklow-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/img_6353.jpg\" alt=\"dublin-days-wicklow-2\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/img_6354.jpg\" alt=\"dublin-days-wicklow-3\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/img_6356.jpg\" alt=\"dublin-days-wicklow-4\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/img_6362.jpg\" alt=\"dublin-days-wicklow-5\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/img_6363.jpg\" alt=\"dublin-days-wicklow-6\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/img_6372.jpg\" alt=\"dublin-days-wicklow-7\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/img_6371.jpg\" alt=\"dublin-days-wicklow-8\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eSadly, I had to quit the trail on the second day since I didn\u0026rsquo;t feel so well. It was fairly easy to hitchhike back into the city and I guess that\u0026rsquo;s another great thing about this trail, its proximity to Dublin. Maybe another day.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Trip to Dublin, two days on the Wicklow Way"},{"content":"First time lead-climbing outdoors!\nEarlier this summer, I took some climbing courses in the gym in Berlin and I\u0026rsquo;ve been dying to try out outdoor sport climbing. It\u0026rsquo;s such a different experience from climbing in the gym and now I\u0026rsquo;m even more excited to practice more :)\nWe were staying in Corte which is a very cute city in the middle of the island (1h drive or 2h train ride from Bastia). The old city is very pretty and it has lots of nice rivers you can swim in when it gets too hot. We also did a bit of climbing near Zonza in Bavella. Both locations were super beginner friendly with bolts every meter or so.\nCorte # L\u0026rsquo;Ortale (2 mins from the river) L\u0026rsquo;Oratoire (in the shade) Zonza # Col de Bavella (just off the GR20 variation route) ? Can\u0026rsquo;t remember for sure but it\u0026rsquo;s the closest climbing area from Auberge du Col de Bavella Campsite Recommendations # Chez Barto (Corte) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Le Restonica (Corte) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Campsite La Riviere (Zonza) ⭐️⭐️ I\u0026rsquo;m lead 5c (barely) and learned to construct an anchor and in general learned a lot. Should plan another trip before I lose motivation.\n","date":"September 5, 2023","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/climbing-in-corsica/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eFirst time lead-climbing outdoors!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEarlier this summer, I took some climbing courses in the gym in Berlin and I\u0026rsquo;ve been dying to try out outdoor sport climbing. It\u0026rsquo;s such a different experience from climbing in the gym and now I\u0026rsquo;m even more excited to practice more :)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe were staying in Corte which is a very cute city in the middle of the island (1h drive or 2h train ride from Bastia). The old city is very pretty and it has lots of nice rivers you can swim in when it gets too hot. We also did a bit of climbing near Zonza in Bavella. Both locations were super beginner friendly with bolts every meter or so.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Climbing in Corsica"},{"content":"My personal experience hiking the GR20 in Corsica in August 2023 as a solo female average hiker (rather spontaneously)\nI also used Komoot for the first time where you can find route details and some photos from me. Here\u0026rsquo;s the link.\nWhat is GR20? Fitness and experience required to hike the trail When to hike? Should I avoid the peak season? North to South vs South to North? Section hiking — which section should I hike? Is it easy to get off the trail? Is there cell phone reception? Who is hiking the GR20? Who did I meet on the trail? Language Accommodation (Do you bring your own tent? Should you make a reservation in advance?) Park owned refuges, private bergeries, hotels \u0026amp; gites Food \u0026amp; water (How much should you bring, carry? What kind of food is available on the trail?) Packing (What to bring, backpack size) Who should hike the GR20? Cost breakdown (Access to the trailhead, food on the trail, accommodation) What would I do differently? Would I hike it again? Other trail recommendations by GR20 hikers Resources (books and apps) What is GR20? #The GR 20 is a GR footpath that crosses Corsica (French island in the Mediterranean) running approximately north–south, and is around 180 km long with 12,000 m of elevation gain split into 15 stages. Many people walk the trail in about 10 - 13 days. The trail is considered to be the most difficult of all the GR routes and consists of two parts, northern and southern part.\nFitness and experience required to hike the trail #I would say it would be good to be relatively fit and healthy (especially in the joints) but I don\u0026rsquo;t think special training is necessary. Since the trail is very very well-marked (if you don\u0026rsquo;t see a mark for more than 10m, you know you\u0026rsquo;ve gone off the trail) and it\u0026rsquo;s a popular route frequented by many hikers (sometimes overcrowded), with many water sources and well staffed refuges and huts along the way to stock up on food, it would be difficult to get lost or run out of water/food, making it a good trail for hiking beginners. There are also escape routes on almost every stage, which give you the option to drop out and get off the trail if something goes wrong.\nI felt safe hiking the trail alone because I knew that I would never really be alone and there would always be other hikers in case of emergencies. I think it\u0026rsquo;s a great route for those who are not necessarily experienced in hiking but want a physical challenge.\nWhen to hike? Should I avoid the peak season? #I was initially worried about how crowded the trail was going to be during the peak season in mid-August but it was actually ok (although someone told me that there are 40% less hikers this year) It was enough people to not feel too lonely on the trail but not too many that I felt overwhelmed. The weather was very stable and sunny during the 2 weeks I was in Corsica which is great because I don\u0026rsquo;t think I would\u0026rsquo;ve walked the stages 2 to 4 if it was raining. The rocky paths would\u0026rsquo;ve been too slippery.\nBUT it was VERY HOT — so hot in fact that it was difficult to walk during the day after lunch. So on most days, everybody started walking while it was still dark outside. A head lamp is a must-have. I woke up around 4 or 5 on most days and started hiking by 6:30 the latest. I hiked in the afternoon on the first day from Calenzana to Refuge d\u0026rsquo;Ortu di u Piobbu which was the worst mistake ever. I almost had a heat stroke. If you\u0026rsquo;re going during the summer, don\u0026rsquo;t start hiking in the afternoon.\nNorth to South vs South to North? #Since I only had a week to hike the GR20, I could only do a section of the GR20. I had a difficult time deciding between the north section or the south section, and whether to walk it north to south or south to north. North section is known to be more technical and physically tougher but the views more spectacular. Most people start from the north and walk south, so I decided to start from the north tip and walk south. I don\u0026rsquo;t regret this decision because I made lots of friends on the trail (when you meet the same people on the trail every evening at the refuges, or you walk pass each other on the trail several times, you start to form bonds with these people!) But I would say, I enjoyed the latter half of the north section a lot more than the first few stages. If I were to do it again, I would start from Vizavonna (the middle point between the trail) and walk northwards.\nSection hiking — which section should I hike? #I only hiked the first 6 sections of the trail (I started from Calenzanna and left the trail just after Refuge Manganu from Lac de Capitellu and hitched-hiked to Corte.) Out of the 6 sections, my favorite part was from Vallone to Ciottulu di Mori and to Manganu via Lake Nino. I especially loved the descent from Refuge Ciottulu di Mori. This section reminded me of the highlands in Scotland and you\u0026rsquo;ll love this section if you\u0026rsquo;re someone who prefers hill-walking to technical alpine climbing with lots of loose rocks and steep descents.\nIs it easy to get off the trail? #YES, this was actually one of the things that made me feel really comfortable about GR20 and hiking it alone. There were a few people who had dropped out due to sprained ankles and other injuries and there are always routes that will take you down the mountains easily.\nIs there cell phone reception? #It\u0026rsquo;s not very great. I didn\u0026rsquo;t get cell phone reception until the 3rd stage, but only briefly as well. After that, it gets a bit better. Tell your families in advance that you won\u0026rsquo;t be reachable and you\u0026rsquo;ll be ok.\nWho is hiking the GR20? Who did I meet on the trail? #I met many couples in their late 20s to mid 30s but also groups of friends from all ages. Mostly people from neighboring European countries, many from continental France. A few solo hikers too but most form groups by the first few days. I also noticed that there are usually a split between the French speaking and the non-French speaking groups. Some are more experienced than others, but I\u0026rsquo;ve met plenty who are hiking a trail like this for the first time.\nLanguage #Most guardians at the refuge speak English but it\u0026rsquo;s generally good to be able to speak French. Plus, you\u0026rsquo;ll make more friends that way.\nAccommodation (Do you bring your own tent? Should you make a reservation in advance?) #On GR20, you\u0026rsquo;re not allowed to wild camp wherever and it\u0026rsquo;s required that you camp at the refuges and bergeries or nearby. However, I did see some nice camping spots along the trail and met some people wild camping despite it being prohibited. I do think it\u0026rsquo;s nice to stay near the refuges and bergeries to socialize and make friends though.\nSince I didn\u0026rsquo;t own a light-weight tent, I didn\u0026rsquo;t bring one with me and relied on hired tents and beds at the refuges. But from what I\u0026rsquo;ve seen, most people opted to bring their own tents. Having your own tent makes planning a lot more flexible and you\u0026rsquo;ll definitely save money. BUT, I also saw someone giving away a tent on the 2nd day because they couldn\u0026rsquo;t walk with the weight anymore. So really consider getting a lightweight tent. I also saw some people only bringing the inner tent without the outer fly since the weather forecast looked good.\nSo my biggest worry was this — if I don\u0026rsquo;t have a reservation, would I be able to stay at a refuge? What if I arrive at a refuge and it\u0026rsquo;s full? Well, I needn\u0026rsquo;t have worried too much. Usually, I managed to find free beds or free tents for hire on arrival. Refuges with dormitories usually had lots of free beds (I even had a whole room to myself at Refuge Asco) but some refuges don\u0026rsquo;t have dormitories but only limited number of hired tents. For example, the first refuge, Refuge d\u0026rsquo;Ortu di u Piobbu, only had 2 hired tents left when I arrived. Refuge de Tighjettu didn\u0026rsquo;t have any free tents when I arrived so I had to walk to the next bergerie (which was luckily only 45 mins walk away). If the weather is good, you could sleep just with your sleeping bag since there aren\u0026rsquo;t too many insects and animals to bother you.\nSince this year (2023), we can make online reservations in advance for the refuges. In some guides, it says that it\u0026rsquo;s necessarily to book them in advance if you\u0026rsquo;re not carrying a tent. However, the reality is that you can usually find some form of accommodation somewhere as I\u0026rsquo;ve already written above. You can book them from the park\u0026rsquo;s website:\nBat Flanc (a bed in a dormitory) Bivouac (staying with your own tent) Bivouac + Tent (tent for hire) Bivouac + Tent (tent for hire, for 2 people) The reason why there are options for Bivouac + Tent and 2 Bivouacs + Tent is because the tent they rent out is usually for two people, so it\u0026rsquo;s cheaper to rent a tent as 2 people vs 1 person.\nWhen you don\u0026rsquo;t book in advance, the costs are a lot higher:\nBat Flanc 30€ Bivouac 15€ Bivouac + Tent 33€ Bivouac + Tent 48€ The problem though, is that you never really know how far you\u0026rsquo;re able to walk until you start walking. There\u0026rsquo;s also the weather. I was lucky to have sunny days but that\u0026rsquo;s not always the case. And some sections, you would want to wait out if it rains. It is theoretically possible to change your reservation via phone or email but the problem is that you won\u0026rsquo;t necessarily have cell phone reception.\nI wasted two nights worth of reservations because I couldn\u0026rsquo;t walk according to my plans. I would say maybe book the first night, but don\u0026rsquo;t bother booking the rest. And carry your tent if you can or if you can somehow split the weight load with whoever you\u0026rsquo;re hiking with. Or if it\u0026rsquo;s sunny, it\u0026rsquo;s definitely possible to just sleep with your sleeping bag and mattress.\nThe reservation system is a little silly in my honest opinion. It just doesn\u0026rsquo;t work and I hope they will not continue with it.\nPark owned refuges, private bergeries, hotels \u0026amp; gites #Refuges are owned by the park, the rest are private (is my understanding.) I only stayed at one bergerie but it was a lot nicer than the refuge and cost around the same, or even less than booking a bed in a refuge. Staff at Bergerie de Ballone were super friendly and the food was amazing.\nobjectif-gr20.fr — refuges list\nIt\u0026rsquo;s in French but you can use a browser translator\nFood \u0026amp; water (How much should you bring, carry? What kind of food is available on the trail?) #There are many sources regularly spread out throughout the trail. Most of the time, you won\u0026rsquo;t have to carry more than 2L of water at any time except for maybe days you plan to do double stages or you know it\u0026rsquo;s going to be a sunny day.\nFood is very available on the trail. Usually, you get a full course dinner (starter: soup with bread, main: some kind of pasta, dessert: cheese or cake) for 20€ and a simple breakfast (coffee or tea, bread jam and butter) for 10€ and packed lunch (usually sandwich) for 10€. There are also snacks, cereal bars, dried fruits, beers and other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, other meals for 10€.\nYou would usually need to reserve dinners upon arrival and they are usually at around 6 or 7pm. I highly recommend reserving these and eating these dinners not just for the food but to meet people and socialize. It was one of the fun part about the GR20 compared to other lesser known hikes I\u0026rsquo;ve done in the past.\nPacking (What to bring, backpack size) #Honestly, 30L - 45L (max!) Should be less than 10kg including water. Keep it SUPER minimal. I only wore one T-shirt (merino wool is amazing) and one pair of shorts during the whole week (it will dry within a few hours if it\u0026rsquo;s sunny) but maybe bring a pair of thermal long sleeves and a fleece or a down jacket for cold nights. You don\u0026rsquo;t need a full size towel, just bring a small one. You don\u0026rsquo;t need a cooker (all refuges have cookers, stoves, even cutlery)\nWHAT TO BRING 👇\nCASH! You run out of cash, you\u0026rsquo;re done on GR20. You pay everything with cash on the trail. Hiking sticks, they are a must-have or you\u0026rsquo;ll really hurt your joints. Headlamps, if you don\u0026rsquo;t want to walk in the scorching heat during the day. Toilet paper, definitely a full roll. Elastic tapes to support your ankles, knees and other joints. Hydration packs so you don\u0026rsquo;t have to stop every time you want to hydrate.\nGood to haves — Maybe coffee? (I did miss my morning coffee very bad) I was glad I brought a bag of muesli (saved me breakfast cost) and wished I had brought more healthy snacks (nuts and dried fruits) with me.\nWho should hike the GR20? #It\u0026rsquo;s super popular but maybe too touristy for more seasoned hikers or those who want silence and solitude, especially during the summer peak season. But as someone a little anxious about hiking solo, I felt safe and never alone which was nice. I heard that the trail is a different place in the winter when there\u0026rsquo;s snow and the huts are unmanned so if you want to experience solitude, maybe pick a different time of the year?\nEven though it wasn\u0026rsquo;t physically an easy trail to hike, especially on the joints, it\u0026rsquo;s very VERY well-marked meaning I didn\u0026rsquo;t have to worry about getting lost. In that sense, it was an easy hike perfect for beginners. It\u0026rsquo;s also relatively short (2 weeks) which is a good length to get started or to try it out during a vacation.\nAlso, even if the weather turns bad and/or you\u0026rsquo;re not able to continue with the hike, the island offers so many other attractions that you can always change plans to go canyoning, kayaking, climbing or even just spending a day on the beach chilling.\nCost breakdown (Access to the trailhead, food on the trail, accommodation) # Bastia to Calvi: around 10€ by train (but hitchhiking apparently works really well in Corsica) Calvi to Calenzanna: 9€ by bus that goes twice daily. Apparently taxi costs around 40€, so considering splitting costs by gathering other people. Food: 30-40€/ day (I usually ate dinner at the refuge, cooked my own breakfast and snacked for lunch) Accommodation: 30€/day average. I preferred hired tents to sleeping in dorms, I slept better. Next time I would bring my own tent. What would I do differently? #I\u0026rsquo;d bring my own tent and opt for shoes with more ankle support considering my history of sprained ankles. I would bring more snacks, no cooking equipment and less clothes. Maybe a smaller sleeping bag and better hiking poles. I would NOT start hiking in the afternoon on a summer day. I wish I had a few more days so I could reach at least Vizzavona (end of the first half of GR20.)\nWould I hike it again? #Yes!\nOther trail recommendations by GR20 hikers # GR738 GR51 Resources (books and apps) #These offline maps and guides have been super useful!\nKomoot (offline map) Google satellite imagery map (offline map) Maps.me (offline map) GR20 app Trekking the GR20 Corsica by Paddy Dillon (kindle) ","date":"September 5, 2023","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/hiking-the-gr20-in-corsica/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMy personal experience hiking the GR20 in Corsica in August 2023 as a solo female average hiker (rather spontaneously)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI also used Komoot for the first time where you can find route details and some photos from me. \u003ca href=\"https://www.komoot.com/collection/2375399/-gr20-north-in-6-days\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eHere\u0026rsquo;s the link.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/cleanshot-2023-09-05-at-10.59.48.png\" alt=\"hiking-gr20-corsica-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#what-is-gr20\"\u003eWhat is GR20?\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#fitness-and-experience-required-to-hike-the-trail\"\u003eFitness and experience required to hike the trail\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#when-to-hike-should-i-avoid-the-peak-season\"\u003eWhen to hike? Should I avoid the peak season?\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#north-to-south-vs-south-to-north\"\u003eNorth to South vs South to North?\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#section-hiking-which-section-should-i-hike\"\u003eSection hiking — which section should I hike?\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#is-it-easy-to-get-off-the-trail\"\u003eIs it easy to get off the trail?\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#is-there-cell-phone-reception\"\u003eIs there cell phone reception?\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#who-is-hiking-the-gr20-who-did-i-meet-on-the-trail\"\u003eWho is hiking the GR20? Who did I meet on the trail?\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#language\"\u003eLanguage\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#accommodation-do-you-bring-your-own-tent-should-you-make-a-reservation-in-advance\"\u003eAccommodation (Do you bring your own tent? Should you make a reservation in advance?)\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#park-owned-refuges-private-bergeries-hotels-gites\"\u003ePark owned refuges, private bergeries, hotels \u0026amp; gites\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#food-water-how-much-should-you-bring-carry-what-kind-of-food-is-available-on-the-trail\"\u003eFood \u0026amp; water (How much should you bring, carry? What kind of food is available on the trail?)\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#packing-what-to-bring-backpack-size\"\u003ePacking (What to bring, backpack size)\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#who-should-hike-the-gr20\"\u003eWho should hike the GR20?\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#cost-breakdown-access-to-the-trailhead-food-on-the-trail-accommodation\"\u003eCost breakdown (Access to the trailhead, food on the trail, accommodation)\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#what-would-i-do-differently\"\u003eWhat would I do differently?\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#would-i-hike-it-again\"\u003eWould I hike it again?\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#other-trail-recommendations-by-gr20-hikers\"\u003eOther trail recommendations by GR20 hikers\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#resources-books-and-apps\"\u003eResources (books and apps)\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"what-is-gr20\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eWhat is GR20? \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#what-is-gr20\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe GR 20 is a GR footpath that crosses Corsica (French island in the Mediterranean) running approximately north–south, and is around \u003cstrong\u003e180 km long\u003c/strong\u003e with \u003cstrong\u003e12,000 m of elevation gain\u003c/strong\u003e split into \u003cstrong\u003e15 stages\u003c/strong\u003e. Many people walk the trail in about \u003cstrong\u003e10 - 13 days\u003c/strong\u003e. The trail is considered to be the most difficult of all the GR routes and consists of two parts, northern and southern part.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Hiking the GR20 in Corsica"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been wanting to take climbing courses for about two years now and I finally did it!\nCourse options Climbing gyms that offer courses My experience Top Rope Course Day 1 Day 2 Lead Climbing Course Day 1 Day 2 Next Steps Course options #There are generally two basic climbing courses for beginners for sports climbing in the gym:\nTop Rope Course (Kletterschein Toprope) teaches you the basics of belaying and rope management so after the course, you can safely climb a wall with a rope that\u0026rsquo;s already attached to the top. Lead Climbing Course (Kletterschein Vorstieg) teaches you how to clip the rope into protection points along the route while climbing and at the top. If you\u0026rsquo;re climbing in a pair, at least one person has to be able to do this to secure the rope in the anchor at the top. Once you\u0026rsquo;re done taking these two basic courses, you can venture out to more advanced technical courses!\nClimbing gyms that offer courses #(afaik, as of May 2023)\nThere are several climbing gyms offering courses, here are some that I know of:\nMagic Mountain (109€, EN available once a month over 2 Sundays, rest is offered in German) Der Kegel (EN available once a month over one weekend, 89€, has to be booked via kurse@derkegel.de) DAV (German only, Top Rope: 55€/ Lead Climbing: 80€, book online) South Rock (99€, German only?, book online) Notes:\nDAV and Der Kegel don\u0026rsquo;t include entry fees in the course. You can use Urban Sports membership for Der Kegel. Usually, you need to be a DAV member to use the gym, but taking the course allows you access to the gym for the following month (you still have to pay the entry fee) Gyms with climbing walls # Magic Mountain (PBerg/Moabit) DAV (Moabit) Bouldergarten (Neukolln) Der Kegel (Friedrichshain) South Rock (Tempelhof-Schöneberg) Bouldergarten and Der Kegel allows Urban Sports membership.\nMy experience #Top Rope Course #I booked two day (3h x 2 days) Top Rope course at DAV (Deutscher Alpenverein) in Berlin. I was already a member at DAV mostly to get the alpine sports insurance and hut discounts and managed to find an available spot. The course was carried out in German (my German level is B1) so I was worried that I won\u0026rsquo;t be able to follow, but other participants helped me out.\nDay 1 #Day 1 is mostly spent on gaining knowledge, less practical.\nHow to tie an eight knot Partner check How to belay and use the belay device (we used Jul2 in the course) I was a little confused that the instructor showed us a different belay technique to what I\u0026rsquo;m used to (Pull-Brake-Under-Slide.)\nI also learned a few German words: \u0026ldquo;zu\u0026rdquo; for \u0026ldquo;tension\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;ab\u0026rdquo; for \u0026ldquo;lower me\u0026rdquo; and more.\nDay 2 #It was a different trainer which was quite nice, to hear a different perspective and to experience another teaching method.\nWe did:\nMore climbing, on higher walls and on outside walls Practiced falling from the wall and securing someone falling Bigger falls At the end of the session, you get a card like this:\nSome gyms ask you for a proof that you can belay safely and even though I\u0026rsquo;ve belayed before, I think the course was really helpful in refreshing my memory, understanding the German way of doing things (teaching methods and belay devices used in courses vary depending on the country it seems.)\nLead Climbing Course #For Lead Climbing Course, I wanted to do the course in English to make sure I understood everything. I think English courses are only offered in Magic Mountain or Der Kegel in Berlin (but not sure). Der Kegel is a bit more affordable. I found a free spot last minute for a course at Der Kegel.\nCourse content:\nCheck-up of top rope belaying Intro to lead climbing and belaying Learning to use and clip quickdraws correctly Rope management and equipment Training to fall and to catch Lead climbing certificate (KLEVER card) Since there are tonnes of Youtube videos on the above skills, I\u0026rsquo;m just going to jot down what I felt during/after the course. Note that these are my personal subjective opinion.\nDay 1 # We did a quick check-up of top rope belaying. Everyone had a different belaying device and it was interesting to see how each worked slightly differently. Here\u0026rsquo;s an example blog post about different types of belaying devices -\u0026gt; How to Choose a Belay Device for Rock Climbing\nBut for beginner sports climbing, Petzl GriGri seems to be very popular. I used the Jul2 I used in the Top rope course. But since it\u0026rsquo;s important for your partner to be able to check your device, I think it\u0026rsquo;s good to go with whatever that\u0026rsquo;s commonly used if you don\u0026rsquo;t have a specific climbing partner already. I wish I had bought my own so I could practice it on my own device. We learned how to belay in lead climbing, rope management and how to clip quickdraws. Day 2 # Practiced falling. Now, this was super interesting. I had my feet in a crack and fell backward, which caused my body to whip a bit. I need to practice falling a lot more and feel more comfortable falling. We also learned the Double Bowline Knot as an alternative to the Double Eight Knot (equally secure but easier to unknot) In general, we covered a lot of theory during the two days but it would probably take time and practice to develop muscle memory.\nWas it worth it? #Yes! It\u0026rsquo;s nice that the instructor will correct you where you\u0026rsquo;re doing something wrong that you\u0026rsquo;re not necessarily aware of. During the falling practice, I felt safer to try it out. I also got to ask lots of different questions and made some new friends who are equally motivated to practice what I\u0026rsquo;ve just learned today!\nNext Steps # Join climbing groups (e.g. Rock Climbing and Bouldering Meetup or Klettertreff organized by the gyms) Practice sport climbing in the gym, get better at belaying, lead climbing and falling!!! Buy my own belay device and practice with it Learn to tie knots in a neater way To climb outside, I would still need to learn how to set up a top rope anchor which wasn\u0026rsquo;t covered in the course. ","date":"May 12, 2023","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/taking-climbing-courses-in-berlin/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been wanting to take climbing courses for about two years now and I finally did it!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/taking-climbing-courses-in-berlin/#course-options\"\u003eCourse options\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/taking-climbing-courses-in-berlin/#climbing-gyps-that-offer-courses\"\u003eClimbing gyms that offer courses\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/taking-climbing-courses-in-berlin/#my-experience\"\u003eMy experience\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/taking-climbing-courses-in-berlin/#top-rope-course\"\u003eTop Rope Course\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/taking-climbing-courses-in-berlin/#day-1\"\u003eDay 1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/taking-climbing-courses-in-berlin/#day-2\"\u003eDay 2\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/taking-climbing-courses-in-berlin/#lead-climbing-course\"\u003eLead Climbing Course\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/taking-climbing-courses-in-berlin/#day-1-1\"\u003eDay 1\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/taking-climbing-courses-in-berlin/#day-2-1\"\u003eDay 2\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/taking-climbing-courses-in-berlin/#day-2-1\"\u003eNext Steps\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"course-options\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eCourse options \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#course-options\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere are generally two basic climbing courses for beginners for sports climbing in the gym:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTop Rope Course (Kletterschein Toprope) teaches you the basics of belaying and rope management so after the course, you can safely climb a wall with a rope that\u0026rsquo;s already attached to the top.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLead Climbing Course (Kletterschein Vorstieg) teaches you how to clip the rope into protection points along the route while climbing and at the top. If you\u0026rsquo;re climbing in a pair, at least one person has to be able to do this to secure the rope in the anchor at the top.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce you\u0026rsquo;re done taking these two basic courses, you can venture out to more advanced technical courses!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"How to start climbing in Berlin"},{"content":"\\* Note: What I\u0026rsquo;ve written below are a mix of medical advice given to me by various medical professionals as well as information I personally gathered online and some unreliable hypothesis. Please read them with a pinch of salt.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t know if it\u0026rsquo;s my low pain threshold, my paranoia towards injuries in general, or just bad genes but I\u0026rsquo;ve spent a good chunk of my life in the waiting rooms of various physio practices.\nI also seem to have terrible memories of my injury development and treatments so I figured it would be wise to document them somewhere. And who knows, through documenting my experiences, maybe I could help others who may be experiencing something similar.\nHere are my most recent injuries:\nPain in my right knee Plantar fasciitis Lower back Eversion ankle sprains (when your ankle rolls outward) Right knee #The pain started after a 10k run in October 2019. It was cold and I hadn\u0026rsquo;t run or done any exercise in a very long time. It was a dull pain in the middle/outside of the right knee under the disk. For two years after that, I would always get this dull pain after a 5k mark when I went running which prevented me from getting back into running for a long time.\nAs I\u0026rsquo;ve increased the mileage over the past year, the pain has almost disappeared completely but I did go to intense physio for a month when I was back in Japan, mostly focusing on building up core strength and mobility/balance exercises.\nCauses\ntight hips, hip flexor muscles, quads (from landing in front of centre of gravity, which causes breaking = bad running economy and more pressure on my quads) inactive glues and hamstrings lack of flexibility in ankles very weak core lack of hip stability Plantar fasciitis #I\u0026rsquo;ve always worn a form of insoles since I was young but stopped using them after becoming more prone to twisting my ankles. But July 2022, I started feeling pain in the soles of my left foot which escalated to ankle pain and was unable to walk/run for about 3-4 weeks. I did some exercises on an app called Exakt that a friend was working on and started using insoles again. Now it\u0026rsquo;s more or less controlled and I haven\u0026rsquo;t had pain since then.\nCauses\nwearing worn-out shoes increasing mileage too quickly low arch Lower back #I always had some form of lower back pain growing up especially when I didn\u0026rsquo;t do any sports. I have been struggling from pain in my tailbone which got better when I changed my office chair and changed my desk to a standing desk.\nThen, I recently started struggling with lower back pain just above my butt and numbness in my lower back, hips, down my legs, and sometimes even in my arms and shoulders. I also have this constant urge to urinate as well as some digestion issues. This started when I changed my mattress (ironically to a newer, more expensive one) and I did increase my mileage a little bit but not by too much. I also have been slacking on my cross-training and focused a bit too much on running so that may also be one of the reasons.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s annoying because it\u0026rsquo;s not just affecting my running and exercise routines but inhibiting my daily life. Sitting is numbing and painful, I can\u0026rsquo;t sleep and wake up feeling exhausted and I even find cycling difficult now. Most of all, the numbing sensation is really scaring me.\nThis started late December - January and still ongoing.\nPossible causes\nWeak core Anterior Pelvic Tilt? Hip/pelvic drop Eversion ankle sprains #This tends to happen on trails and it got worse since I started wearing my insoles again. Still figuring out the balance.\nPossible Causes\nsupinated feet/legs weak inner thighs? Prevention #There are loads of things I could improve like strengthening the core, improving mobility and flexibility especially in my hips, activating my glutes and hamstrings, doing more cross training and incorporating more variety in my daily movements. I also should incorporate proper pre/post-run warm-up and cool-down routines.\nThe thing I find the hardest is to prioritize where to start in my injury recovery journey, sticking to the physio exercises and making it sustainable without them taking up my entire waking hours.\nI think my first priority is to strengthen my core and improve my sleep environment as well as my nutrition and eating habits.\n2022.01.10\n","date":"January 10, 2023","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/my-running-injuries/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\\* Note: What I\u0026rsquo;ve written below are a mix of medical advice given to me by various medical professionals as well as information I personally gathered online and some unreliable hypothesis. Please read them with a pinch of salt.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI don\u0026rsquo;t know if it\u0026rsquo;s my low pain threshold, my paranoia towards injuries in general, or just bad genes but I\u0026rsquo;ve spent a good chunk of my life in the waiting rooms of various physio practices.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"My running injuries"},{"content":"Over a year ago, I wrote a blog post about my running goals for 2022. There were no reasons to write it all up on this blog but I think spelling it out really helped to stick to my goals. Since it\u0026rsquo;s only 2 days till the end of the year, I wanted to take some time to reflect on them and set new goals for the next year.\nReflection #Personal (running) Goals for 2022\nRun a half-marathon (March 2022) ✅\nOnly managed to run one in December but pretty happy with the time! 5 km under 25 minutes ✅\nMy 5k PB this year was 25:05 in April at Tamagawa park run in Japan. I did run 5k in 24:58 on track 2 weeks ago though. Goal achieved! Run all 400 km of the 66 lake trail around Berlin ❌\nThis obviously didn\u0026rsquo;t happen but did run the first leg of the trail. At least attempted. Run a trail run race ✅\nI did a 10k trail race in Berlin ( Herbstwaldlauf) which was super fun! Do all the above injury-free 😐\nThere were a few injuries but nothing major. I had some pain in the sole of my feet (plantar fasciitis) from increasing my mileage too quickly. I also have some dull pain in my lower back but I don\u0026rsquo;t know if it\u0026rsquo;s from running or from my general bad posture. They were all blessings in disguise though. I learned more about my body, the importance of cross-training, and being patient with my training. Overall, I\u0026rsquo;m pretty happy with how I did and how I progressed so far!\nOutdoor Goals for 2023 #My goals for 2022 were focused on running but for 2023, I want to broaden them to activities in the outdoors in general (since this is a blog about the outdoors after all).\nFor 2023, I want to focus on two main activities which are running and climbing.\nRunning\nIn terms of running, I want to do more trails this year and travel to more races. Here are some of my more quantitative goals:\nPB in Berlin Half Marathon Run 5k under 23:30 (or beat my PB from when I was 14 at 22:37?) Run a trail race \u0026gt; 20k (maybe Innsbruck? Maybe Ireland?) Volunteer at a trail race/sports event Travel for a race Enter a marathon relay as a team Explore some routes from the 20 Green Walks in Berlin or the 400 km of the 66 lake trail around Berlin Walk/run a long trail (Kungsleden in Sweden, 14 days in the summer?) Other running-related goals include:\nWork on my core to prevent back pain problem Train more strategically (strength training, proper training and nutrition planning) Work on flexibility and mobility Climbing\nI\u0026rsquo;ve been trying to get back into bouldering recently and would love to go more regularly than once a week. I would also love to do a top-rope course and a lead-climbing course sometime within the first half of 2023. So I can go outdoor climbing in the summer! A bit unrelated - I want to take a hiking/ski-mo course offered by the DAV (maybe even in German!) I guess that\u0026rsquo;s kind of it for now. I\u0026rsquo;ll probably be updating this from time to time and will try to do a quarterly/bi-annual reflection on my progress.\nLooking forward to the new year ahead!\n","date":"December 29, 2022","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/outdoor-goals-2023/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOver a year ago, I wrote a blog post about \n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/running-goals/\"\u003emy running goals for 2022\u003c/a\u003e. There were no reasons to write it all up on this blog but I think spelling it out really helped to stick to my goals. Since it\u0026rsquo;s only 2 days till the end of the year, I wanted to take some time to reflect on them and set new goals for the next year.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"reflection\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eReflection \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#reflection\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePersonal (running) Goals for 2022\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Outdoor Goals 2023"},{"content":"On Christmas Eve morning, I joined a friend for my first ice-dipping experience in Plötzensee. I decided to combine it with my morning run so that by the time I arrived, my body was nice and warm.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s been a huge hype around cold showers and ice bathing in recent years due to their potential health benefits and I\u0026rsquo;ve wanted to try them for a while. I\u0026rsquo;ve swam in cold lakes on mountaintops in the summer but never in a frozen lake. Here was my experience:\nFirst and foremost, we had to break the ice on the surface of the lake. According to my friend, ice bathing is so popular here in Berlin that usually, someone else would\u0026rsquo;ve broken it for us already. But since it was a Christmas morning, we were the first ones there.\nSince it was my first time, my goal was to simply take a quick dip for about 30 seconds. I had a few goes until I managed to lower my body up to my shoulders and counted (really quickly) up to 20 seconds. It was a really interesting experience overall. My feet and hands were in pain but the rest of my body felt relatively ok underwater. I noticed my body muscles contracting, my insides slowing down and my breathing becoming more difficult.\nOnce I was out of the water, I noticed that I had to focus on my breathing more as I was still shivering and gasping for air. (It also took me a while to warm up even on my run back home and I had to wear my down jacket while running.)\nMy friend M who came with me today had been doing this for five years. While I was shivering outside, she attached herself to a bar with a string and started swimming on the spot, her body fully submerged under the frozen surface. For 10 minutes. It was fascinating to watch her as other people also came by to bathe in the icy water. A lot of them seem to come here on a daily basis.\nThe whole experience made me more present in my body and made me curious to discover more of the new sensation I felt in my body while I was underwater. Definitely an experience worth writing on the blog to remember.\n","date":"December 26, 2022","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/ice-dipping-in-plotzensee/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOn Christmas Eve morning, I joined a friend for my first ice-dipping experience in Plötzensee. I decided to combine it with my morning run so that by the time I arrived, my body was nice and warm.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere\u0026rsquo;s been a huge hype around cold showers and ice bathing in recent years due to their \u003ca href=\"https://www.foodspring.de/en/magazine/benefits-of-ice-bath-therapy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003epotential health benefits\u003c/a\u003e and I\u0026rsquo;ve wanted to try them for a while. I\u0026rsquo;ve swam in cold lakes on mountaintops in the summer but never in a frozen lake. Here was my experience:\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Ice dipping in Plötzensee"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/activities/water-activity/","section":"Activity","summary":"","title":"Water-Activity"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/portugal/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Portugal"},{"content":"A bit more than a year ago, I wrote a blog post about wanting to be able to run again. I\u0026rsquo;ve been slowly and steadily getting back into running since. I\u0026rsquo;ve written about my running goals for 2022 here and some thoughts here. And last week, I ran my first-ever half-marathon in Lisbon.\nI signed up for it a few months ago after hearing that my younger brother had signed up for his first marathon in Tokyo. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t going to let him run a marathon before I did! So I searched for a race happening on the same day somewhere in Europe and found one in Lisbon called Tranquilidade Half Marathon of Discoveries. I\u0026rsquo;ve always wanted to go to Lisbon and thought it was an excellent excuse to visit the city and the country.\nThe training #I\u0026rsquo;ve never been good at preparing for an event or following a training plan. The last race I ran had been a 60km fun run in college that I signed up on a dare with friends which left me with an injury that lasted for almost a year after that because I ran with no training at all. I used to be the type of person who would pull all-nighters before exams and cram practice sessions before piano recitals. I\u0026rsquo;d never been one to be able to plan and prepare.\nHowever, after a few injuries that prevented me from running earlier this year, I had been running consistently and mindfully. I joined a running group and started attending track sessions for speed workouts. I started running longer, going for long runs with friends on the weekends. I attended some functional training sessions and learned running drills. I started incorporating strength workouts in the gym and started swimming and cycling while recovering from running-related injuries. I did pilates and yoga which taught me a lot about mobility and my body. I started tracking my macros and learned more about nutrition. I watched a ton of youtube videos on running and read a few books and articles.\nI also did some research on what to do leading up to the race. Read up on tapering, what to eat/ what to not eat, etc. I started caring more about sleep and nutrition. I drank less and was kinder to my body. I was surprised by how much you could learn about your own body through a simple act of running and the wish to continue running.\nRace day # I arrived in Lisbon on Friday evening and spent Saturday exploring the city and picking up my race bib. The race was at 10am on Sunday. I wrote up a time schedule to follow for the race day which is so unlike me. I never plan things to this degree but I guess I cared enough because I prepared a lot for this. I have to say, I was a little proud of myself already.\nThe logistics of the race were probably the hardest part. How does bag drop work? What do I wear on the day, short sleeves or long sleeves? Would it be too cold or too warm? What if it rains? How and when do I get to the start line? I was also very anxious and found it difficult to sleep the night before.\nEven though it was slightly cold, I decided to run in my long sleeves and shorts. I also decided against dropping off my bag at the start line in case of a big queue and carried everything in my waistband.\nI didn\u0026rsquo;t expect the event to be anything big but when I arrived at the starting point, the place was filled with people. A group of local drummers was performing, there was music, and people were warming up and dancing. It felt festive and I was excited!\nMy goal for the race was to A) finish in one piece, without getting injured and B) run under 2 hours if I can. My plan was to run around 5:35/km pace for the first few km, then run 5:25-30/km pace for the rest and maybe speed up the last few km.\nAll my friends had told me to start slow. Yes, to start slow. I thought, oh how difficult can that be! But when you\u0026rsquo;re surrounded by so many people, you\u0026rsquo;re excited and your adrenaline is shooting up and down your entire body, it\u0026rsquo;s so difficult to pace yourself to go slow! I was going way faster than my original plan but decided to stick to it anyway.\nThe first 10km was easy and I could not believe how far I\u0026rsquo;d come from barely being able to run 5k last year to feeling so at ease running past the 10k mark that day. Halfway through, I found someone who was a great pace-maker for me and tried to stick to him as much as I could. The last 3km was the hardest part. My legs were heavy and I was struggling to keep down the water and energy gel I had ingested at a 15k mark (should\u0026rsquo;ve practice eating/drinking while running, something I had forgotten to do).\nI managed to finish in the end with the time of 1:51:10 at 5:16/km avg pace. Injury-free. It\u0026rsquo;s been such a long time since I felt so proud of myself. This achievement means nothing at all to anyone but it meant a lot to me. And it\u0026rsquo;s been a while since I felt good about myself for my own achievement without any outside validation and I was so happy about that.\nOne thing I was a bit concerned though was the amount of trash during the race. They were giving out water in bottles and people were taking one sip and throwing them out on the streets! (like who are the ones that are going to clean them up afterward?) I swore to always carry my own bottle with me next time. And maybe choose races that are more eco-conscious.\nAfterthoughts #After the race, I explored the areas around Lisbon and also visited Porto before I flew back to Berlin. I ate a lot of great seafood which is a luxury when living in a city like Berlin and visited the coast to get a glimpse of the ocean. I met lovely people during my trip too that I still keep in touch with.\nRunning saved me a lot this year. It gave me community and friends. It gave me confidence. It made me believe that I can plan, that I can build myself up, that I can push myself, that I can work towards a goal. It\u0026rsquo;s helped me both mentally and physically (especially mentally) and I\u0026rsquo;m so grateful.\nI hope I get to continue running in 2023. I would also love to visit other cities I\u0026rsquo;ve been dying to visit and maybe combine the trip with a running event like this one. Now that I can run longer, I hope I can start doing more runs on trails in the mountains too.\n","date":"December 16, 2022","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/traveling-to-portugal-for-my-first-ever-half-marathon/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eA bit more than a year ago, I wrote a blog post about \n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/i-want-to-be-able-to-run-again/\"\u003ewanting to be able to run again\u003c/a\u003e. I\u0026rsquo;ve been slowly and steadily getting back into running since. I\u0026rsquo;ve written about my running goals for 2022 \n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/running-goals/\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e and some thoughts \n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/thoughts-on-running/\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e. And last week, I ran my first-ever half-marathon in Lisbon.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/img_0527.jpg\" alt=\"traveling-portugal-ever-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eI signed up for it a few months ago after hearing that my younger brother had signed up for his first marathon in Tokyo. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t going to let him run a marathon before I did! So I searched for a race happening on the same day somewhere in Europe and found one in Lisbon called \u003ca href=\"https://www.discoveries-half-marathon.com/en/home.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eTranquilidade Half Marathon of Discoveries\u003c/a\u003e. I\u0026rsquo;ve always wanted to go to Lisbon and thought it was an excellent excuse to visit the city and the country.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Traveling to Portugal for my first-ever half-marathon"},{"content":"Sibling reunion. Traveling with my brother for a week in Italy, some hiking, some sightseeing, some cold nights and lots of cappuccinos.\nMid September this year, I traveled with my brother in Italy for a week. We met up in Rome (I flew in from Berlin, my brother from Tokyo).\nFor me, it was a 2h direct flight from Berlin to Rome at 6am in the morning. If I were to do this trip again, I would take the train from Berlin through Austria and to the Dolomites, that could\u0026rsquo;ve been more interesting. If you\u0026rsquo;re flying, there are also other cities like Florence or Milan you could fly to.\nWe saw a bit of Rome, took a train up to Venice, and there we rented a car for 5 days. We didn\u0026rsquo;t have anything planned out asides from the fact that we had 4 nights and 5 days in the mountains.\nFirst, we drove to Cortina d\u0026rsquo;Ampezzo (recommended by our Airbnb host in Venice) and decided to grab some maps and plan out our hikes for the next few days in the Dolomites.\nOur original plan was to do a day hike around Cortina, then do a 2-day hike around Seceda, and maybe a day around Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Nothing ever goes according to plan though.\nDay 0 - Cortina d\u0026rsquo;Ampezzo # At the bookshop in Cortina d\u0026rsquo;Ampezzo, a lovely lady at the counter recommended us a camping place in town called Camping Cortina. It\u0026rsquo;s a 10-minute drive from the city center, was clean, quiet, and had warm showers (v. important). It even had a little cafe/ restaurant/ shop at the entrance where you could get cappuccinos in the morning or use the electric sockets. Even though it was mid-September, it got really cold in the evenings and early mornings since the town is at 1,224 m above sea level. We really felt the difference especially arriving from a coastal town like Venice so I\u0026rsquo;m glad I had packed for both climates.\nWe went for a quick evening stroll in the nearby valleys before setting up a tent at the camp site. Lesson: Pack for winter for autumn hiking \u0026amp; camping.\nDay 1 - Mt Cernera # We decided to start off our first day with an easy day hike. When in an unfamiliar mountain range, I think it\u0026rsquo;s always wise to start with a day hike before going straight into a multiple-day hike to reassess what you will need for the hike, how much clothing to bring, etc.\nWe picked Mt Cernera from a Youtube video titled TOP 5 EASY PEAKS in the DOLOMITES which said that it would take us 3 hours - so we gave ourselves around 4 hours and thought that would be enough. It turns out that we were very wrong. Mid-September is still in-season (some refugios and huts are open till late September, beginning of October) but some routes on the north side of the ridge were icy and frozen.\nWe parked our car at Passo Giau (2,236m) where the views were amazing already. We saw a lot of people with their motorbikes and I would love to come back with my bike to cycle here one day. Someone has kindly recorded the entire way on Hike.uno where you can check out the routes. Here are some photos from our hike below:\nFor dinner, we went back to Cortina d\u0026rsquo;Ampezzo and ate at a local restaurant recommended by this website which gives you tips on places to eat in Cortina for all budgets including descriptions of local dishes and what to eat. I ate the local ravioli (beetroot and parmasan ravioli) which was a perfect mix of sweet and savory. The restaurant gave us some names of lakes that were nice but not too touristy (L.LIMIDES, L.FOSES, L.ANTORNO) although this year, the whole area looked really dry.\nDay 2 - Mini trail run near Lake Misurina # We spent the morning planning our next few days in the cafe at the camp site. We were hoping to go to Tre Cime di Lavaredo but by noon, the roads were already too busy because it\u0026rsquo;s a toll road (30 EUR/car, there are also shuttle buses). So we decided to turn around at Lake Misurina and head towards Mt Seceda. If you\u0026rsquo;re planning to go there, I recommend going early morning.\nThe plan in Mt Seceda was to take a cable car to the top, stay overnight at the mountain top then hike down the next day. There are several ways to do this but we decided to take the cable car from Ortisei ( ticket info: 27 EUR/person for an uphill ticket in summer, open till 17:30). We left our car at the car park (cost around 20 EUR to leave it there for a day) and went on one of the last cars that were going up at 17:30. It\u0026rsquo;s technically not allowed to wild camp in the dolomites but we read that some people have done it before. (See Camping on Seceda – 2519m High in the Dolomites)\nDay 3 - Mt Seceda #We woke up early the next day and waited for the fog to clear. The clouds gave the scenery a nice depth and we felt small in the vastness of where we were.\nWe then walked around in the Puez Odle Nature Park, had some apple studels and homemade yogurt from the local cow\u0026rsquo;s milk in the refugios on the way and made our way down to La Selva. From La Selva, we took the local bus to Ortisei, back to our car. One of the best views I\u0026rsquo;ve seen in my life.\nWe decided to book a room in a hut since we were a bit too tired of camping out the past few days.\nDay 4 #We stayed at Pension Erica which was a cute little place in a valley. It\u0026rsquo;s owned by Erica who was really sweet and greeted us in German since that was the only common language we could communicate in. One of the best accommodations I\u0026rsquo;ve ever stayed in although it was a bit hard to access.\nThis trip has definitely made me want to come back in winter or next summer. It\u0026rsquo;s also been a nice way to catch up with my brother and we promised that we would make this a regular thing.\nTips \u0026amp; Resources # WHERE TO EAT IN CORTINA? Found this useful when trying to decide what to eat in Cortina D\u0026rsquo;Ampezzo Camping on Seceda – 2519m High in the Dolomites Shorter Walks in the Dolomites: 50 varied day walks in the mountains by Gillian Price Notes to self # Pack lighter (try to fit everything into a 45L bag), don\u0026rsquo;t bring laptop, get a bigger battery pack. Bring crampons/spikes for icy ground for autumn hiking, warm hats and gloves too. Also spare gloves. Buy rechargable head torch. Try out a hut-to-hut hiking trip just to get the whole refugio experience. It\u0026rsquo;s probably a better way to meet people plus less stuff to carry, warmer, safer, legal. Plan ahead and keep it simple. Do one long hike with one starting point and one end point to minimize traveling in-between. Learn how to drive a stick. Try out Via Ferrata Learn to keep cool and not get into fights over itinerary with a sibling. ","date":"October 20, 2022","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/hiking-in-the-dolomites-italy/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSibling reunion. Traveling with my brother for a week in Italy, some hiking, some sightseeing, some cold nights and lots of cappuccinos.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/dolomites.png\" alt=\"hiking-dolomites-italy-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eMid September this year, I traveled with my brother in Italy for a week. We met up in \u003cstrong\u003eRome\u003c/strong\u003e (I flew in from Berlin, my brother from Tokyo).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor me, it was a 2h direct flight from Berlin to Rome at 6am in the morning. If I were to do this trip again, I would take the train from Berlin through Austria and to the Dolomites, that could\u0026rsquo;ve been more interesting. If you\u0026rsquo;re flying, there are also other cities like Florence or Milan you could fly to.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Hiking in the Dolomites, Italy"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s the last week of the summer holidays for schools in Berlin, and it already feels like we\u0026rsquo;re approaching the end of summer. Time seems to be flying by - but it\u0026rsquo;s amazing how a weekend trip away from the city can slow it all down.\nI just came back from a weekend kayaking trip in the Mecklenburg Lake Plateau( DE: Mecklenburgische Kleinseenplatte), about a 2-hour drive North-West of Berlin. It\u0026rsquo;s in the southern part of the state of Mecklenburg, close to the border between the state of Brandenburg. According to Wikipedia, it\u0026rsquo;s the \u0026ldquo;largest coherent lake and canal region in Germany and is sometimes called \u0026ldquo;the land of a thousand lakes\u0026rdquo;. \u0026ldquo;\nThe plan was that we rent our kayaks at a Kanustation in Mirow, paddle north from Mirower See to Leppinsee, camp one night and then come back to the Kanustation. You can find an interactive map here.\nWhen we first saw our kayaks, I didn\u0026rsquo;t think we would be able to fit all our camping equipment. But it was surprising how much stuff the thing could fit in. In a two-person kayak, there were two compartments on both ends of the kayak, as well as places to strap some bulkier things like our mattresses on top and more room between our legs. I was afraid of everything getting wet, but no need to have worried there either.\nThe weather was perfect - not too hot, not too cold - and we paddled slow and steady towards our campsite. There\u0026rsquo;s something meditative about paddling. Nobody knew how to paddle, but once we got into the water, we were just doing it. It\u0026rsquo;s funny how we seem to just \u0026lsquo;know\u0026rsquo; how to do certain things in life, almost intuitively.\nAfter paddling for a few hours, we arrived at a campsite in Lippensee and decided to stay the night there. We put up our tents in a circle. I hadn\u0026rsquo;t camped in a group this big in a long time, and I\u0026rsquo;ve somehow missed this.\nWe discovered that there was a village party that night very close to where we put up our tents, so we decided to take a look. What started as a quick search for hot food turned into a full night of drinks, German Schlager music, dancing, and laughing. It was probably one of the most \u0026rsquo;traditional\u0026rsquo; German experiences I\u0026rsquo;ve had since moving to Germany. And it was a blast.\nIt was one of the best weekends I had this summer. It was mostly thanks to the great people around me, which I\u0026rsquo;m really grateful for. I also allowed myself to enjoy it too, though. Sometimes, I don\u0026rsquo;t let myself be happy even when I can. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to be that person anymore. It\u0026rsquo;s so easy just to be sad sometimes. I know this sounds corny, whiny, and privileged, but I want to choose to be more fun around people. That\u0026rsquo;s the least I can do for my friends, I think.\nAnyway, really grateful for this weekend.\n","date":"August 22, 2022","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/two-day-kayak-touring-in-mecklenburg-lake-plateau/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s the last week of the summer holidays for schools in Berlin, and it already feels like we\u0026rsquo;re approaching the end of summer. Time seems to be flying by - but it\u0026rsquo;s amazing how a weekend trip away from the city can slow it all down.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI just came back from a weekend kayaking trip in the \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg_Lake_Plateau\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMecklenburg Lake Plateau\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/a\u003e( \u003cem\u003eDE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.mecklenburgische-seenplatte.de/regionen-und-orte/mecklenburgische-kleinseenplatte\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eMecklenburgische Kleinseenplatte\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/em\u003e), about a 2-hour drive North-West of Berlin. It\u0026rsquo;s in the southern part of the state of Mecklenburg, close to the border between the state of Brandenburg. According to Wikipedia, it\u0026rsquo;s the \u003cem\u003e\u0026ldquo;largest coherent lake and canal region in Germany and is sometimes called \u0026ldquo;the land of a thousand lakes\u0026rdquo;. \u0026ldquo;\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Two day kayak-touring in Mecklenburg Lake Plateau"},{"content":"Today was a Sunday and I had no plans which felt sad, especially on a sunny weekend in June. So I decided to try out what I\u0026rsquo;ve always wanted: a mini-triathlon trip to a lake involving some biking + running + swimming.\nI had a few options to choose from when it came to lakes. (There are around 3,000 lakes in Berlin and Brandenburg. ) I remembered a friend of mine mentioning a lake called Liepnitzsee the other day which was about 30km north of Berlin. Perfect distance.\nI hopped on my bike at around 4pm and left my house in Mitte. As I cycled my way out of central Berlin through Pankow, I felt festive vibes all around - Sunday markets, music, family gatherings, and parties with friends.\nAfter 2 hours later, I arrived at the edge of the lake. I was worried that the lake would be overcrowded but it was a lot bigger and had enough space for everyone. I parked my bike and started jogging around the lake with my backpack.\nI saw people naked, bathing and swimming. I love the open-water swimming culture here in Germany. I also love that they don\u0026rsquo;t care about nudity in any body of water and also in the sauna. I wanted to take off my clothes since wet clothes are never pleasant to carry around but didn\u0026rsquo;t feel comfortable going fully naked. My underwear stayed on.\nThe cool thing about Liepnitzsee is that it has a little island in the middle. I think there\u0026rsquo;s also a campground there since I saw people with big backpacks and tents. I saw people swimming from the beach to the island but I was too tired to swim 100m to and back so instead, I floated.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s something about swimming that drains your energy but in a nice way. The feeling I get when cycling right after swimming or showering, especially in the summer, is inexplicably pleasant. I\u0026rsquo;m also usually famished and exhausted, ready for a good night\u0026rsquo;s sleep.\nI didn\u0026rsquo;t have the energy to cycle back all the way so headed to a train station nearby and took the regional train back to Berlin. It took less than an hour to get back and managed to reach home before it got dark.\nThese days I do wonder. Am I spending way too much time relaxing? Shouldn\u0026rsquo;t I be doing something more \u0026lsquo;productive\u0026rsquo;? Shouldn\u0026rsquo;t I be working harder to keep up with the job market? Learn the language so I can integrate better? But there\u0026rsquo;s another voice that says \u0026rsquo;enjoy while you can\u0026rsquo;, to justify my weekend outings but it only makes everything feel so temporary as if my reality can be taken away from me any day.\nDespite these darker thoughts, I do feel better than I had felt this morning. Physical exertion and being under the sun always calm me down. I\u0026rsquo;m glad I went. Now that I know it\u0026rsquo;s possible to do a bike x run x swim trip, maybe I can organize and host an outing.\n","date":"June 12, 2022","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/mini-triathlon-to-liepnitzsee/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday was a Sunday and I had no plans which felt sad, especially on a sunny weekend in June. So I decided to try out what I\u0026rsquo;ve always wanted: a mini-triathlon trip to a lake involving some biking + running + swimming.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI had a few options to choose from when it came to lakes. (There are around 3,000 lakes in Berlin and Brandenburg. ) I remembered a friend of mine mentioning a lake called \u003ca href=\"https://www.tripsavvy.com/swim-in-berlins-liepnitzsee-1519840\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eLiepnitzsee\u003c/a\u003e the other day which was about 30km north of Berlin. Perfect distance.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mini-triathlon to Liepnitzsee"},{"content":"Over the long weekend, I traveled from M\u0026rsquo;s house in the Pyrenees (France) all the way to Berlin (Germany), on the train with my bike. Or at least, that was the original plan which ended up going very wrong.\nThe original plan #18h over 2 days, Interrail ticket + 20 EUR reservation fee\nThe plan was to cycle 25km from M\u0026rsquo;s house to the train station, and take the train to Toulouse - Paris - Strasbourg using my Interrail ticket. Then using my 9 Euro ticket*, travel from Strasbourg - Karlsruhe - Stuttgart. (*9 Euro ticket is this amazing flat-rate ticket that lets you travel on any public transport except ICE anywhere in Germany.) I would spend the night at my friend\u0026rsquo;s in Stuttgart and leave the next morning to take an ICE train back to Berlin. The reason why I had to use the 9 Euro ticket instead of using the Interrail ticket was that Interrail ticket only allows you to travel one inbound and outbound journey each. This meant that I had to save my last and longest leg of travel in Germany to the last day (Stuttgart to Berlin).\nWhat actually happened #30h over 4 days, Interrail ticket + 30 EUR reservation fee + 80 EUR overnight bus fee\nIt went smoothly until Toulouse. Then the train from Toulouse to Paris was delayed 30 minutes and I missed my connection to Strasbourg. I also missed the next train to Strasbourg because I was eating a sandwich and I couldn\u0026rsquo;t reserve a seat in time. I ended up crashing at M\u0026rsquo;s brother\u0026rsquo;s place in Paris and decided to continue my travels the next day. (The beauty of the interrail ticket and its flexibility.) The next morning, I took a train from Paris to Strasbourg and then to Offenburg where I missed my connection to Berlin this time. I decided to take a detour to check out Freiburg which was 40 minutes away on the regional train. Then in Freiburg, as I tried to onboard the ICE train, they asked me whether I made a bike reservation in advance. I said no and they said I couldn\u0026rsquo;t board the train. (In Germany, it\u0026rsquo;s not even allowed to pack your bike in a bag and bring it on to the train.) The tricky thing though was that you could only book your bike reservation together with your ticket online. With an interrail ticket, the only way to reserve a bike spot was at the ticket counter in major train stations IN Germany. I was coming from France and there wasn\u0026rsquo;t a way for me to buy a ticket from France. Since it was Friday before the long weekend, there was a big queue at the ticket counter where I had to wait for 1h only to find out that there were no bike spots available for all the trains going out that day, or the next few days, even weeks. Great. I asked around and a friend of a friend offered me a couch to stay on for the night in Freiburg. I took up on the offer. I booked a night bus (Flixbus) for the next day.\nIt was exhausting, expensive and ridiculous but kind of worth it. Here\u0026rsquo;s why!\nWas this all worth it? It would\u0026rsquo;ve been easier, cheaper, and faster to take a 4h flight from Berlin to Toulouse. But I did learn a few things and had a few nice memories.\nI saw Paris in a new light #I had visited Paris before but I\u0026rsquo;d never cycled through it.\nIn Paris, my train from Toulouse arrived in Paris Montparnasse and the next train to Strasbourg left from Paris de l\u0026rsquo;Est. Then once I missed my train, I went to stay in an area called Aubervilliers.\nAs I cycled from one of the richest to one of the poorest areas in central Paris, it was interesting to see how the city and people changed.\nI also passed nearby a wall that they had built between Paris and Pantin after the evacuation of crack consumers from rue Riquet (Ecole Gardens) to Auguste Baron just outside of Paris, which I think sounded crazy when I first learned about it afterward. ( a video) But what do I know?\nI was curious to see what the annual median revenue for each area in Paris looked like so I created a map of in and around Paris. You can read the details on the numbers and statistics in the report here.\nStrasbourg: Most bike-friendly city in France #One of the best things about traveling with your bike is that you can just hop off a station and do a quick tour around a city. I did just that in Strasbourg.\nAccording to Statista, Strasbourg was the most bike-friendly city in France according to its residents. Of course, depending on what you type in Google, there are many other bike-friendly cities in France so I\u0026rsquo;d say \u0026ldquo;one of the most bike-friendly\u0026rdquo;.\nWhen I first moved to Berlin, I was really impressed by all the bike lanes in Berlin and couldn\u0026rsquo;t understand what people were complaining about. Now I know why. There are cities that do better at accommodating bikes into people\u0026rsquo;s lives.\nExploring Freiburg #When I got stranded in Freiburg, I was frustrated. I had waited for 2h for my ICE train to Berlin only to be denied boarding when the train arrived. I then had to wait another hour to find out that my interrail ticket was going to waste and my only options were:\ntaking a regional train with a 9 euro ticket the next day which would take 12 hours with 6 transfers with no guarantee I will be able to board the train (it was the first weekend - a long weekend I must add - where the 9 euro ticket could be used!) taking the night bus which costs 50-100 euros and 12 hours. I chose the second option. As much as I wanted to try carrying my bike on various regional trains throughout Germany, I was already a little exhausted by this point.\nA friend of mine told me that I could crash at one of the student accommodations he used to live in. I\u0026rsquo;ve never seen inside a student dorm in Germany so I was curious. The location was amazing (near a beautiful park and lake) and they had a 12m2 size bedroom each with a spacious shared common area, kitchen, and a bathroom. There was even a beachball court, a basketball court, and a workout area outside, and all for 280 EUR/month! (even for internationals!) If only I knew this option existed when I was in college in Japan when money was the source of all my problems.\nI walked and cycled around the city. There was a big market in front of the Freiburger Münster on Saturday morning and bought a box of cherries which I ate while strolling around and up der Schlossberg (a little hill overlooking the entire city)\nI then went for a little cycling trip in the afternoon to the east of the city towards the black forest. I searched for a good route on Komoot and decided to cycle along the Dreisam Radweg along the river towards Kirchzarten and stopped by at Lilli\u0026rsquo;s cafe. There were donkeys, lamas, horses, chickens \u0026hellip; the tart and the ice tea were just amazing!\nI then cycled uphill towards Sankt Peter and its Baroque style church which was very pretty. I met a Franco-German couple in their 60s(?) and they treated me to some drinks and cakes and a lovely conversation. They were running a real estate business in Paris and were visiting their holiday houses in Freiburg and somewhere in Alsace.\nThe bus ride back was long and I didn\u0026rsquo;t get much sleep but easy. (Note to self: Always reserve your seat when booking. It\u0026rsquo;s only +3 euros and you won\u0026rsquo;t have to worry about getting woken up at every bus stop to change seats).\nWhat did I learn? #The trip back became unnecessarily expensive, long and exhausting. But I also learned so much about traveling with bikes around Europe on the plane, the trains and the bus. I met some lovely new people and got to explore new cities. I learned a lot about myself, how I deal with unexpected events and change of plans. How much I like the mountains and the hills. It motivated me to learn German and French more so I can access the information needed to follow the rules. I learned that city affects the people living in it and the people also shape the city they live in and why I should choose wisely where I want to live and who I surround myself with. It made me want to travel with my bike more and learn more about urban planning and city designs. Learn more about the future of mobility. It made me want to travel more in Europe. It made me appreciate that I have a healthy body and the opportunity to live where I live and do what I do.\n","date":"June 6, 2022","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/carrying-bikes-on-trains-and-a-bus/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOver the long weekend, I traveled from M\u0026rsquo;s house in the Pyrenees (France) all the way to Berlin (Germany), on the train with my bike. Or at least, that was the original plan which ended up going very wrong.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"the-original-plan\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eThe original plan \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#the-original-plan\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e18h over 2 days, Interrail ticket + 20 EUR reservation fee\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe plan was to cycle 25km from M\u0026rsquo;s house to the train station, and take the train to Toulouse - Paris - Strasbourg using my Interrail ticket. Then using my 9 Euro ticket*, travel from Strasbourg - Karlsruhe - Stuttgart. (*9 Euro ticket is this amazing flat-rate ticket that lets you travel on any public transport except ICE anywhere in Germany.) I would spend the night at my friend\u0026rsquo;s in Stuttgart and leave the next morning to take an ICE train back to Berlin. The reason why I had to use the 9 Euro ticket instead of using the Interrail ticket was that Interrail ticket only allows you to travel one inbound and outbound journey each. This meant that I had to save my last and longest leg of travel in Germany to the last day (Stuttgart to Berlin).\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Carrying my bike on trains and a bus!"},{"content":"It was a beautiful Sunday yesterday so M and I decided to make a bike + hike trip to the Pyrenees. Last summer, we went on a hiking trip around Mont Valier and this time, instead of driving to the trail head, we decided to bike instead.\nIt was about a 40km ride to La Maison de Valier (trailhead) with around 700m ascent and we thought that would make a perfect day trip. I packed everything in my 7L trail backpack and off we went on our bikes.\nIt took us around 2h to get to the trailhead where we locked our bikes in front of the restaurant, refilled our water bottles, and started hiking. The last 7km to la Maison de Valier was painful (a long steep uphill) and my legs felt weird and heavy.\nWe sat down for a picnic in the shade and ate our freshly baked bread with cheese we grabbed from a town we passed by on our way. After that, my body felt as good as new. I almost felt like I could walk all the way up to the summit of Mont Valier although we left too late in the morning for that to be an option. We also didn\u0026rsquo;t bring enough water.\nWe hiked for a few hours, sat and cooled down in front of a big waterfall, and watched the birds and the insects enjoy the sun.\nIt was almost a perfect trip. The roads weren\u0026rsquo;t crowded at all and we had an amazing view. The bread was perfect, the trail was pretty that looked like something out of a photo book and the weather was just amazing. Having grown up in the suburbs of Tokyo, I didn\u0026rsquo;t know that a Sunday like this could exist - a casual bike trip to the mountains without the hassle of cars and trains. Maybe I could imagine myself adapting to the country life. Maybe I could quit the city.\nThen I had an accident. I tripped. On our way down, as I made my 400m/7km descent from la Maison de Mont Valier, I got distracted by my beautiful surroundings. I sped up, looked away to my side, and the next thing I knew, I was laying on the ground.\nThere was blood. I was overwhelmed, a bit dizzy, and glad that I was wearing a helmet. The fall wasn\u0026rsquo;t anything serious but my entire right side hurt and I worried about potential injury, especially to my knee. I have a phobia of injuries, mainly for how they impact my mental health. I saw my swollen pinky and my bloody leg and worried about how that was going to affect my mood, my focus, and the type of person I was going to be for the next few days, or weeks, or months.\nWe cycled for another 20km and reached an emergency room at a hospital (it was a Sunday) where I waited in the waiting room. There was a woman who had been bitten by a dog with blood running down her leg and a man with a deep cut on his hand.\nThe doctors and nurses there didn\u0026rsquo;t really speak English and I struggled with my French. They cleaned up my wound, patched me up, took an x-ray of my hand, and gave me a tetanus shot just in case.\nAs I sat on the bed, I was disappointed in myself for how I reacted when I fell, how I interacted with M after the incident (I was in a terrible mood), and how I always seem to overreact and become over-anxious to incidents like these, how I\u0026rsquo;m not careful enough. How my French hasn\u0026rsquo;t improved at all in the past few years. How I suddenly lost the confidence in living in a more rural area than what I grew up in.\nFor the past two weeks, I\u0026rsquo;ve been spending time at M\u0026rsquo;s place, not too far from Saint-Girons. The closest house is more than 100m away and the closest pharmacy is more than 10km away. We didn\u0026rsquo;t have a car which meant that we had to bike everywhere, which is fine when we\u0026rsquo;re healthy and the weather is kind. But when you\u0026rsquo;re sitting on the bed in an ER feeling helpless because I\u0026rsquo;m still unable to communicate in a language I\u0026rsquo;ve supposedly have studied for more than 6 years \u0026hellip; I was back to my insecure self again.\nThese days, I feel a little lost again. I feel a bit lost at work, at my whereabouts, at my thoughts, at what I can do or what I would be good at in being useful so I can be kinder and gentler to the world around me. I feel a bit out of control of my emotions and many days I wake up wondering if I\u0026rsquo;m somehow really broken and if so, how on earth to fix that. I can be a really difficult person to be with. How can anyone stand being around me? I\u0026rsquo;m scared of going back into the office. What if my colleagues can\u0026rsquo;t stand me? What if I lose my job? I\u0026rsquo;m so un-hirable. I would have to leave the EU and start over. Then what? What would my family think of me? Then M tells me that it\u0026rsquo;s all me and that it\u0026rsquo;s ok.\nWe had the option of calling UBER to take us back to M\u0026rsquo;s house or to cycle back another 12km. I felt better so we hit the road.\nI was in pain but the sunset and the skies in a palette of warm colors made everything ok. We chased the contrails of the planes and the birds and the hills purple and dark against the cream-colored clouds with magenta shades. It was so quiet - we only heard our wheels cutting through the air. I felt the early summer on my skin and felt grateful for that moment. And I know I should hold onto moments like these rather than the million what-ifs. I\u0026rsquo;ll try.\n","date":"May 31, 2022","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/bike-hike-to-la-maison-de-valier/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt was a beautiful Sunday yesterday so M and I decided to make a bike + hike trip to the Pyrenees. Last summer, we went on a \n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/mont-valier/\"\u003ehiking trip around Mont Valier\u003c/a\u003e and this time, instead of driving to the trail head, we decided to bike instead.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/img_7122.jpg\" alt=\"bike-hike-maison-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt was about a 40km ride to La Maison de Valier (trailhead) with around 700m ascent and we thought that would make a perfect day trip. I packed everything in my 7L trail backpack and off we went on our bikes.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Bike + Hike to La Maison de Valier"},{"content":"I recently went on a week-long bike trip with M in the French Pyrenees and along the coast of the northern Costa Brava region in Catalonia. Over 300km of cycling, more than 3000m in ascent, and 7 nights of camping. Rivers, castles, small cute towns, ocean breezes, high skies, and lots of sunshine - a very rare screen-free week of late.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s a little post as a small souvenir to my future self and notes on all things I could\u0026rsquo;ve prepared better.\nThe Route # Ok, so we didn\u0026rsquo;t exactly start in Toulouse but from a town named Foix 90km south of Toulouse. We took the train from Toulouse Matabiau to Foix (13EUR, 1h15) on a Saturday afternoon after doing some shopping and last-minute bike maintenance in the city. It\u0026rsquo;s been quite a journey to bring all my bike-packing gear all the way from Tokyo via Berlin to Toulouse (a story for another day).\nThe regional trains in France (TER) allow you to bring your bike onboard without an extra fee and there\u0026rsquo;s usually enough space. More on that here.\nWhat I wish I had packed #I had two back panniers which were enough to fit my things and I used most of the things I brought with me. But there are a few things I wish I had packed/not packed on my trip.\nThings I wish I had packed\nI wish I had a top tube bag to fit small things like my sunscreen, pen \u0026amp; paper, phone, sunglasses, wallet, keys, etc. A bonus if there\u0026rsquo;s a phone holder on top that can be used for navigation. Speaking of pen \u0026amp; paper, I bought an A6 Canson pocket notebook and a waterproof pen at an art store towards the end of the trip - the best purchase of the trip. More sun protection like long sleeves, a hat/cap to wear underneath my helmet, gloves, and more sun cream A small bottle of shampoo (biodegradable) because just water and normal soap didn\u0026rsquo;t do the job Daily contact lenses (I ran out of contact solution, lost a lense and the wind from biking makes dirty lenses impossible to clean, especially without access to clean water) Meds for allergies against pollen and anti-mosquito spray for a more peaceful camping experience Passport (I got stopped at the border and only had an ID on me which isn\u0026rsquo;t enough when crossing country borders as a non-EU national.) Breathable long-sleeve PJs separate from my day clothes Battery pack with a larger capacity for my phone and paper map \u0026amp; compass to save phone battery Bigger water bottle for cycling (ones without the lid where you can squeeze the water out) Cycling shorts with pads so I don\u0026rsquo;t bruise my bottoms A bag to keep my shower essentials More planning in general, especially camp-site info and weather (WIND DIRECTION!) Windshield for the cooker Rice container to soak rice in the water while on the road Warmshowers / Couchsurfing profile (preferably with reviews) - big cities are expensive to stay in. A video recorder, maybe something like a GoPro. Proper bike repairing kit. What I wish I had not packed\nI used most of the things I brought except a few.\nI wish I hadn\u0026rsquo;t brought my camera and lenses. They were heavy, and I got paranoid that they would break from bumpy roads and didn\u0026rsquo;t feel comfortable leaving them around campsites so had to carry them everywhere with me. When on the move, there isn\u0026rsquo;t enough time to stop and take photos. A small camera to record movies might have been nice though. Spare tires. I don\u0026rsquo;t know why I brought them. Spare tubes are enough. Planning where to camp # Wild camping, as in camping on land that is not a dedicated camp-site, is a complicated topic. In France, it\u0026rsquo;s mostly illegal but tolerated as long as you\u0026rsquo;re respectful, especially if it\u0026rsquo;s a one-nighter (or what they call \u0026lsquo;bivouac\u0026rsquo;) explained in this blog post. Similar in Spain too.\nFor this trip, we really didn\u0026rsquo;t plan much ahead and kind of just \u0026lsquo;went with the flow\u0026rsquo;. I thought I\u0026rsquo;d be good at this kind of spontaneity but this really made me uncomfortable and anxious. The first few nights through the valleys in the Pyrenees were nice and we managed to find spots. But as time went by, I felt more anxious about not knowing where I\u0026rsquo;ll sleep that night and not having a goal to cycle toward that day.\nWe bivouacked a few times but ended up staying at a few campsites. There are many big campsites, especially along the coast but the issue was that they were all very commercial and expensive with big swimming pools and other facilities we really didn\u0026rsquo;t need. We just wanted a quiet flat place we could pitch our tent, get some sleep and leave the first thing in the morning. A minimal campsite that offered these things was a bit more challenging to find.\nWe did really love the campsite in Cerbere which was along the coast with a quiet beach where we could bathe naked and cost only 5 euros/person/night with warm showers. We also decided last-minute in a campsite called Camping Rodas (10EUR/per) in Roses which had super clean showers and toilets. Very quiet too.\nHere are the lessons learned.\nPlan a tiny bit ahead. Have a goal/place to sleep planned for the day before cycling that day. Campsites are harder to find in a bigger city. (e.g. We wanted to go to Barcelona but we couldn\u0026rsquo;t find affordable last-minute accommodation that was bike-friendly. Reaching out to people on Couchsurfing, Couchers, or Warm Showers in advance would\u0026rsquo;ve been a cool experience. Food #We mostly cooked and supplied water wherever we could at restaurants, gas stations, and shops. In Japan, I would often leave all my panniers and bike unlocked outside of the shops but in Europe, we locked our bikes and carried our panniers in shops with us.\nSince M didn\u0026rsquo;t eat gluten, we mostly cooked rice, orange lentils with onions, and mushrooms. We sometimes bought some rice noodles and buckwheat pasta. I really liked buckwheat crackers \u0026amp; peanut butter combo. I\u0026rsquo;m still on lookouts for tasty easy outdoor meals.\nVineyards, castles, cute coastal towns and Catalonia #One thing I wish I had done more was research on the route. The first half of the route was full of vineyards especially in Languedoc-Roussillon (South-east Occitania) until we crossed the border into Spain and it was olive trees that replaced the vineyards. There were many castles along the way which I only saw from afar. There\u0026rsquo;s a trail that runs through these castles called the Cather Trail (250km) so maybe I\u0026rsquo;ll walk this instead one day.\nCadaques was a bit of a detour and the only way there is cycling over a big hill but definitely worth a visit. It\u0026rsquo;s a cute little fishermen\u0026rsquo;s town where the surrealist artist Salvador Dalí used to live. The coastal route from Cerbere to Cadaques and to Roses was also one of the hardest and most beautiful parts of the route.\nI also wish I had done a bit more history homework too, especially on the region of Catalonia.\nAll in all, I got to see a lot of beautiful countryside of South-East France as well as the region of Costa Brava. I also learned a lot about myself and I\u0026rsquo;ve come to re-appreciate the pace at which bike-packing trips allow you to travel. This has been an inspiring trip that made me want to do more bike-packing trips this summer.\n","date":"May 23, 2022","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/cycling-from-toulouse-to-girona/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI recently went on a week-long bike trip with M in the French Pyrenees and along the coast of the northern Costa Brava region in Catalonia. Over 300km of cycling, more than 3000m in ascent, and 7 nights of camping. Rivers, castles, small cute towns, ocean breezes, high skies, and lots of sunshine - a very rare screen-free week of late.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/img_0212.jpg\" alt=\"cycling-toulouse-girona-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eHere\u0026rsquo;s a little post as a small souvenir to my future self and notes on all things I could\u0026rsquo;ve prepared better.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Cycling from Toulouse to Girona"},{"content":"I recently took a train from Berlin to Toulouse (17h train ride!) with my bike, two panniers, and a backpack to do a bike trip across the south of France. Bringing a bike on trains can be a complicated business and there are a few things I\u0026rsquo;ve learned along the way.\nRules and fees regarding bikes on trains differ depending on the country, region, and the type of train you\u0026rsquo;re taking. Here are the ones I took:\nICE (German fast train) RE (German regional train) TGV (French fast train) TER (French regional train) The train ticket #I had originally planned to fly to Toulouse instead of taking the train which would\u0026rsquo;ve been faster and cheaper. (KLM offered return tickets at 200 EUR for the next day and 55 EUR/one-way for an extra bike baggage option.) But for this additional baggage option, you have to reserve a space 48h in advance which would\u0026rsquo;ve been fine except for this time: I wanted to leave the next day. This left me with an option I had always been curious about but had been too lazy to take - the train.\nSince it was a last-minute decision, booking a normal train ticket seemed rather expensive which made me opt for the Interrail Global Pass. This magic pass lets you travel on almost any public transport in Europe for a specific number of days within a certain period. (Interrail tickets are for European residents and for non-residents and tourists, the equivalent is a Eurail pass.) The caveat to Interrail tickets is that you can only use your pass for one outbound/inbound day each within the country of residence, something I found out only later.\nI went for the 4-days/month Interrail Global Pass and indulged myself in the first-class seat option (a whooping 328 EUR!) because a colleague of mine told me that it\u0026rsquo;s very worth it. I come to regret this later on. The ticket costs vary according to your age and it was a bummer to find out that I was no longer eligible for the \u0026lsquo;Youth\u0026rsquo; pass (- 27 years old) since a month ago.\nIt took me minutes to buy the pass, download the app Rail Planner and plan my trip on the app. Buying the pass doesn\u0026rsquo;t require using it immediately and it can be activated anytime in the proceeding 11 months after purchase. So I suggest buying the pass when on sale which seems to happen frequently.\nBaggage #One thing I\u0026rsquo;ve learned from my past experiences carrying a bike on a train is that it\u0026rsquo;s always best to carry stuff in one bigger backpack instead of in multiple panniers. Paniers are difficult to carry, especially if you also have to disassemble a bike and carry it on top of all that.\nThe route #Here\u0026rsquo;s what the train schedule looked like:\nBerlin Hbf (6:31) \u0026ndash; ICE 277 \u0026ndash; (12:31) Offenburg\nOffenburg (13:05) \u0026ndash; RE 87432 \u0026ndash; (13:36) Strasbourg\nStrasbourg (14:20) \u0026ndash; TGV 5454 \u0026ndash; (20:05) Bordeaux St Jean\nBordeaux St Jean (21:23) \u0026ndash; TGV 8519 \u0026ndash; (23:33) Toulouse Matabiau\nICE 277\nI rode my bike to Berlin Hbf with my two panniers and my backpack and arrived at the station at 6am. I liked that the station has elevators to all platforms and the shops are open early in the morning and there\u0026rsquo;s enough space in front of the shop to buy some coffee and bakery with my bike on my side. ICE 277 was a long train and it took me a while to realize that my bike carriage is all the way at the front (or back?) of the platform when the train arrived. When you book a ticket, you get a reservation number for your bike rack where you\u0026rsquo;re supposed to put your bike. For more info, see here.\nI really loved ICE 277. Very clean, not too crowded and the cafeteria was really quite nice. One thing that I realized quickly was that the 1st class carriage was on the opposite end of the train and ended up sitting in 2nd class closer to my bike. But honestly, I found 2nd class very comfortable with good Wifi and a functioning electric plug.\nRE 87432\nAt Offenburg, I had about half an hour to change platforms. This regional train was very small with only two carriages and there was some space with folded seats for bike carriers. Since it was a weekday and the train wasn\u0026rsquo;t too crowded, this was a nice experience. Great view as well. That said, if this had been on the weekend with more people, I don\u0026rsquo;t know if I had managed to get on the train at all.\nOverall, the German train experience has exceeded my expectations and I\u0026rsquo;m really looking forward to taking more train rides for bike trips within Germany!\nTGV 5454\nNow, things got a little more stressful once I crossed the border into France. For French trains, you need a separate reservation ticket on top of your Interrail Pass. For some reason, I wasn\u0026rsquo;t able to book these reservation tickets through the app (probably because it was too last minute). When I consulted the ticket office in Germany on the day before (you have to go to Berlin Hbf) they told me I had to go to a ticket office somewhere in France.\nThe first stop in France for me was Strasbourg. I went out of the station, locked my bike outside, and carried all my baggage with me to the ticket office. There was a queue. I explained my issues in broken French and the person at the office started looking for available tickets for me.\n\u0026ldquo;Ah, it\u0026rsquo;s too last minute. There are no tickets available.\u0026rdquo;\nThat was his initial answer but he managed to find me a ticket somehow. It was already 14:00 and I had 20 minutes to find my platform, carry my bike and my baggage there (where are the elevators?), and disassemble my bike.\nMost TGV trains don\u0026rsquo;t have a bike carriage (some do have tiny spaces for 2-3 bikes) and normally you have to disassemble your bike, pack it into a bag and carry it on as normal baggage. The issue was that I couldn\u0026rsquo;t find a space big enough to fit my bike in the baggage storage space near my seat (yes, you\u0026rsquo;re also assigned a specific seat number too).\nI finally found a space to cram my bike and hoped for the best so that it didn\u0026rsquo;t fall on anyone. This whole process has been quite stressful. Not a fan of TGVs.\nTGV 8519\nMy initial excitement for a train trip had already worn off and I was ready to reach my final destination. I was also very hungry because I hadn\u0026rsquo;t been able to find a shop or a time where I could easily grab something to eat without having to lock my bike somewhere else (always pack lots of food!) I got off at Bordeaux, reassembled my bike, and decided to take a stroll while waiting for my next connection in an hour. I managed to grab a mediocre-tasting croissant on the way out.\nIn France, they only seem to announce the platforms 20 minutes before the train\u0026rsquo;s departure time. This was stressful because I had to wait for the announcement, find my way to the platform and carry my big bike and baggage, repack my bike into a bag and then board the train and find space for my bike all within the 20 minutes.\nI also found out that not all TGV trains are the same. This one had two floors and these kinds usually have smaller baggage storage space. When I asked where I could put my bike on the train, they told me to carry it up to the second floor and put it along with one of the corridors. This was a nightmare. The train ride itself was comfortable and I was just happy that I managed to arrive safely in Toulouse.\n* TER (from another day)\nTGVs are the fast trains in France but there are also regional trains called TER. During the past week, I also carried my bike into a few of these so here are some memos from those experiences.\nFirst and foremost, rules differ depending on which TER you\u0026rsquo;re taking. Some trains require you to book a separate bike reservation ticket (free of charge) in advance due to limited space while some don\u0026rsquo;t. For those that do require a reservation, you can do so via the SNCF website and you get your own place to hang your bike vertically. For the latter, there\u0026rsquo;s usually a space to stack the bikes horizontally but if there are multiple bikes, the order in which you place your bike matters. You may have to move your bike if another bike owner has to get off at the station before you.\nNotes to future-self # Get a better bike bag (advice from a random stranger on a platform) Book train spots in advance (like waaaay in advance especially in France) France charges seat reservation fees which can amount to quite a bit (for me, +30EUR) Pack lots of snacks and food Don\u0026rsquo;t book 1st class when carrying your bike Other ticket options could\u0026rsquo;ve been cheaper I can\u0026rsquo;t believe I wrote so much about carrying bikes onto trains. I\u0026rsquo;m really excited about the 9-Euro ticket that allows me to travel on any regional trains in Germany for the 3 summer months starting June 1st and do more bike trips in combination with trains though.\n","date":"May 19, 2022","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/carrying-bikes-on-trains-in-germany-and-france/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI recently took a train from Berlin to Toulouse (17h train ride!) with my bike, two panniers, and a backpack to do a bike trip across the south of France. Bringing a bike on trains can be a complicated business and there are a few things I\u0026rsquo;ve learned along the way.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRules and fees regarding bikes on trains differ depending on the country, region, and the type of train you\u0026rsquo;re taking. Here are the ones I took:\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Carrying bikes on trains in Germany and France"},{"content":"Yep, that\u0026rsquo;s me looking all happy smiley. This was last Saturday when I went for a day hike with my brother to Mt. Kinpu.\nRight now, I\u0026rsquo;m sitting in my bedroom at my parents\u0026rsquo; house in Tokyo feeling rather miserable. I went into the city hoping to get some shopping done, only to come back with nothing completely overwhelmed by the number of people, things, and sounds. Too many stimuli. Sensation overload.\nI thought writing about my trip to Mt. Kinpu last Saturday with my brother would calm me down a bit. So here I go:\nI think it\u0026rsquo;s my third time in Mt. Kinpu. I\u0026rsquo;ve been there with my friends, my father 3 years ago and my brother this time. It\u0026rsquo;s become one of my favorite places to go for a day trip because it\u0026rsquo;s close by, accessible, it\u0026rsquo;s easy but the view is still great.\nWe left home at around 6:30am and arrived at trailhead next to Mizugaki Hut at approx 9am. There\u0026rsquo;s a big car park and a bus stop for those coming via public transport and also people with their crashpads who came for the climbing, not for the hiking.\nWe knew that there were going to be some snow left so I bought a pair of crampons for 2000 yen (20USD) on Amazon the night before and went in with my non-waterproof trail shoes.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s an easy 30 mins walk to the Fujimidaira hut where the trail splits into two ways - to Mt. Mizugaki and to Mt. Kinpu. After the hut, we put on our crampons.\nWe spent about 3 hours amongst the trees until we were on the ridge and we had a 360-view of the surrounding peaks - Mt. Fuji, Yatsugatake, and the Southern Alps. We met a man in his 70s who took a picture of the two of us together.\n\u0026ldquo;Oh, I wish I were young like you two!\u0026rdquo; he said and told us about his adventure to Mt. Blanc when he was 22, more than half a century ago.\nThere were quite a bit of snow left along the ridge but because it\u0026rsquo;s such a popular route, there was no need for us to wade through deep snow to open up a trail - that had already been done for us.\nAwww!\nWe\u0026rsquo;re siblings :)\nOh\u0026hellip;\nI had completely forgotten how reflective snow is. Going up there without a pair of sunglasses was very stupid and painful. My brother lent me his while we made some hot instant cup noodles for lunch.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s mostly me in the photos because my brother is the one with the camera but I also got to use his fancy camera which was super fun. (Considering getting myself a proper camera after my iPhone freezing to sleep in the cold)\nThe way down was just too much fun. It was a lot of sliding, falling, slipping and screaming. Kind of like skiing but with your shoes. We were soaked and exhausted but had a wonderful day that makes you want to say, \u0026ldquo;damn, I\u0026rsquo;m actually so glad to be alive!\u0026rdquo;\nOk, I\u0026rsquo;m feeling a lot better now. If you\u0026rsquo;ve read this far, whoever you are, thanks. Hope this reminds you of your own nice memories with your loved ones.\n","date":"April 15, 2022","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/mt-kinpu-day-hike-with-my-brother/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eYep, that\u0026rsquo;s me looking all happy smiley. This was last Saturday when I went for a day hike with my brother to Mt. Kinpu.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/dsc_0890.jpg\" alt=\"mt-kinpu-hike-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eRight now, I\u0026rsquo;m sitting in my bedroom at my parents\u0026rsquo; house in Tokyo feeling rather miserable. I went into the city hoping to get some shopping done, only to come back with nothing completely overwhelmed by the number of people, things, and sounds. Too many stimuli. Sensation overload.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mt. Kinpu day-hike with my brother"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m currently in Tokyo working European hours which means I\u0026rsquo;m free until the afternoon. I\u0026rsquo;m staying at my parents\u0026rsquo; place who live a bit outside of the center which is exhausting if I want to meet up with a friend working in the city. But it also means I live not so far from the mountains in the west side of Tokyo. I decided to make the best out of that and go on a quick trail-jog in Takao.\nMt Takao, only a 30 min train ride from home, has been a not-so-small part of my life because of how close it is from where I grew up. I\u0026rsquo;ve been here with my school, with friends and with my family. But it was my first time here alone.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a Thursday but it was crowded because of the Cherry blossom season and the good weather. It\u0026rsquo;s a little too early for a full bloom but I could see some trees turning pink as I ran and walked up the well paved path to the very top.\nI picked the Inariyama route which seemed like the fastest and least crowded way up to the top. I\u0026rsquo;m very new to trail running and my running at the moment is more like walking. It took me around 40 minutes to the top.\nThere was a little shrine towards the beginning which is what the trail was named after. There are lots of shrines like these all over the country in the mountains which are the main reasons some people visit these places.\nThe way down was a lot of fun although my knees almost gave up and my feet rubbed hard against the sides of my shoes. There\u0026rsquo;s always something new to discover when running on new terrain. My body felt different. My strides changed. My footsteps sounded different. I ran a total of 8km and was back by tea. I think I\u0026rsquo;ll come back again with my parents once the cherry trees are in bloom.\n2022.03.31\n","date":"April 8, 2022","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/running-the-takao-san/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m currently in Tokyo working European hours which means I\u0026rsquo;m free until the afternoon. I\u0026rsquo;m staying at my parents\u0026rsquo; place who live a bit outside of the center which is exhausting if I want to meet up with a friend working in the city. But it also means I live not so far from the mountains in the west side of Tokyo. I decided to make the best out of that and go on a quick trail-jog in Takao.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Running the Takao-san"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m a huge fan of hot springs (onsen). So is my family. So we went on an over-night trip to Nasu-Shiobara, a few hours drive or an hour on a bullet train from Tokyo. A family trip for the first time in 10 years.\nIt wasn\u0026rsquo;t my first time in Nasu-Shiobara. I\u0026rsquo;d come here before to hike Mt. Nasu with friends when I was a sophomore at university. It\u0026rsquo;s located in the northeastern part of Nikko National Park and known for its colorful scenery in the autumn.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s also a big hot spring spot. We stayed near Sesshoseki (Killing Stone), a stone that captured the spirit of the Tamamo-no-Mae, an evil spirit from a Japanese folklore. Legend has it that it kills anyone who touches it. Earlier in March, it split in two and rumors went around that the spirit had escaped.\nSome images from the area where we stayed\nA typical onsen trip (trip to the hot springs) goes like this: We arrive. We go to the bath, nap, eat, bathe, nap, eat, bathe and repeat. The entire area smells of sulfur and for those new to hot springs might find this rather weird but for me and my family, it smells like home.\nHot springs are said to have various health benefits and it\u0026rsquo;s actually really exhausting just taking a bath. The ryokan (sort of like a B\u0026amp;B, a traditional Japanese inn) we stayed at had tatami floors, comfortable futons and endless supply of hot green tea. And the food, my god. I have to show you.\nIn my current home (Berlin), when I talk about Japanese food, people talk about Sushi and Ramen. But oh no, to get the full experience please just go to one of these ryokans.\nThe next morning, my entire family got up at 5am so we can go to the bath again. I went for a quick run in the mountains instead.\nI took a quick bath and now we\u0026rsquo;re ready for breakfast! We\u0026rsquo;re big on breakfasts in Japan which surprises a lot of my friends in Europe. Since moving to Berlin, I started eating oatmeal over rice then stopped eating breakfasts all together, just a cup of coffee. So it was super nice to be excited about breakfast.\nThis was a Monday so my brother had to be back in the office by noon. We dropped him off at the station and received a message an hour later that he was already back at the office in central Tokyo. In the meantime, my parents and I hit the road. It took us 4 hours to get back but with some perks too.\n","date":"April 6, 2022","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/run-eat-bathe-in-nasu-shiobara-tochigi/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m a huge fan of hot springs (onsen). So is my family. So we went on an over-night trip to \u003ca href=\"https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3842.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eNasu-Shiobara\u003c/a\u003e, a few hours drive or an hour on a bullet train from Tokyo. A family trip for the first time in 10 years.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5955.jpg\" alt=\"eat-bathe-nasu-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt wasn\u0026rsquo;t my first time in Nasu-Shiobara. I\u0026rsquo;d come here before to hike \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Nasu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eMt. Nasu\u003c/a\u003e with friends when I was a sophomore at university. It\u0026rsquo;s located in the northeastern part of Nikko National Park and known for its colorful scenery in the autumn.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Run, eat, bathe in Nasu-Shiobara (Tochigi)"},{"content":"In late March 2022, I went on a trip to Izu-Inatori – a small coastal town of 5000 people in the Izu peninsula only a 3-hour train ride from central Tokyo. I spent the weekend on fishing boats sailing next to seagulls, cutting down bamboo trees, picking oranges and sitting around a fire. I also went on small hikes just so I can justify writing about it in this blog (it\u0026rsquo;s called Mountain diaries after all).\nHaving two homes. Both in the city and country. # After the pandemic hit, many of my friends working in Tokyo and other big cities started working remotely.\n\u0026ldquo;If I can work from anywhere, why not work somewhere by the sea?\u0026rdquo;\nSome started renting out places outside of the city or move to remote locations completely. I decided to visit someone who did just that, in Izu-Inatori.\nI met up with my acquaintance at a co-working space called the East Dock. This is where others my age were also working out of, exploring a way of life other than the city life they knew about and grew up in.\nA few years ago, a group of university Architecture students visited this small town for a renovation project of an abandoned house to turn it into a community space for the locals and visitors. Some stayed on to continue their work in these renovation projects including the co-working space as well as the guest-house ( So-an) I stayed at.\nIn Japan, newly grads would usually move to the big cities because that\u0026rsquo;s where the jobs are. But since the pandemic and remote-work becoming the norm, this is no longer true. These renovation projects and communities run by people my age make it so much easier for someone like me to visit and not only that, to interact with the lifestyle of those actually living here.\nI hardly knew my acquaintance but he introduced me to a lot of people and invited me to a lot of events, including those my age who were also visiting that same weekend. I was traveling alone (my brother cancelled on me last minute due to a COVID-scare) so that was really nice.\nCutting bamboo trees. Bamboos have been a household essential used for building tools, houses and other various daily commodities. After the war, access to cheaper imported bamboos and plastics replaced the bamboo industry and many bamboo bushes became unattended. When not maintained, overgrown bamboo bushes can monopolize the local ecosystem causing landslides and destructions to animal habitats.\nThe owner of the guest house was one of the Architecture students and the founding member of these different renovation projects. He told me his story, of how he ended up staying. He told me that after graduating, he stayed on through the urban-rural migration scheme, a program called 地域おこし協力隊 (Chiiki Okoshi Kyoryokutai) organized by the government. A few of my other friends from university has also quit their office jobs in Tokyo to become farmers and local entrepreneurs using similar programs as well.\nOne thing that really stuck with me during the different interactions during my stay was how grateful and appreciative of their environment they all were. Their respect for the people, the traditions, the nature.\nAs someone who grew up in the city pondering on the idea of life in the country, this turned out to be a nice trip where I got to interact with the locals as well as younger people from the city who\u0026rsquo;ve made the urban-rural transition I\u0026rsquo;ve been pondering on.\nIt was also a good trip that reminded me how much I love exploring new places on foot especially on an early morning.\n","date":"April 3, 2022","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/a-week-end-trip-to-the-izu-peninsula/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIn late March 2022, I went on a trip to Izu-Inatori – a small coastal town of 5000 people in the Izu peninsula only a 3-hour train ride from central Tokyo. I spent the weekend on fishing boats sailing next to seagulls, cutting down bamboo trees, picking oranges and sitting around a fire. I also went on small hikes just so I can justify writing about it in this blog (it\u0026rsquo;s called Mountain diaries after all).\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Weekend Trip to the Izu Peninsula"},{"content":"My first time back in Japan post pandemic 🎉 A brother-sister reunion over a camp \u0026amp; hike trip to the foot of Mt. Fuji. Good food, good weather, good vibes. If you\u0026rsquo;re looking for a comfortable quick weekend getaway from Tokyo with minimal gear in March, highly recommend 🤩\nPhoto Credit: All photos are taken by my brother @yo_tanitani13\nLast week, I flew back to Tokyo from Berlin to see my family for the first time in more than 2 years. It\u0026rsquo;s been difficult to plan this trip because of the strict regulations and long quarantine requirements. I\u0026rsquo;d met my parents back in November in London but I hand\u0026rsquo;t seen my brother in 2 years and a half.\nSo we decided to take an overnight trip to the mountains to celebrate our reunion. Destination? What better way to celebrate than the most iconic mountain in Japan - Mt. Fuji!\nItinerary #We came up with this plan on Saturday morning at 11:00am but it turned out pretty alright.\nSaturday\n14:00 Rented a car in Tachikawa, Tokyo 15:00 Went shopping in nearby supermarket to get some food 17:00 Arrived at Fumotoppara Campground (Not allowed to move vehicle after 5pm). Requires booking made up till the day before. Put up our tents, drank some beer, caught up, cooked Nabe (Japanese hot pot). 23:00 Sleep Sunday\n5:00 Woke up ☀️ 6:30 Left campground, grabbed breakfast at a nearby convenient store 7:00 Arrived at the parking-lot next to Lake Motosu, packed our bags and began our hike. 9:00 Reached the top of Mt. Ryugatake 11:00 Back at the car, trying out my brother\u0026rsquo;s new drone by the lake and chatting with an old man. 12:00 Went to a hot spring nearby called Yurari Onsen 13:30 We ate Hōtō at a restaurant Hoto Fudou, a regional dish in Yamanashi (1100 yen/10 USD for a huge portion, gave me food comma) 17:00 Back in Tachikawa, Tokyo (recommend leaving early to avoid traffic) Notable Gear/Preparation\nCar (rented) Camping equipment (although you can always sleep in the car if you don\u0026rsquo;t have a tent but remember to bring good sleeping bag) Hiking shoes/trail shoes + light-weight ice crampons (there were some icy surfaces and snow left near the top) Yamap - hiking app with downloadable topos. You can also search for recently uploaded pictures to check the states of the hike routes (esp. for snow etc) Cost (Total: roughly 10000-yen/100USD per person)\nCar (we used Timescar which cost us 8800-yen or 74USD - gas included for an overnight trip)\n+ Highway (2000-yen/20USD) ? Food (2500-yen/25USD per people) Camp fee (2000-yen/20USD per person) Hot spring (1000-yen/10USD per person) Blog #So this is the part where I rant on about things that happened in my trip, how I felt during and what went down. If you\u0026rsquo;re just looking for more info on what to expect in specific parts of the itinerary, feel free to skip from the links below:\nBuying food for camping The Campground The hike (4-5h) Hot Spring Eating Hōtō - a regional dish from Yamanashi Alright, here I go!\nSupermarkets are super #I LOVE JAPANESE SUPERMARKETS. This is not an over-statement and you\u0026rsquo;ll see what I mean if you visit one. People say Japan is expensive but it definitely isn\u0026rsquo;t especially when it comes to food. The amount of plastic packaging does bother me though. But the sheer number of meal-deal and pre-cooked options that are actually HEALTHY is incredible.\nAnd TOFU only costs 37-yen (0.4USD)!!! Coming from Europe where mediocre tasting Tofu costs 2 euros a pack, I was crying in joy while getting a lot of strange stares. Food really reminds me that I\u0026rsquo;m a Japanese at heart and this is where I grew up.\nTofu for 37 yen = 0.37 USD\nWe bought some veggies, some thinly sliced pork meat, Nabe-hot-pot bouillon, some onigiri rice-balls , eggs and two cans of beer. My brother recommends Cup-curry-rice which is a rice version of instant cup-noodles (they\u0026rsquo;re freeze-dried and in a cup!) and instant miso-soup which comes in tiny packets that are easily portable. A true paradise for finding portable foods for hikes and outdoor activities. Maybe I\u0026rsquo;ll do a tour of hike-friendly foods you can buy in Japanese supermarkets on another blogpost.\nFumotoppara Campground # Address: 156 Fumoto, Fujinomiya, Shizuoka 418-0109\nContact: +81(0)544-52-2112\nBooking\nMost places require booking these days including the one we stayed at due to COVID restrictions. Futoppara Campground requires you to book up till the day before arrival at the latest but since this was a spontaneous trip, we didn\u0026rsquo;t have a booking when we arrived. We quickly made a call and they were nice enough to accept us. We slid in 5 minutes before 17:00 (after 5pm no vehicles are allowed to move inside the campground) and parked the car amongst the many who came for the same reasons: Camp out, watch the stars and admire this huge mountain called Mt. Fuji.\nThe campground is one of the best I\u0026rsquo;ve stayed at. There\u0026rsquo;s a little shop where you can buy the necessities, a vending machine to buy instant noodles, a very clean bathroom with toilets equipped with 24-7 HEATED SEATS and even a little restaurant that serves Udon-noodles, Oden and other traditional Japanese comfort food that nobody talks about outside of Japan.\nThere is a convenient store (Family mart to be more specific) nearby but it might be best to stock up with food at a supermarket on your way to the campground.\nA lot of people had a big tarp and a stove with fire (you can buy some wood at the campground), even some fairy-lights to make things sparkly and cozy. I think they do offer rentals but by the time we arrived, they were all closed.\nJust make sure to bring some warm clothes because it was quite cold in the evening (this is mid-March).\nHiking up Mt. Ryūgatake (Yamanashi) #Date: 13th March 2022 (beginning of Spring!)\nElevation: 600m\nDistance: 6km\nDuration: 4-5 hours\nDifficulty: Easy\nA very easy hike but amazing view of Mt. Fuji on one side and the Japanese alps on the other side. There are a few peaks named Mt. Ryugatake so if you\u0026rsquo;re searching online, make sure you pick the one in Yamanashi. There\u0026rsquo;s a campground at the base next to the lake but only opens towards the end of March. The route was a little icy on the northern side towards the top and very muddy on the southern side due to the ice melting but a well-marked easy route perfect for all fitness levels. Best to bring shoes with good grip (I went with my Salomon trail runners) and if you\u0026rsquo;re taking a route from the northern side, bring some light crampons for better grip.\nHow did we decide on the mountain/route? We initially googled \u0026lsquo;day hikes around Mt.Fuji\u0026rsquo; and then looked at recently taken instagram pictures for these locations to see the states of the routes. Then we also looked at Yamap (hiking app) and decided the night before. It\u0026rsquo;s around 30 minutes from the campground with the car and might have even be nice to go for a sunrise hike.\nHot Spring #Going to a hot spring was definitely on top of my to-do list for this trip and I finally made it happen! I do like the saunas in Germany but there\u0026rsquo;s nothing like a good old hot spring in Japan. There are so many to choose from around this area but we went to one called Yurari Onsen which was conveniently located on our way back to Tokyo. There are two floors and a beautiful outside bath with the view of Mt. Fuji (although you might have to stand up to actually see it). Nothing beats a Roten-buro (outside bath) on a sunny day in winter/early-spring.\nFor those of you who are not familiar with how hot spring (onsen) works. Here\u0026rsquo;s a Onsen-101 for you:\nYou go in completely naked. There\u0026rsquo;s usually a locker where you can put your things inside and you can wear the key around like a bracelet when you\u0026rsquo;re in the bath. Usually, they will give you towels at the reception but if not, you can either buy them cheap or rent a set. You will get one small towel to take it inside with you in the bath and a bigger one for drying. Once inside, you\u0026rsquo;d want to wash yourself first before going in the bath. If you have long hair, make sure to tie them up. You can either wrap your head with your little towel or fold the towel above your head but never put the towel inside the bath. Sometimes there are cold baths. Alternate cold and hot to cool down/warm up. Apparently it\u0026rsquo;s good for you. Dry yourself with your little towel before coming out of the bath. Return towels or take the towels back home as souvenirs! My tradition was always to drink a glass of ice cold コーヒー牛乳（Coffee Milk) which tastes like a sweetened milk coffee after a long bath. Then I like to roll around in the Tatami floors for a little nap but we didn\u0026rsquo;t have too much time this time around.\nEating Hōtō #When people outside of Japan think of \u0026ldquo;Japan + noodles\u0026rdquo;, they always say \u0026ldquo;Ramen!\u0026rdquo;\nBut hey, there\u0026rsquo;s more. Hōtō is a type of noodle soup with flat chewy udon noodles (kind of like Gnocchi or Spätzle but longer, whiter, chewier and flatter) with vegetables in a thick miso soup. I love ones with lots of pumpkins inside. They\u0026rsquo;re one of my favourite comfort foods. We originally wanted to go to a place called Kosaku because of its popularity but was too full so we went to one next door called Hoto Fudou which for me was amazing!\nThey only had one type of Hōtō which made the ordering super easy. They come in big big clay(?)-pots and since I was too hungry, I forgot to take a picture. Here\u0026rsquo;s an image from their website:\nFinal thoughts # This turned out a lot longer than I intended. I really need to learn to write more concisely 😂 Anyway, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me or comment (any feedback is always appreciated!). This was such a fun trip and the 24h with my brother was enough to make this rather expensive trip to Japan worth it!\nPhoto credits: @yo_tanitani13\n","date":"March 15, 2022","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/mt-ryugatake-yamanashi-near-mt-fuji/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMy first time back in Japan post pandemic 🎉 A brother-sister reunion over a camp \u0026amp; hike trip to the foot of Mt. Fuji. Good food, good weather, good vibes. If you\u0026rsquo;re looking for a comfortable quick weekend getaway from Tokyo with minimal gear in March, highly recommend 🤩\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePhoto Credit: All photos are taken by my brother \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/yo_tanitani13/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003e@yo_tanitani13\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLast week, \u003cstrong\u003eI flew back to Tokyo\u003c/strong\u003e from Berlin to see my family for the first time in more than 2 years. It\u0026rsquo;s been difficult to plan this trip because of the strict regulations and long quarantine requirements. I\u0026rsquo;d met my parents back in November in London but \u003cstrong\u003eI hand\u0026rsquo;t seen my brother in 2 years and a half.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mt. Ryūgatake (Yamanashi) near Mt. Fuji"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been running quite consistently for a few months now and this weekend, I\u0026rsquo;ve managed to tick a few boxes off my bucket list – attended my first Park Run in Berlin ✔️ and ran the first leg of the 66-Seen-Weg ✔️ (400km trail around Brandenburg).\nI thought I\u0026rsquo;ll look back at some of my favorite moments from my runs I managed to capture in photos (before my phone died from the cold).\nAnd today. I took a train from Berlin to Potsdam and ran along the Jungfernsee. It was cold. Very cold. But there\u0026rsquo;s something about running first thing in the morning, before breakfast and my first cup of coffee. Especially when it\u0026rsquo;s along the waters. Cold and I – we don\u0026rsquo;t get along so well but when I\u0026rsquo;m running, I like the way it cuts through my skin and wakes me up by shaking me from inside out. I like the silence, the sound of my footsteps, the colors of the sky, the mist, the smell of the grass. I like how running makes me feel afterwards, how I stop thinking about food or work or about anything for a little while.\nHopefully, this is just the beginning to many more beautiful mornings to come, my two healthy legs taking me to infinite number of wonderful places.\nHappy New Year everyone!\n","date":"January 9, 2022","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/thoughts-on-running/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been running quite consistently for a few months now and this weekend, I\u0026rsquo;ve managed to tick a few boxes off my bucket list – attended my first Park Run in Berlin ✔️ and ran the first leg of the 66-Seen-Weg ✔️ (400km trail around Brandenburg).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI thought I\u0026rsquo;ll look back at some of my favorite moments from my runs I managed to capture in photos (before my phone died from the cold).\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Morning runs"},{"content":"The number of COVID-19 cases is rising again in Berlin (it\u0026rsquo;s worse than last year!), and we might be staring at another lockdown this winter.\nMy last entry on this blog was about running and how I wanted to get back into it more. It\u0026rsquo;s been 2 months since then, and I\u0026rsquo;ve actually managed to keep my promise to myself a fair bit. I\u0026rsquo;ve been running 5 km almost every morning for the past month, and I\u0026rsquo;m ready to set some real goals. I\u0026rsquo;m still slow as a snail, my core is very weak, and lack stability so much so that I worry I\u0026rsquo;ll roll my ankle every day, but in all honesty, I\u0026rsquo;m quite proud of myself for this new habit.\nI recently bought my first GPS watch and started doing research on running forms and training plans to prevent injury. I thought it would be nice to write down where I\u0026rsquo;m at, my goals for next year, and track my progress here on this blog since I probably won\u0026rsquo;t be traveling for a while with all this COVID madness.\nPersonal Goals for 2022\nRun a half-marathon (March 2022)\n5 km under 25 minutes\nRun all 400 km of the 66 lake trail around Berlin\nRun a trail run race\nDo all the above injury-free\nMy long-term goals aren\u0026rsquo;t so much about speed, but endurance and a healthy body that can go to places where I\u0026rsquo;d like to go. I\u0026rsquo;d love to do trail running once I\u0026rsquo;m more comfortable running on the road.\nTraining plan\nThe biggest issue for me has always been an injury. In terms of my running, I\u0026rsquo;m going to start off by following the Garmin coach on my watch and will see from there. Besides that, here are some of the things I want to work on:\nWork on my flexibility \u0026amp; STRETCH A LOT Work on my core muscles \u0026amp; posture in my daily life Work on my balance and stability in my legs so I can run on any turf I know that there\u0026rsquo;s absolutely no need for me to write this on a blog, but I think it helps to write it down and just put it out there for my future self to read.\n","date":"November 20, 2021","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/running-goals/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe number of COVID-19 cases is rising again in Berlin (it\u0026rsquo;s worse than last year!), and we might be staring at another lockdown this winter.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy last entry on this blog was about running and how I wanted to get back into it more. It\u0026rsquo;s been 2 months since then, and I\u0026rsquo;ve actually managed to keep my promise to myself a fair bit. I\u0026rsquo;ve been running 5 km almost every morning for the past month, and I\u0026rsquo;m ready to set some real goals. I\u0026rsquo;m still slow as a snail, my core is very weak, and lack stability so much so that I worry I\u0026rsquo;ll roll my ankle every day, but in all honesty, I\u0026rsquo;m quite proud of myself for this new habit.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Running Goals 2022"},{"content":"Today, I went out for a run in the evening, hoping to feel a tiny bit better. My body couldn\u0026rsquo;t handle it and I felt worse afterwards.\nI want to be able to run again. This blog post is a reminder to myself, of how I felt tonight so that I can start running again.\nRunning used to be an important part of my life. I started running regularly with my father around the age of 10. I still remember tracing a 5k running course around my house in Japan that we ran every weekend. Then we moved to England. Our go-to spot was a 5k around the Regent\u0026rsquo;s Park in London. On some weekends, he would take me to Richmond Park, to a fun-run event on Sundays. Wherever we moved, we always found places to run.\nRunning was what we did on the weekends and what we travelled for. It was usually just the two of us and what I remember my time with my father in my childhood. He was never really around, but he was always there when I went running. We travelled to different running events, and they\u0026rsquo;ve been some of the nicest memories with my father.\nI ran for school in my early teens - I ran track (1500 m) and ran x-country in the winter. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t fast and didn\u0026rsquo;t really enjoy the competitive aspect (made me feel sick) but participating in it made me feel more confident in a place I felt I didn\u0026rsquo;t belong. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t the most popular sport, and it felt nice to be needed, to be asked to do something because I was ok at it. Especially in a country where I felt different, small and insignificant.\nThen, when I reached high school, I stopped running. I tried getting back into it many times, but it never quite happened. I did reckless 60k runs without training at university that wrecked my legs for months after. I kept trying to get back into it, hurting myself and feeling depressed and awful about the state of my body and lack of mental strength to keep going.\nNow, I can\u0026rsquo;t run long enough to feel the high anymore. I have knee issues and my body is so heavy I keep tripping. My inability to run has always bothered me, but it hit me really hard today. I came home and cried.\nI want to start running again. Slowly but steadily so I don\u0026rsquo;t hurt myself. I want to start running, so I can continue to run for a long time. I\u0026rsquo;d love to run in the mountains too. Maybe it\u0026rsquo;ll give me a bit of boost in confidence. Maybe I\u0026rsquo;ll feel more at home away from home. Running always provided me with a tiny bit more sense of belonging \u0026amp; connection to places and people in a world where that feels impossible sometimes.\nI want to start running again.\n","date":"September 12, 2021","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/i-want-to-be-able-to-run-again/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday, I went out for a run in the evening, hoping to feel a tiny bit better. My body couldn\u0026rsquo;t handle it and I felt worse afterwards.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI want to be able to run again. This blog post is a reminder to myself, of how I felt tonight so that I can start running again.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRunning used to be an important part of my life. I started running regularly with my father around the age of 10. I still remember tracing a 5k running course around my house in Japan that we ran every weekend. Then we moved to England. Our go-to spot was a 5k around the Regent\u0026rsquo;s Park in London. On some weekends, he would take me to Richmond Park, to a fun-run event on Sundays. Wherever we moved, we always found places to run.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"I want to be able to run again"},{"content":"This summer, I visited southern France again. During my stay, I spent around a week in the French Pyrenees, mainly in the department called Ariège in Occitanie.\nThe first trip was a 3-day-3-night hike around Mont Valier. This was the first camp \u0026amp; hike trip since before the pandemic, which made it a little special. So I want to jot down some thoughts before I forget them, and also lots of pictures too.\nOverview # Picking up supplies Routes The plan Day 0 Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Thoughts Picking up supplies #With a friend of mine, we bought some food and other supplies from a nearby town called Saint-Girons. You can also get some topographic maps from a local tabac where they also sold some hiking guide books. I sometimes find books like these a lot more helpful than trying to find a route online. The information is more condensed and helps me avoid choice overload.\nRoutes # Since I can\u0026rsquo;t embed iframes on this blog, a screenshot will have to do. You can find the full route on Komoot here. When I\u0026rsquo;m hiking, I usually download an offline map on maps.me along with a paper topo map. I would really love to visualize routes more nicely for blog posts though - are there any good free tools to quickly draw routes and download them as GPX/KML?\nSome websites that I found useful (you\u0026rsquo;ll find more info if you search in French):\n[M](http://Mont-Valier par Ribérot et Muscadet) ont-Valier par Ribérot et Muscadet Pic des Trois Comtes (2689m) et Mont Valier (2838m) en boucle The plan #Our plan was to do a loop from La Maison du Valier - Etang de Milouga - Refuge Les Estagnous - through the two lakes Etang Rond \u0026amp; Etang Long - then walk along the crest towards Tuc de Barlonguere bordering Spain - descend along Ruisseau de Peyralade \u0026amp; Le Riberot. But what we ended up doing was taking a U-turn before we got on the crest towards Tuc de Barlonguere and coming back down Le Riberot (more on why later.)\nDay 0 # We parked our little van at the car park near La Maison du Valier, packed our bags and started hiking around 16:50 on a Wednesday evening, which is quite late. We still managed to walk just over 3 hours past Cabane du Taus towards Etang de Milouga (lake). I\u0026rsquo;m still surprised by how long the days are in European summer.\nJust before Etang de Milouga, there is another hut where we were greeted by many horses with their bells jingling around their necks. I was getting a little anxious that it was getting dark, and we weren\u0026rsquo;t finding a good camping spot. We found a flattish place next to the hut (and the horses) and decided to set up our tent there. (We find out the next day that there are plenty of nice flatter places to camp just after the hut towards the lake though)\nThe horses were friendly, a little TOO friendly and I was a little afraid if I\u0026rsquo;d be able to sleep from the ringing bells, but we slept just fine. It\u0026rsquo;s been a while since I\u0026rsquo;ve been in the mountains and I noticed myself getting very nervous on just about anything.\nDay 1 # We woke up to a very sunny morning and continued our way towards the lake. There were a lot of people hiking (it is August after all) and I became very good at pronouncing Bonjour/Hola to say to passing hikers.\nIt was about an hour walk from the hut to the lake. It was a perfect place to wash off sweat, and other people seem to have had the same idea too. I didn\u0026rsquo;t have any swimwear on me and after seeing other strangers diving in water naked, I decided to not care and be happily naked as well. The water was COLD (it is at 2000 m above sea level) and it did take a bit of getting used to but once you\u0026rsquo;re under, it\u0026rsquo;s ok. Before the lake, there are plenty of nice flat places to camp with beautiful views.\nAnother 2h30 walk from the lake, we reached Refuge Les Estagnous. It was pretty crowded since it\u0026rsquo;s the peak season. They were all here to climb up to Mont Valier (another 2h hike up from the Refuge) but we decided to continue our way down to Etang Rond, a big round lake.\nThere are some nice camping spots just by Etang Rond but we decided to climb up another 1h to Etang Long. There is a beautiful waterfall that falls from Etang Long to Etang Rond and just by the waterfall, there are some great spots to spend the night.\nWe met a hiker who had apparently followed a footprint/scratch mark on tree with fresh blood possibly made by a bear who showed us some pictures. He told us that he took the photo that morning and followed the footprints in the hope of encountering a bear.\nSometimes ignorance is a bliss. This piece of information kept me up that night and I greatly regretted trying very hard to understand his French. Unlike him, I\u0026rsquo;m extremely scared of bears. I didn\u0026rsquo;t know that there are bears in the Pyrenees but now I know. There are apparently 64 brown bears in the Pyrenees and are \u0026ldquo;by nature discrete, especially with respect to humans. If it hears you or detects your odor, it will seek to avoid you. \u0026quot; - If I had known this, I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have been so scared. I shouldn\u0026rsquo;t have worried so much but for some reason, maybe because I had forgotten how to be in the mountains and in nature in general, I was overthinking in irrational fear. But I should\u0026rsquo;ve done more research. What I should\u0026rsquo;ve been more careful of were guardian dogs who guard the sheep and maybe ticks (lyme disease?). Anyway, it\u0026rsquo;s always good to do research, when going to a region you\u0026rsquo;re not used to.\nDay 2 # I\u0026rsquo;m not good at carrying weight and I sometimes wonder why I even bother carry around camping equipment when there are other ways to enjoy the mountains. And possibly the one big reason is because I like waking up in the mountains (when it\u0026rsquo;s sunny). It\u0026rsquo;s the best feeling. The walk along Etang long was beautiful with lots of flowers, berries with the view of the turquoise water.\nOur plan was to walk along the Tuc de Barlonguere but when we got to Cote de la Legne and Tuc dera Gireta, I got scared (AGAIN, sigh). I don\u0026rsquo;t know what\u0026rsquo;s got into me during this trip but I didn\u0026rsquo;t feel comfortable to hike along the crest especially because it was super windy. We were also super behind schedule and walking way too slowly.\nWe decided to turn around and head back towards Etang Long instead of powering through. I was disappointed but I also knew I shouldn\u0026rsquo;t push it. My knees and ankles weren\u0026rsquo;t feeling good either and felt physically quite broken.\nWe headed back to Etang Long because we really liked it there. We originally planned to stay on the east end of the lake but quickly realized that it was too windy. (Some people had built a wind barricade with rocks which suggested that the wind was going to be pretty bad) So we decided to head back to the same place as the night before.\nDay 3 # Next morning, we had a morning bath in Etang Rond and made our way down back to the car park. The weather wasn\u0026rsquo;t the best but I was apparently really dehydrated by this point and from the consistent exposure to the sun in the previous days, I got a migraine. Note to self: bring a hat and a pair of sun-glasses.\nThoughts #It\u0026rsquo;s been such a long time since I had been outside for so long that I really seemed to have forgotten how to be outside at all. I struggled to sleep at night and I was scared - about everything. I was constantly assuming the worst and felt frustrated at myself from the severe decline in my physical ability to carry my weight. Lack of sleep also did strange things to my mood and made me a rather difficult person to be with. I felt awful for my hiking partner. But overall, the trip reminded me that I did like being outside as much as I did like staying inside. I may have been overly fearful but I was also alert - and felt more strongly to want to live and to live better. There\u0026rsquo;s something really real about feeling so small in the vastness of nature and that makes everything feel so trivial. It also made me want to write better, and to describe feelings and emotions as words better. (Which I\u0026rsquo;m obviously failing at the moment.)\nI also have new goals. I\u0026rsquo;d love to try thru-hiking the Pyrenees one day.\nThe end.\n","date":"August 15, 2021","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/mont-valier/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis summer, I visited southern France again. During my stay, I spent around a week in the French Pyrenees, mainly in the department called \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ari%C3%A8ge_%28department%29\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eAriège\u003c/a\u003e in Occitanie.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"gallery gallery-cols-1\"\u003e  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/imported_image.png\" alt=\"mont-valier-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe first trip was a 3-day-3-night hike around \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Valier\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eMont Valier\u003c/a\u003e. This was the first camp \u0026amp; hike trip since before the pandemic, which made it a little special. So I want to jot down some thoughts before I forget them, and also lots of pictures too.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Hiking in Réserve Domaniale du Mont Valier (Ariège/ French Pyrenees)"},{"content":" It was my first time visiting France in the middle of the summer and the fields were full of yellows and greens. Rows and rows of sunflowers all faced their heads towards the sun, up towards the clear blue sky.\nTomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchinis, melons, prunes. Lots and lots of prunes. Dried prunes. Prunaux. Berries. Black berries, raspberries. So many berries. Berry bugs. I got bitten by lots of tiny berry bugs. It kept me awake at night. I would look up at the sky and I\u0026rsquo;d see stars - and forgave the little berry bugs for my sleepless nights.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s something about the place that keeps bringing me back. People, for sure. There\u0026rsquo;s also something else. The place makes me feel like I can just be - merely existing feels ok enough. Why is that.\nDuring my last weekend, friends of friends of a friend invited me over to their hut in the mountains 2600m closer to the sun. They were goat keepers and spent their summers in the mountains caring for the goats.\nWe carried up some food and met up with them up in the mountains. We were also greeted by 4 dogs and 2 chickens. It was a sunny hot day and we went further up to a \u0026lsquo;swimming pool with an amazing view\u0026rsquo; - they called it.\nThe water was cold but warm for a mountain lake so high above ground. We swam and dried our bodies against the cold wind while looking down at the biggest lake in the Pyrenees - Étang du Lanoux. It was so quiet up there. It was all ours.\nPyrenean chamois (l\u0026rsquo;isard), Royal eagle (l\u0026rsquo;aigle royale), vultures (gypaètes), a hole made by a marmotte \u0026hellip;? We stayed up on peaks and crests till the sun was almost down. 8pm. The moon came up and said hi.\nThe goat keepers have set up a shower outside - definitely the shower with the best view. While running water through my body, looking out at the dusky sky (is that a real word?), it made me wonder the possibilities of how I should define how a life should look like outside of what I\u0026rsquo;ve known.\nI grew up in the largest cities of the world - born in Tokyo, then moved to Cairo, London, back to Tokyo \u0026hellip; and now to Berlin. For a long time, adulting for me was sitting in an office to pay the rent, wearing suits, commuting on packed trains between people\u0026rsquo;s armpits and eating dinners alone. That\u0026rsquo;s what I saw growing up. My family always moved wherever my father\u0026rsquo;s company told us to. Which is why, I told myself that if I had to adult, I would decide for myself where I would live, with whom and how. I made my first step when I moved to Berlin - first time deciding where I wanted to live. I do like Berlin, but it\u0026rsquo;s a transient city. People come and go. There\u0026rsquo;s some excitement and newness to that which I do like. But I\u0026rsquo;ve always longed for connections a bit more lasting and meaningful - and also the time that would allow to mature such relationships. And that I find difficult in a city like Berlin. Then I start to wonder, what would it be like to live in a smaller city, or not even a city, a town with only a few dozen people? Would I be able to do that? Would I even want that? Or am I just romanticising? (I\u0026rsquo;m definitely romanticizing to a certain degree. )\nMeeting friends in the mountains made me question a lot of things about where I\u0026rsquo;d like to settle in the future, or whether I\u0026rsquo;d like to settle anywhere at all.\n","date":"August 15, 2021","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/visiting-the-goat-keepers/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/img_4286.jpg\" alt=\"goat-keepers-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt was my first time visiting France in the middle of the summer and the fields were full of yellows and greens. Rows and rows of sunflowers all faced their heads towards the sun, up towards the clear blue sky.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchinis, melons, prunes. Lots and lots of prunes. Dried prunes. Prunaux. Berries. Black berries, raspberries. So many berries. Berry bugs. I got bitten by lots of tiny berry bugs. It kept me awake at night. I would look up at the sky and I\u0026rsquo;d see stars - and forgave the little berry bugs for my sleepless nights.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Visiting the goat keepers"},{"content":"Today, I woke up at 7:00am to visit an area called Spreewald located 100 km South of Berlin towards Dresden. It\u0026rsquo;s apparently a UNESCO recognized biosphere reserve and is a floodplain with lots of water: you can paddle through canals (more than 200 of them!) instead of walking through streets to get from one place to another.\nIt was a 2h train + bus ride from central Berlin to Lübbenau, a town in the Spreewald forest. It cost me 12.50 euros one way. I went with a lovely friend J who came up with this whole idea (thank you!). Our plan was very last minute, but I\u0026rsquo;m glad we managed to make this happen!\nThe way was a little complicated because there were 3 transfers with very little time, but we managed to reach Lübbenau train station at around 10:00am. There are lots of boat/kayak rental places in Lübbenau but since it\u0026rsquo;s a popular tourist destination in the summer, we were super lucky to be able to book kayaks so last minute (according to J, 2 weeks advance booking is recommended.) Because of this, we both booked a kayak at different places and our plan was to meet up somewhere along the canals on our kayaks.\nThis turned out to be quite difficult though. I rented from Bootsverleih Richter (25 euros for the whole day). I booked a kayak for one person and chose the less stable \u0026lsquo;sporty\u0026rsquo; version, but if I had to do it again, I would choose a 2+ person kayak and a more stable \u0026rsquo;less-sporty\u0026rsquo; version. (More on these later)\nThey gave me a map and off I went into the water. My next mission was to find J while holding a paddle and my phone in both hands. I was trying to get used to the boat which felt very unstable while searching for the internet to call J and to find my way while dodging boats after boats that came behind me.\nThe ways are fairly clearly marked around Lübbenau - after all, the canals are the main sources of attraction. There are signs everywhere (written in both German and Sorbian - it\u0026rsquo;s officially a bilingual region!) but it took us a good hour to find each other after bumping into lots of other boats. There were a few times I thought I\u0026rsquo;d flip over, and I wish I had brought a more properly waterproofed bag + phone case.\nWe met up in Lehde which was a nice little village with cafes by the canals. We then went down to Südumfluter and headed east along Freiheitskanal towards Leipe. We got off the boat, ate some fish sandwich, ice-cream and beer and headed back along Eschenfieß. There were 2 locks, places for raising/lowering boats between different levels of water in a river.\nThe water was shallower and calmer than I had imagined. Trees protected us from the sun and the occasional breeze felt nice and cool on the skin. There were lots of beautiful blue dragon flies flying around the white lotuses floating on water. The bigger canals were quite crowded but once we went into smaller canals, it was just us. J and I talked shared random bits and bobs about our lives including some fun \u0026amp; peculiar dating episodes in Berlin.\nI learned that you can also do multi-day kayaking tours and even kayak all the way to Berlin (approx. 5 days). I imagined camping overnight somewhere and paddling very early in the morning would be beautiful. Another thing to add to my endless list of to-dos. The rentals also seemed to be open in winter - kayaking in the snow would be really nice too, or a bit too cold, won\u0026rsquo;t know until I try it out!\nPaddling on water made me ponder a little on my past year and a half in Germany. I\u0026rsquo;ve always loved the simplicity of activities like kayaking, hiking or biking - because the body wanders, it helps to stop my mind from wandering too much. At the same time, the motions are simple enough for your mind to reflect on certain thoughts with a distance, or at least that\u0026rsquo;s how I feel about them.\nI want to jot down one thought that stuck with me that I want to remember. It\u0026rsquo;s very random and unrelated, but since I associate thoughts with places and vice-versa, I think it\u0026rsquo;s good for me to write this out. If you\u0026rsquo;re a stranger visiting this page, please skip my rambling to the very end.\nJ and I were talking about our jobs which made me think about how my job has affected me over the past year. I work in customer support in a small IT company and my daily job is to ask one simple question: \u0026ldquo;How can I help?\u0026rdquo; - this has saved me from so many self-destructive thoughts and questions. It\u0026rsquo;s allowed me to shift focus away from myself and to see how I wanted to exist in relation to others, rather than trying desperately to figure out WHAT I wanted to do. This is so cringe-y just writing out aloud, but it\u0026rsquo;s a thought I kind of want to hold on to, so there it is.\nWe managed to get back to our rental places without getting too lost and got out of the water around 18:00. Had our cappuccinos and walked around the town of Lübbenau before heading back to Berlin. I got home around 22:00 before it got dark outside. I\u0026rsquo;m so happy to have met J on this trip and had a really nice Sunday. I\u0026rsquo;d love to bring my parents here one day too, but maybe not on a weekend (a little too crowded).\nI\u0026rsquo;m writing this on a Monday morning and am genuinely excited to get back to work. I feel blessed to get to say that, and I feel refreshed - which is how I know I\u0026rsquo;ve spent the weekend in a meaningful way.\n","date":"July 19, 2021","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/spreewald-kayak/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday, I woke up at 7:00am to visit an area called \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spreewald\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eSpreewald\u003c/a\u003e located 100 km South of Berlin towards Dresden. It\u0026rsquo;s apparently a UNESCO recognized biosphere reserve and is a floodplain with lots of water: you can paddle through canals (more than 200 of them!) instead of walking through streets to get from one place to another.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was a 2h train + bus ride from central Berlin to \u003ca href=\"https://www.luebbenau-spreewald.com/de/startseite.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eLübbenau\u003c/a\u003e, a town in the Spreewald forest. It cost me 12.50 euros one way. I went with a lovely friend J who came up with this whole idea (thank you!). Our plan was very last minute, but I\u0026rsquo;m glad we managed to make this happen!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A day trip in Spreewald on a kayak"},{"content":"I just came back from a weekend trip to an island called Rügen in the very north of Germany by the Ostsee (Baltic Sea). I had a friend who had a friend who were staying with friends who were into a sport called kite-surfing.\nI had been missing the ocean, the salty breeze and the sandy beach and wanted to see what kite-surfing was all about. So a few friends and I decided to go on a 4-hour road trip up north.\nWe left early on Saturday morning. It was rainy, but windy.\nThe island looked like a typical holiday destination, with lots of camper vans and holiday homes with names like sunshine apartment. I had imagined the island to have a lot of more visible coastlines, but there were lots of forests and trees and fields instead.\nWe arrived at the villa that some friends had already been staying in for a few weeks. Around 10 people had rented out a villa and were kite-surfing while working remotely.\nI\u0026rsquo;d seen kite-surfing before from afar, but had never taken a proper look up close. The kites were a lot bigger and the strings that attaches the kite to the surfer was a lot longer than I had imagined. It was so windy that my eardrums hurt. There were so many surfers, and I could not understand how people weren\u0026rsquo;t bumping into each other or getting tangled.\nThe strong wind on my face reminded me of my favorite moment when I\u0026rsquo;m up in the mountains. Strong winds - they somehow always manage to punch life into me.\nKite-surfing looked like a lot of fun. I\u0026rsquo;ve always wanted to fly and people were really flying. I was hoping I could take a beginner course in kite-surfing, but the instructor said that we needed at least 3 days for the course to be worth it.\nLike surfing or rock-climbing, kite-surfing wasn\u0026rsquo;t just a sport, it was a lifestyle. People lived in camping vans, they traveled from coast-to-coast looking for the perfect wind and water. There were communities.\nRecently, this notion of sport as a lifestyle had me pondering for a while. Every sport came with a lifestyle, the people, the community associated with the sport, and sometimes it\u0026rsquo;s these things around the sport that draw people in more than the sport itself. Which one did I want to be part of? Do I want to be part of one at all?\nSince we couldn\u0026rsquo;t try out kite-surfing, we decided to take a stroll around on a beach. We walked and then laid on the beach just listening to the waves. I then started listening to the For the love of climbing podcast (my favourite at the moment) and fell asleep.\nThe sky cleared up towards the evening, and we had a lovely dinner together outside. We did a BBQ, I had my first Acro yoga session and we all walked out to watch the sunset.\nThe next morning (Sunday), I woke up at 5:30am and couldn\u0026rsquo;t get back to sleep. So I decided to take a little walk around the island.\nI ended up walking/running more than 13 km. I met some animals along the way and listened to a few more podcasts.\nWe packed our things and went to another beach and swam a little before heading back to Berlin. We grabbed some yummy Backfisch- Brötchen on our way back. A short trip spent in intensity like this always bring people a little closer. This trip reminded me of my time at surf \u0026amp; yoga camp in Morocco and got me wondering about how I wanted to spend my time outside of work while living in Berlin.\nThe end.\n","date":"July 11, 2021","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/a-road-trip-to-ostsee/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI just came back from a weekend trip to an island called \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCgen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eRügen\u003c/a\u003e in the very north of Germany by the Ostsee (Baltic Sea). I had a friend who had a friend who were staying with friends who were into a sport called kite-surfing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI had been missing the ocean, the salty breeze and the sandy beach and wanted to see what kite-surfing was all about. So a few friends and I decided to go on a 4-hour road trip up north.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A road trip to Ostsee"},{"content":"This weekend, I took a short trip to the Franconian Jura in Bavaria, Germany with 2 other women I met for the first time on Monday (I\u0026rsquo;ll call them L and A). We all met through a climbing group in Berlin. I\u0026rsquo;m not a climber, but I asked if I could tag along, and so I did.\nSometimes, going out in the nature involves not really doing anything but just being out there. For me, it\u0026rsquo;s a great way to bend time, or at least the perception of it. It\u0026rsquo;s been a while since I could wake up on a Monday morning feeling like I had a good, fulfilling weekend. So I want to write some thoughts down while I still remembered.\nDay 0 - Getting there # It was around a 5-hour drive from Berlin. We stayed at a campsite called Kormershof which was probably one of the nicest campsites I\u0026rsquo;ve stayed in – there\u0026rsquo;s a climbing wall within a 5-min walk, a fireplace, clean toilets and warm showers, a cool underground storage for food, lots of cute animals, surrounded by fields where I got to see lots of fireflies at night.\nWe left on a Friday morning and stayed over for 2 nights. It was raining on our way there, but the sky cleared as we arrived and had a two full day of sun. We arrived around 4pm on Friday, set up our tents and checked out a nearby rock.\nDay 1 #We had a slow start with a big breakfast. Back home in Japan, I usually have a fairly good idea of what I want to take with me to these kinds of trips, but this time I really struggled at the supermarket. L and A were both vegetarians, and it was great to see what they had brought.\nThere are so many options when it comes to rocks you can climb in the area, but I also noticed that there were people hiking, canoeing, biking and even combining multiple activities like these as well. It made me want to get out there a lot more.\nI\u0026rsquo;m a complete beginner in climbing, but this is not my first time going on a climbing trip - I\u0026rsquo;ve had friends who took me to climbing areas in the past and let me climb with a top-rope in Japan, Israel and France. However, this was my first time climbing in Germany, and it was interesting to listen and learn climbing terminologies in German. Interestingly, I already knew a few words because the words we use in Japan seem to have been borrowed a lot from German.\nFor example, in Japan, we call ropes for climbing ザイル (seil - DE) to distinguish from other smaller ropes which we call ロープ (rope - EN). We call small tents ツェルト (zelt - DE) to distinguish from bigger tents, which we borrow the English word テント (tent - EN). Other words borrowed from German: Steigeisen (shortened to \u0026lsquo;Eisen\u0026rsquo;), Kar, Schlafsack (shortened to Schlaf), Haken, Eispickel (shortened to Pickel), Hütte, Jacke \u0026hellip; I find it so strange that words such as Kocher (cooker) or even Jacke (jacket) are taken from German instead of using existing Japanese words.\n*A lot of Alpine climbing related terms are taken from English.\nThis was also probably a trip that made me want to properly get into climbing. Even though I\u0026rsquo;ve watched people climb enough times to have a general idea of what goes on up there, I still felt like I didn\u0026rsquo;t know anything at all because everyone did things slightly differently and there was no consistency in the way I learned from different people.\nWe went for walks in the evening, gazed up at the stars, and slept like babies.\nDay 2 #We packed our things and went to the same area as yesterday. I really wish I could speak German more, so I could casually strike up a conversation with other climbers.\nWe listened to some podcasts For the Love of Climbing on our way back on the car, which was nice to listen to.\nAfterthoughts #Even though the three of us were complete strangers just a few days prior to going on this trip, I had a lot of fun and really felt connected. I\u0026rsquo;ve been feeling quite lonely in Berlin ever since the pandemic hit. I was doing my best to make new friends despite the restrictions, and I was meeting people (with social distancing of course) and yet was still really struggling to find meaningful connections, to a point where I felt somewhat hopeless. Was I naive to think I could start over, make new friends, build up a life from ground-up in a new city where I didn\u0026rsquo;t speak the language? Maybe. But this trip made me hopeful. Or at least, gave me motivation to at least give it a try - to connect and really build on relationships I can feel a part of.\nSome things on my mind right now: I want to take a beginner\u0026rsquo;s course in top-rope climbing and lead-climbing, get my own gear (at least the minimum necessary things) and get stronger physically. I want to join the alpine club in Germany and learn more German, especially climbing related words and phrases. I also want to get more involved in climbing communities and plan more active weekends. This trip has also inspired me to do other outdoor trips around Berlin (no more couch-potato!), like multiple-day canoeing/cycling in Brandenburg or hiking in Sächsische Schweiz.\nI finished a few books while camping and saw beautiful fireflies and dragon flies. I got introduced to great instant meals perfect for hiking. And I got to know two beautiful people and learned beautiful stories from them which made me hopeful about my life here in Germany.\n","date":"July 5, 2021","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/a-weekend-trip-to-frankenjura/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis weekend, I took a short trip to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.frankenjura.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eFranconian Jura\u003c/a\u003e in Bavaria, Germany with 2 other women I met for the first time on Monday (I\u0026rsquo;ll call them L and A). We all met through a climbing group in Berlin. I\u0026rsquo;m not a climber, but I asked if I could tag along, and so I did.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/img_3793.jpg\" alt=\"weekend-frankenjura-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eSometimes, going out in the nature involves not really doing anything but just being out there. For me, it\u0026rsquo;s a great way to bend time, or at least the perception of it. It\u0026rsquo;s been a while since I could wake up on a Monday morning feeling like I had a good, fulfilling weekend. So I want to write some thoughts down while I still remembered.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A weekend trip to Frankenjura"},{"content":"Some recent notes on my walks outside of the city during the pandemic and 6pm curfews.\nI woke up at 3am this morning and couldn\u0026rsquo;t get back to sleep. It\u0026rsquo;s been a while since I wrote anything on this blog - well, because I hadn\u0026rsquo;t really gone out of the house too much to have anything to write about.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve originally started recording my longer-hike trips here - but maybe I\u0026rsquo;ll include shorter excursions in nature too, to remember how I felt. And because for some reasons, these walks (however short) makes me want to write. Even if words don\u0026rsquo;t come easy - as it has been lately.\nThe part of France I\u0026rsquo;m staying currently has a 6pm curfew which means it\u0026rsquo;s been more difficult to do anything outdoors even after almost a year since the first lock-down. Recently, I took a few day trips now that it\u0026rsquo;s warmer.\nI tried out rock climbing - I really like how relaxed the whole activity is - except when you\u0026rsquo;re actually on the wall - so maybe the contrast of the two states. I\u0026rsquo;ve always had fear for heights, and I\u0026rsquo;m still finding it difficult to completely trust the rope or my footing. But I do like the sense of being forced into the moment that comes with the fear. As a beginner, I\u0026rsquo;m mostly desperately holding onto the rocks with my dear life - constantly in a state of panic. I\u0026rsquo;m a panicky person in general where I tend to get stressed over the tiniest details of life, and have always been ashamed of my inability to hide it. The same happens when I\u0026rsquo;m hanging onto these rocks - and it\u0026rsquo;s not a pretty view to see a grown-up adult childishly panicking for doing things she chose to do.\nBut then, when I manage to surpass that, for some miraculous reasons, I notice myself back to being calm - almost in control (despite the reality suggesting otherwise). And this, feels pretty good. It\u0026rsquo;s a kind of a full-body alertness that\u0026rsquo;s 100 times more effective than 5 cups of strong coffee. It\u0026rsquo;s like your mind zooms in on the most important thing in front of you (your next hold on the rocks) and whooooosh, nothing else matters.\nI hope I get to climb more.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve also noticed myself wanting to live (and not just visit) closer to a place like this. These walks makes me question the fundamental set-up of my life - like where I live, who I spend my time with, what I spend my time on etc, as it usually always does.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve also spent some time working with wood thanks to a friend who\u0026rsquo;s allowed me to do this. There\u0026rsquo;s something really soothing about working with something tangible, creating something physical that you can touch.\nCreating something also makes me think about where things come from. What are the different types of wood? How are they different? Where do they come from?\nFor example, we re-used some ebony wood from black keys taken from old broken pianos. Apparently, they are dense enough to sink in water and you can trace back interesting history just by looking at Wikipedia.\nAnyway, I think I\u0026rsquo;m ready to go back to sleep now.\n","date":"February 21, 2021","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/escaping-the-city/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSome recent notes on my walks outside of the city during the pandemic and 6pm curfews.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/img_3255.png\" alt=\"escaping-city-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eI woke up at 3am this morning and couldn\u0026rsquo;t get back to sleep. It\u0026rsquo;s been a while since I wrote anything on this blog - well, because I hadn\u0026rsquo;t really gone out of the house too much to have anything to write about.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve originally started recording my longer-hike trips here - but maybe I\u0026rsquo;ll include shorter excursions in nature too, to remember how I felt. And because for some reasons, these walks (however short) makes me want to write. Even if words don\u0026rsquo;t come easy - as it has been lately.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Escaping the city - France"},{"content":" I took a week long holiday from work for a trip to the North of Italy. A friend of mine and I decided to take a little hiking trip around Lago di Como and its surrounding mountainous areas.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s been more than one year since my last post - it\u0026rsquo;s crazy how fast a year seemed to have gone by. A lot of things happened this year, but I also feel like I\u0026rsquo;ve done nothing.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve moved to a new city, a new country. I took a break from university, quit university, started a new job, moved with a new job, quit my job, got a new job, moved into an apartment, changed to a new apartment. I traveled to different cities, worked from these cities. And yet, so much of what I remember is sitting at home in my chair: COVID19. CONFINEMENT. Where did all the time go?\nFor me, writing about my hiking trips is a great way to break down my life into smaller manageable chunks, to reflect on what\u0026rsquo;s happened (while desperately holding onto time, to not let it slip away so fast)\nThe problem with not hiking more frequently is that I suddenly have to reflect back on one year of my life - that\u0026rsquo;s 1/60th of my life if I lived up to 60, which is like 1 minute our of an hour, or 1 hour of my weekly working hours. That\u0026rsquo;s a lot. I need to break it down into smaller chunks. It\u0026rsquo;s just like splitting the cake into million bite sizes so you can enjoy it million times, rather than swallowing it in a couple of gulps, right?\nI took a flight from Berlin to Milan, and from there took an hour bus to the city center from the airport. From Milan, Lecco was only a 40 mins train ride to the north. It took me half a day to get there from the doorstep of my apartment in Berlin.\nFor the first 3 nights, we stayed in Lecco in a very nice Airbnb (20 euros/person/night) and explored the area. I was mostly down with a diarrhea and a bad case of urinary infection coupled with heavy period and lower back pain with shooting Sciatica nerve pain down the back of my legs. I was either sitting on the toilet or on a yoga mat or sideways in my bed, but I found the city very beautiful and despite being so physically broken, mentally I was in a surprisingly good place (or let\u0026rsquo;s write it down like that to remember it that way)\nSince I felt a little bit better, we decided to move along the lake upward towards the north and camp out.\nI spent so much of my time indoors due to the COVID-19 pandemic and felt so alienated from the outdoor life. But solitude during confinement felt so familiar - kind of like the solitude I always appreciated during my hiking trips.\nAnyways, during the time I was there, I was not so much in a walking condition so I mainly ate and slept and ate again and slept more by the lake with an occasional walk here and there, a trip to the hospital for urinary infection meds and just lots and lots and lots of PIZZA!!!!!\nI did miss the mountains though - that was confirmed (Berlin is so flat - it\u0026rsquo;s amazing for biking but then you also miss doing roller coaster rides on hilly slopes).\nAnd another thing I did miss was doing solo hikes - hopefully I start planning some hikes of my own so I can reflect more regularly.\nThe tourist information office had amazing selection of maps (topographic ones with routes and route difficulties, very detailed) so I suggest visiting if you\u0026rsquo;re thinking of hiking around the area or exploring in general.\nI also only discovered the topographic map feature on maps.me. It\u0026rsquo;s AMAZING, mind-boggling and eyes googling (is that a word?).\nThe weather goddess had been on our side the entire week and we had no rain, no cloud for the entire duration. I am astounded by her generosity - it\u0026rsquo;s probably due to my very good behavior in the past year. I no longer believe in Santa Clause, but I can believe in weather goddesses.\nAs much as I had enjoyed my first vacation, I was relieved to be back in Berlin, to be back home. Or maybe it was the fact that Berlin had begun to feel like home that made me relieved, I don\u0026rsquo;t know.\nThis became a very lazy rambling or sorts rather than an informative blog that I had set out to make this whole collection to be, but hope this is a good reminder to my future self of what and how I was feeling today as I\u0026rsquo;m writing this, that is to say, I\u0026rsquo;m really truly quite happy with how my life turned out to be at this moment (despite everything that had happened this year) to the point where I sometimes wonder if this could really actually be my life right now.\nThe fact that I can truly believe that I\u0026rsquo;m glad to be alive - that just makes me so happy.\n(Listening to Call Me By Your Name soundtrack (the book is set in North Italy after all) and some swing jazz. )\nThe end of a random blog that was not much about hiking but more of a mind-wondering-wandering writing. Good night.\n","date":"October 5, 2020","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/lecco-lombardy-italy/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/img_2555_5.png_2.jpg\" alt=\"lecco-lombardy-italy-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eI took a week long holiday from work for a trip to the North of Italy. A friend of mine and I decided to take a little hiking trip around Lago di Como and its surrounding mountainous areas.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s been more than one year since my last post - it\u0026rsquo;s crazy how fast a year seemed to have gone by. A lot of things happened this year, but I also feel like I\u0026rsquo;ve done nothing.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Lecco, Lombardy - Italy"},{"content":" Day Trip to Tuc de Molières (3010m/8h) This is part two of my Pyrenees hiking diary. Going to dump stuff from my memory before they disappear. The overview of the trip is on my last post.\nOverview # Preparation Access (Camper Van) Equipement Food \u0026amp; Snack Day Trip to Tuc de Molières (3010m/8h) Multiple-day Trip in the Pyrenees (6 days in Port de Venasque, Lac de Portillon, Le Maupas) Total Distance 14km Duration 8h (4h up / 4h down) Difficulty Easy Elevation Gain 1370m Source rando-marche.fr 0h00 — Espitau de Vielha (1630m) #A very nice big open car park, very quiet \u0026amp; private with the company of lots of sheep (depending on the time of the year). The quietest car park I slept in.\nThe path is well marked with signposts, paint markers, cairns, and clear paths along the grass. You\u0026rsquo;ll meet a lot of Marmots here.\n2h00 — Refuge de Molières / Refugi de Mulleres (2352m) #Next to the lakes, there is a refuge hut. It\u0026rsquo;s small (10 beds?), but very new and metal shielded and looked pretty strong and cozy. Unguarded. We decided to do a day hike but we saw a group going up the previous night to stay a night in this hut, and then hit the summit earlier in the morning before the clouds came to cover the view. We should\u0026rsquo;ve done that too.\n4h00 — Col de Molières (2928m) #The last 20m up to the col was very steep and we couldn\u0026rsquo;t see anything due to the fog. The books said to follow the path a bit down after the col and then hike up south (left) along the ridge but we saw nothing. I decided to turn back at this point. Tuc de Molières (3010m), the peak, is supposedly 20 minutes once you\u0026rsquo;re on the ridge of the mountain.\nThe hike down felt as long as the way up.\nI couldn\u0026rsquo;t find the pictures from when it was foggy. But we got some nice views as you can probably see.\n→ Next: Multiple-day Trip in the Pyrenees (6 days in Port de Venasque, Lac de Portillon, Le Maupas)\n","date":"October 17, 2019","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/day-trip-to-tuc-de-molieres-3010m-8h/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003col start=\"2\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDay Trip to Tuc de Molières (3010m/8h)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThis is part two of my Pyrenees hiking diary. Going to dump stuff from my memory before they disappear. The overview of the trip is on my last post.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"overview\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eOverview \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#overview\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/1-week-of-hiking-the-pyrenees-spain-france-overview/\"\u003ePreparation\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAccess (Camper Van)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEquipement\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFood \u0026amp; Snack\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/day-trip-to-tuc-de-molieres-3010m-8h/\"\u003eDay Trip to Tuc de Molières (3010m/8h)\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/multiple-day-hikes-in-the-pyrenees-le-port-de-venasque-le-lac-du-portillon-le-maupas/\"\u003eMultiple-day Trip in the Pyrenees (6 days in Port de Venasque, Lac de Portillon, Le Maupas)\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/img_9545.jpg\" alt=\"tuc-molieres-3010m-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003ctable\u003e\n  \u003cthead\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\n          \u003cth\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003c/thead\u003e\n  \u003ctbody\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTotal Distance\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e14km\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDuration\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e8h (4h up / 4h down)\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDifficulty\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003eEasy\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eElevation Gain\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e1370m\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSource\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n          \u003ctd\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://www.rando-marche.fr/_38168_369_randonnees-tuc-de-molieres\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003erando-marche.fr\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\n      \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"0h00--espitau-de-vielha-1630m\" class=\"relative group\"\u003e0h00 — Espitau de Vielha (1630m) \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#0h00--espitau-de-vielha-1630m\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA very nice big open car park, very quiet \u0026amp; private with the company of lots of sheep (depending on the time of the year). The quietest car park I slept in.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Day Trip to Tuc de Molières (3010m/8h)"},{"content":" Date: late September 2019 (Very sunny and the weather relatively stable) Recommended for those who like waterfalls, lakes, stony rocky hikes, glaciers, marmots, eagles(?), rock climbing, peace \u0026amp; quiet Overview # Preparation (this post) Access (Camper Van) Equipment Food \u0026amp; Snacks Multiple-day Trip in the Pyrenees (6 days — Port de Venasque, Lac de Portillon, Le Maupas) Preparation # Preparation Access: We drove from Toulouse to the starting point of the hike in a van with fitted mattress. Equipment: 30L backpack (too small, at least 40L), sleeping bag (3 seasons), sleeping pad (need to buy a longer one to cover my feet, freezing), layers of clothes, hiking shoes with ankle support, thermals, hats and gloves, socks, long \u0026amp; short sleeve tops and bottoms (one each), head-torch, toiletries, a small towel, hiking poles, a tent (between the two of us), toilet papers, lighters, baby-wipes, e-book, cooking equipment, bowls and cutleries\u0026hellip; Food \u0026amp; Snacks breakfast: dry muesli + mint tea lunch: brown bread + cheese snacks: energy bars (oats, dried fruits, nuts and honey) dinner: couscous/rice with dried veggies (tomatoes, courgettes, onions) and spices, garlic, olive oil, salt \u0026amp; pepper (I really liked couscous. Very easy and quick too.) → Next: Multiple-day Trip in the Pyrenees\n","date":"October 17, 2019","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/1-week-of-hiking-the-pyrenees-spain-france-overview/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/dab220ee-3dbc-4823-a88c-8b9438213fd5.jpg\" alt=\"Mountain landscape in the Pyrenees\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDate: late September 2019 (Very sunny and the weather relatively stable)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRecommended for those who like waterfalls, lakes, stony rocky hikes, glaciers, marmots, eagles(?), rock climbing, peace \u0026amp; quiet\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"overview\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eOverview \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#overview\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePreparation (this post)\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAccess (Camper Van)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEquipment\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFood \u0026amp; Snacks\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/multiple-day-hikes-in-the-pyrenees-le-port-de-venasque-le-lac-du-portillon-le-maupas/\"\u003eMultiple-day Trip in the Pyrenees (6 days — Port de Venasque, Lac de Portillon, Le Maupas)\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"preparation\" class=\"relative group\"\u003ePreparation \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#preparation\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePreparation\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAccess: We drove from Toulouse to the starting point of the hike in a van with fitted mattress.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEquipment: 30L backpack (too small, at least 40L), sleeping bag (3 seasons), sleeping pad (need to buy a longer one to cover my feet, freezing), layers of clothes, hiking shoes with ankle support, thermals, hats and gloves, socks, long \u0026amp; short sleeve tops and bottoms (one each), head-torch, toiletries, a small towel, hiking poles, a tent (between the two of us), toilet papers, lighters, baby-wipes, e-book, cooking equipment, bowls and cutleries\u0026hellip;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFood \u0026amp; Snacks\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ebreakfast: dry muesli + mint tea\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003elunch: brown bread + cheese\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003esnacks: energy bars (oats, dried fruits, nuts and honey)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003edinner: couscous/rice with dried veggies (tomatoes, courgettes, onions) and spices, garlic, olive oil, salt \u0026amp; pepper (I really liked couscous. Very easy and quick too.)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/img_9498.jpg\" alt=\"Campsite in the Pyrenees\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003e→ Next: \n      \n    \u003ca href=\"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/multiple-day-hikes-in-the-pyrenees-le-port-de-venasque-le-lac-du-portillon-le-maupas/\"\u003eMultiple-day Trip in the Pyrenees\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Hiking the Pyrenees — Overview"},{"content":"*This is part three of my Pyrenees trekking post. We planned a 3 nights 4 days hike that was a circuit, a loop back to our starting point. Our plan was to walk 4 days and come back and take a nice long bath in the sauna.\nBut things went wrong, as with everything else in my life, which resulted in mildly successful hitchhiking (until it wasn\u0026rsquo;t), broken tent, and a farewell to my beloved sleeping bag that had decided to fly off into the night sky at 2500m.\nOVERVIEW # Preparation Access (Camper Van) Equipement Food \u0026amp; Snack Day Trip to Tuc de Molières (3010m/8h) Multiple-day Trip in the Pyrenees (6 days in Port de Venasque, Lac de Portillon, Le Maupas) 3. Multiple-day Trip (3N4D that turned into 5N6D) #Day 1 #Route : 8:30 Hospice de France - Refuge de Venasque - 11:45 Port de Venasque - Refuge de Rencluse - Parque Natural Poseta Maladeta - 17:00 Camped.\nmap 1, map 2 , map 3 , (more info)\nFrom the col, we descended towards West, down into the valley of Parque Natural Poseta Maladeta.\nThat night, we made couscous with dried veggies and spices, garlic and olive oil. The best thing I tasted in my outdoor history.\nThis was my favorite camping spot out of all the places we slept since it was near the water, quiet, no wind, great view. I read \u0026ldquo;Any Human Heart\u0026rdquo; by William Boyd which was interesting.\nDay 2 #Route: Parque Natural Posets Maladeta - Col between Aiguille de litérole and pic de crabioules - lac de portillon, refuge de portillon\nFrom here, our original plan was to traverse just beneath the ridge towards NW and to Pic des Crabioules from the Spanish side crossing over to the French side. Then, passing through Aguja Jean Garnier down a path towards NE to Lac d\u0026rsquo;Enfer.\nAround here, we lost the trail. By this point, there weren\u0026rsquo;t clear paths and we were just following the cairns, our maps and our downloaded Maps.me on our phones. The footing was really loose due to the loose stones and rocks that\u0026rsquo;s been carried by the glaciers. I kept sliding down and getting my feet stuck and by this point, I was a little exhausted and scared. We thought we knew where the path lead but it was just a guess, and the footing was so bad we decided to take precautions and head down to the refuge next to Lac de Portillon to ask for some info. It was annoying that we had to climb down 600m but safety first.\nWe asked the guard at the refuge and he told us that there is a path to cross the Crabioules without having to pass the glaciers but depending on the weather and the fog, the path may not be visible. So we decided to wait till morning to see about the fog.\nDay 3 #The next morning\u0026hellip; FOG!\nRoute: Refuge de portillon - lac d’Oô - les Granges d’Astau - (hitchhike) - Oô (village) - Cazeaux de Larboust - (hitchhike) - Luchon Saint Mamet - along the river La Pique - Granges de Labach - Cabane Bargueres de Campsaure - luchonais\nmap 1 , map 2\nSo we decided to change route and hike down from Lac du Portillon through Lac d\u0026rsquo;Espingo and Lac d\u0026rsquo;Oo. (Yes, the name is \u0026ldquo;Oo\u0026rdquo; with double O\u0026rsquo;s.)\nOnce we arrived at the parking lot, we had to figure out how to get back to Hospice de France where we parked. We figured hitchhiking would not be too difficult, considering it\u0026rsquo;s the countryside and everybody is nice in the countryside, right?\nWrong.\nIt was successful until we reached the big city, Luchon Saint Mamet. There was only one road to Hospice de France and we waited an hour with our thumbs up but in vain.\nAt 16:30 we decided to start walking up the road. It was 800m elevation for 11km to the Hospice de France. We decided to give up hitchhiking and go off on the country road that split from the side. We stopped by an old castle la Tour de Castel Viehl and ate our bread and cheese.\nIt was grueling from there. The road was well paved but full of moist and different plants and trees and sweat hugged around us. Mushrooms everywhere and we filled up our water from the streams. Mushy. It was foggy all around and we couldn’t see a thing. The whole scenery reminded me of mountains back home in Japan and the darkness looming over made me a little scared.\nI paced up the hill, out of fear, out of desperation almost, going as fast as I can not daring to stop or else I’ll forever be unable to move. I counted from 1 to 10, in all the languages I knew, over and over. I learned this trick from the American sitcom \u0026ldquo;Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt\u0026rdquo; where the main character says \u0026quot; I learned a long time ago that a person can stand just about anything for 10 seconds, then you just start on a new 10 seconds. All you have to do is take it 10 seconds at a time.\u0026quot; It really works.\nHe suggested we camp at one point but unusual for me I pressed we go on. We eventually reached the cabane, like a bothy in Scotland, an uninhabited stone hut used as a shelter by hikers and passers. It looked like it’s been abandoned a while from the way it looked and smelt. It was already past 20:00 we were both tired so we set up a tent outside (I refused to sleep inside the cabane, the atmosphere reminded me of haunted mansion) and then we cooked couscous and fell asleep right away. The longest day ever. On the bright side, it was warm and soft to sleep on the layers of grass and weed, and had the best sleep in forever.\nDay 4 #Route: Cabane Bargueres de Campsaure - luchonais - Hospice de France - Luchon (for food supply) - Cascade d’enfer (parking)\nFrom the cabane, our van was only an hour walk away. It turned out to be a nice sunny easy day so we took the opportunity to bathe, sleep and have a picnic.\nDay 5 #Route: Ô Berges du Lys Parking - cascade d’enfer - Cascade de Calahoure - Lac Celinda - Lac Charles - Lac Bleu - Lac d’enfer (refuge)\ninfo\n10:15 left the parking lot to start hiking. I felt a bit lightheaded and my legs won’t move. I pondered on what the possibilities for these symptoms could be. It may be due to lack of Iron since I hadn’t eaten meat or anything containing Iron in a while. 1200m uphill. We took the long route around the many lakes that are in the area. The sun was shining brightly over us and I regretted not bringing my shorts with me for the first half. So many crickets jumping about and so many cascades.\nOnce reaching Lac Celinda, the route was pretty easy and almost flat. The lakes were absolutely stunning and traversing along the sides of the mountain was an utter beauty that took my breath away. There were fish in the lake and we wondered how they got all the way up here.\nIt started becoming foggy and soon we were covered in fogs.\nLa refuge de Maupas was run by a woman. She wore a black pair of trousers and had short brown hair. She had a tan like all mountaineers do on her cheeks that shone pink. She was so cool and I wanted to be her. By the time we reached the hut, we couldn\u0026rsquo;t see anything further than a couple of meters away. We put up our tent in a terrace above the hut and everything felt perfect, until it was\u0026rsquo;t.\nBecause of the fog, we hadn\u0026rsquo;t realized that we had positioned the tent so that we would really feel the wind. During the night, we decided to tighten the strings that supported the tent which was a mistake, we later find out, since it is better to keep it loose to allow the tent poles to flex.\nWe heard a snap and a broken pole was sticking into me. Panicked, we opened the tent and tried to hold the tent from the outside to limit the damage. Which was a mistake, since everything started flying out. The wind was so strong that I was too scared to stay standing. We managed to pack everything and head inside the refuge. 2:30am. Then I realized my sleeping bag was missing. It somehow flew out into the night sky. A rookie mistake. I hated myself, but reading made me feel better.\nDay 6 #Route: Refuge de Lac d’Enfer - Pic de Maupas 3109m - parking\nNext morning, despite our lack of sleep, we decided to climb the Maupas peak. Another climber also came with us, who was quite experience, which made the experience feel a lot safer. Since I had lost my bra which was inside my sleeping bag that was probably enjoying its freedom somewhere, I climbed up without a bra, and it was the most liberating thing ever. Should do this more often.\nThe hike down was quite easy, well marked, but very long. 2500m down. My knees were dying.\nTHE END.\n","date":"October 17, 2019","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/multiple-day-hikes-in-the-pyrenees-le-port-de-venasque-le-lac-du-portillon-le-maupas/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e*This is part three of my Pyrenees trekking post. We planned a 3 nights 4 days hike that was a circuit, a loop back to our starting point. Our plan was to walk 4 days and come back and take a nice long bath in the sauna.\u003c/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eBut things went wrong, as with everything else in my life, which resulted in mildly successful hitchhiking (until it wasn\u0026rsquo;t), broken tent, and a farewell to my beloved sleeping bag that had decided to fly off into the night sky at 2500m.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Multiple-day hikes in the Pyrenees (Le Port de Venasque, Le Lac du Portillon, Le Maupas)"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/golan-heights/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Golan-Heights"},{"content":"NOTE: This blog post is intended to provide a personal account of my experience hiking the Golan Heights. I want to emphasize that my goal is not to engage in political discourse regarding the region’s complex history.\n125km, 5 day hiking through the Golan Heights, a rocky plateau located between Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Pomegranates, mine fields, fighting thirst, howling with the golden jackals and bodies covered in scars \u0026amp; ant bites.\nThe Golan Trail, is it safe? #The Golan Heights has been a disputed area between Israel and Syria after its occupation by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. Despite the history of wars that have taken place in this area, the trails are well-maintained and very safe as long as you don\u0026rsquo;t go off the trail and ignore the landmine signs. When we hiked in October 2018, it was very quiet and peaceful, and beautiful.\nOur Itinerary: # Day Route Sections Pre-hike Moving to a date farm to meet up with Anna – Day 0 Hitch-hiking to Majdal Shams (Camp 0) – Day 1 📍Bambook Village \u0026amp; Park → 📍Bental Reservoir (Camp 1) 2, 3, 4 Day 2 📍Bental Reservoir → 📍Horvat Khushniya (Camp 2) 5, 6, 7 Day 3 📍Horvat Khushniya → 📍Near Shaabaniya Reservoir (Camp 3) 8, 9, 10 Day 4 📍Near Shaabaniya Reservoir → 📍Near Ein Keshatot (Camp 4) 11, 12, 13 Day 5 📍Near Ein Keshatot → Tiberias (Sea of Galilee) 14, part of 15 * For detailed location, please look at the map below.\n** For more information about the route, this site was great.\n*** Sections refer to the official Trail Sections which you can find on wikivoyage.\nmaps: maps.me worked pretty well (+ paper map in hebrew we bought from a local store) info about food supplies and specifics of the trail: wikivoyage does pretty well. Personal Journals #Pre-hike Days : Meeting Anna\nI was in a moshav in central Israel when my friend Anna contacted me and suggested doing a hike together. We had volunteered together in a hostel in Jerusalem that summer and I was instantly excited by the idea of hiking together with her. I said yes and the next day, I was already on my way to meeting Anna, who was working in a date farm in a Jewish Settlement in the West Bank.\nGetting around in Israel can be quite tricky. There were only around 3 buses everyday that ran to Jerusalem from the small Moshav I was staying in. Usually, I would hitchhike out of the moshav, a popular tactic I learned from local teenagers who couldn\u0026rsquo;t drive their own cars. That particular morning, I managed to catch a morning bus.\nOne of the things I found so interesting about Israel was that for a such a small country, there is such a diversity in the communities and the people who live here. There was a big ultra-orthodox Jewish village right next to the moshav, so the bus was full of people dressed in their religious clothings. An asian girl squeezing through the aisle of the bus in T-shirt and shorts with a big backpack - I got a lot of strange stares.\nFrom Jerusalem, I took another bus towards the North. I was told to get off at a spot on a map and followed instructions. The manager of the date farm my friend Anna was at, came and picked me up from there.\nThe date farm itself was located in the Jordan Valley, but the accommodation and the place for sorting and packaging were in a Jewish settlement, which is basically like a village but because it\u0026rsquo;s inside the West Bank, with extra security: Barbed wires and fences around the area with a gate and a guard at the entrance.\nI absolutely loved the ambience at the date farm, the people and all the volunteers who volunteered there. Israel produces some of the best high quality dates in the market and I got to eat a tonne of those. It was a Saturday, which meant that we celebrated Shabbat dinner together outside, shared our food and we all slept under the moonlight in the summer breeze that ran through the hills of Judea desert.\nDay 0 : #Hitch-hiking to Majdal Shams, a Druze village at the foot of Mt. Hermon\n9 rides, 8 hours, the lost phone incident, ice-creams and tomatoes, hot buttered sweet corns and a good night\u0026rsquo;s sleep by the lake.\nI had my hiking shoes and my 30L backpack, but I didn’t really have anything else that I needed for the hike. So I borrowed everything from the date farm; sleeping bag, inflatable (but practically deflated) mattress, sun-hats and spare tank tops. They even gave us contacts in case of emergencies. I was a little overwhelmed by the kindness I received, it made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I had bought a Hebrew map (which neither my friend nor myself could really read) in Jerusalem which we hoped would be enough.\nIn the morning, we went for a shopping trip to a nearby Palestinian city where we stocked up with some snacks for the upcoming few days. Anna and I left the date farm in the afternoon, for our hitchhiking trip to the starting point of the trail.\nSince we were hitchhiking from within the West Bank, we had to make sure that we hitched a car with an Israeli plate, not a Palestinian one so that we could continue our journey passed the Green Line (the demarcation line between Israel and Palestine) towards the Sea of Galilee. Even though I was not here for a political reason, it was impossible not to feel it. Different colored number plates, different transport system, different roads for people with different ID cards. Check-points and securities. The longer I stayed, the more I knew that I knew nothing about this little part of the world I was in, except for the undeniable fact that I had been accepted with the utmost kindness I could ever ask for from everybody I\u0026rsquo;ve met, and I felt grateful.\nWe managed to hitch a ride mostly within 10 minutes of trying every time. An Israeli couple even treated us with amazing ice-cream and some tomatoes for souvenirs.\nTo Qiryat Shemona, it was quite easy. From there to our final destination, Majdal Shams, was a bit tricky. We would get a ride for a few km and would have to get off. Somewhere in between, Anna had realized that she had forgotten her phone in one of the cars.\nWe didn\u0026rsquo;t get contacts from anybody we hitch-hiked with and just as we were about to lose hope, I got a call from the hostel reception me and Anna used to volunteer in. Apparently, the driver of the car with Anna\u0026rsquo;s phone had remembered our conversation on the car about how both of us met at a hostel. He then called the hostel, asking for a contact for an Asian girl (that\u0026rsquo;s me) and the hostel somehow guessed it was me. The driver got in touch with me and he then drove out all the way to deliver the phone to us!\nWe arrived at Majdal Shams and it was already dark. We were trying to find the starting point of the trail which turned out to be still quite far away. We were asking for directions when a Druze family helped us out. They told us that it was not safe to sleep out in the wild, gave us hot buttered corns and drove us all the way to their friend\u0026rsquo;s campsite for us to stay over-night. That night, I promised the stars that I\u0026rsquo;ll definitely return the favors of everybody we met and helped us that day.\nDay 1: # On our way, we met a woman who was a family therapist from Haifa. We talked comparing common marriage problems in Israel and Japan. She then took us to a supermarket in Druze\u0026rsquo;s village called Buk\u0026rsquo;ata. Due to the religious holidays, all the Jewish Kibbutz were closed, except for the Druze\u0026rsquo;s.\nDruze are unique Arabic-speaking religious and ethnic minority living in this area. Although I didn\u0026rsquo;t get to learn much about them, I really liked their traditional bread which was very thin peta bread.\nAfter stocking up on some Tahina, we parted with the woman and continued on our journey.\nThat night, we decided to sleep next to the Bental Reservoir, where we found a stream of HOT water! A lot of people with their families and kids were bathing there, fishing too. After it got dark and all the families left, we stripped to our underwear and jumped into the water with the frogs to wash off the sweat.\nDay 2: # That night, we slept in the field with the cows in an open field, listening to the jackals howling.\nDay 3: # We woke up at 6am to the best sleep we\u0026rsquo;ve had so far. We started walking and soon we came across a water tap that\u0026rsquo;s been installed for hikers. We carried two bottles of 1.5L bottle and we filled it up to the fullest. We also washed our hair with the water.\nWe also made some new friends. Two dogs with collars started following us. At first, we thought they were cute, sweet. They were leading the way for us so we don\u0026rsquo;t get lost!\nThen, they just would not leave us. Fondness turned into curiosity, then to worry, to sympathy and then to plain frustration. They followed us for the next 10 km and basically spent the entire day with us.\nWhile we were walking, an American couple came behind us. They asked us if we knew anything about an ancient circular stone structure. We had no idea of this ancient structure but after walking on for about an hour, we found something that fit the description.\nTo be very honest, we didn\u0026rsquo;t really do much research into the trail beforehand, so it was very interesting to just be able to stumble upon these ancient structures and monuments. According to my unreliable online research, the place dates back to about 3000 to 1200 BCE depending on the different theories out there. It\u0026rsquo;s comprised of 42,000 tons of basalt stone and is quite big. It was in the middle of the nowhere with nobody in sight and accessible only by foot, which made us feel like an archeologists finding our own gems.\nDay 4: # We woke up the next day at 6:50am with our bodies itching all over. I spent the entire night wondering who the howlers were and where they were (I swear to God I heard them very nearby. We also had another big problem. WATER.\nWe had failed to secure water source the day before, so we started our hike with only about 500ml of water each. Today\u0026rsquo;s plan was to walk Section 11 through 13, and the first two sections were both gradual but continuous uphill.\nWe were so desperate for water by the end of section 12 that I regretted every decision that had brought me onto that trail that day. Soon, we dried up completely and our only water source was pomegranates. I still remember the taste of every drop of the juice in my mouth.\nWe were nearing a Kibbutz where we could finally get a water supply, but to get there, we had to make another steep ascent. That was when we found ourselves next to an orange farm full of oranges. I was barely walking by that point so out of survival, we helped ourselves to some oranges and squeezed the juice out into our mouths. We buried our heads into the oranges and fell silent for a while as we sucked onto every drop of juice. I felt bad for stealing the oranges but it literally brought us back to life. We were so happy and relieved that we made a whole song out of those oranges (which were the best oranges I had in my life, EVER) and sang them all the way up to the Kibbutz.\nAt the entrance of the Kibbutz, a guy had gave us a lift to the front of the water fountain in the village which was next to the village store where we treated ourselves with some chocolate milk and cakes.\nDay 5: # Our last day on the trail. I woke up from probably the most peaceful night and we both slept in, feeling our bodies getting used to sleeping outdoors and walking all day. It was a 9km walk with the view of the Sea of Galilee on our right the entire time. We finished the trail by the beach on the lake and we jumped right in.\nWe didn\u0026rsquo;t really reach the end point of the trail, but rather, deviated towards what seemed like the quickest way to reach the water. We were so badly in need of a bath that we cut across the banana plantation which must have been private property, and headed for the nearest beach.\nWe both had numerous spots and bruises on our bodies and it stung badly in the lake. Now, I don\u0026rsquo;t know where these spots came from but I\u0026rsquo;m guessing ant bites although Anna has a different theory. They covered our entire faces and bodies and tormented us for the next few weeks. Even after a year (I\u0026rsquo;m writing this blog post after a year, yes) I still have the scars from these bug bites on my hands. This is why, even during the dry season when you know it won\u0026rsquo;t rain, I would definitely bring a tent.\nAfter hitchhiking to Tiberius where we met some other friends we met during our travels, we headed back to the date farm where I spent the next few days.\nThe end.\n","date":"September 2, 2019","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/the-golan-trail-israel-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNOTE: This blog post is intended to provide a personal account of my experience hiking the Golan Heights. I want to emphasize that my goal is not to engage in political discourse regarding the region’s complex history.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e125km, 5 day hiking through the Golan Heights, a rocky plateau located between Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Pomegranates, mine fields, fighting thirst, howling with the golden jackals and bodies covered in scars \u0026amp; ant bites.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Golan Trail"},{"content":"This year, my father and I decided to celebrate father\u0026rsquo;s day on a mountain-top not too far from our house. He took a day off on Monday and we went for a day trip to Mt. Kinpu.\nItinerary # Start/Finish: Kinpu-sanso (金峯山荘) Total distance: Around 7km Duration: 8h including breaks 7:30 Kinpu-sanso （金峯山荘）- 10:30 Kinpusan-goya（金峯山小屋）- 11:40 Summit (2599m) - 15:30 Kinpu-sanso (金峯山荘） It was my father who had introduced me to hiking when I was still a baby and he took me everywhere with him when I was younger. Most of our family holidays consisted of camping and hiking or skiing. His honeymoon with my mother was to the Japanese alps. Sometimes you don\u0026rsquo;t realize how much you\u0026rsquo;ve been affected by your parents until you grow up to be exactly like them without knowing it.\nTried the whole Lion King thing while really suffering from my fear of heights.\nWe talked for 8 hours straight and this may have been the best father\u0026rsquo;s day I\u0026rsquo;d ever spent with him. Thanks dad.\n","date":"September 1, 2019","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/fathers-day-on-mt-kinpu-japan/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis year, my father and I decided to celebrate father\u0026rsquo;s day on a mountain-top not too far from our house. He took a day off on Monday and we went for a day trip to Mt. Kinpu.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/4f140bd1-f59b-4f34-81e7-19405ab027ca.jpg\" alt=\"fathers-mt-kinpu-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"itinerary\" class=\"relative group\"\u003eItinerary \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#itinerary\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStart/Finish: Kinpu-sanso (金峯山荘)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTotal distance: Around 7km\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDuration: 8h including breaks\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e7:30 Kinpu-sanso （金峯山荘）- 10:30 Kinpusan-goya（金峯山小屋）- 11:40 Summit (2599m) - 15:30 Kinpu-sanso (金峯山荘）\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/img_7624.jpg\" alt=\"fathers-mt-kinpu-2\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt was my father who had introduced me to hiking when I was still a baby and he took me everywhere with him when I was younger. Most of our family holidays consisted of camping and hiking or skiing. His honeymoon with my mother was to the Japanese alps. Sometimes you don\u0026rsquo;t realize how much you\u0026rsquo;ve been affected by your parents until you grow up to be exactly like them without knowing it.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Father's Day on Mt. Kinpu, Japan"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/morocco/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Morocco"},{"content":"Morocco may be best known for its desert camel rides through the sand dunes, the blue city of Chefchaouen, exploring the old cities and the souk in Marrakech and Fes but when I landed in Morocco, I really felt like going to the mountains. (It\u0026rsquo;s just this urge I get from time to time without any rational reason that I cannot fight off)\nAs it turns out, Morocco has one of the best mountain ranges in North Africa.\nSince I was in Marrakech already, I decided I wanted to see Mt. Toubkal or the surrounding mountains in High Atlas. Despite my enthusiasm, I couldn\u0026rsquo;t find much information about how to get there and how much it would cost on the internet without booking a tour. I also learned that since the tragic murders of two girls last year who went camping alone in the area, it was obligated to go with a guide. By this point, I had been traveling for a few months and just came from Europe where I had used up a lot of my money. So I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to book a packaged plan which tended to be more expensive. Plus, it was early March and there were still some snow left at the top. I didn\u0026rsquo;t have my trekking boots or my crampons.\nI decided to go to a village called Imlil, which was a village at the foot of the High Atlas mountains with one of the best trekking trails.\nHow to get to Imlil # There is a yellow collective taxi that runs from the Marrakech city center near the square by the Jemaa el-Fnaa. If you keep shouting \u0026ldquo;Imlil\u0026rdquo; to people, you\u0026rsquo;ll eventually find the place. It\u0026rsquo;s 50 dirham (5 euros)/ one way to Imlil and you have to wait until the taxi has enough people to carry until it leaves so it\u0026rsquo;s better to leave early and have time to spare. Don\u0026rsquo;t pay more than 50 dirhams though. If you\u0026rsquo;re unlucky, you\u0026rsquo;ll have to change taxi at Asni, which is the only town before Imlil that has ATM so if you\u0026rsquo;re low on cash, you should withdraw some money in Marrakech or in Asni.\nI met two lovely women who were sisters visiting Imlil on their holiday. One was from Casablanca and the other lived in the Netherlands. I was grateful for my university French lectures since I could somehow communicate in my broken French. They gave me their numbers in case of an emergency and they also helped me negotiate prices for the rides (and only paid 35 dirhams).\nWhere to stay # There are plenty of hostels in hotels in Imlil so you won\u0026rsquo;t really need to book in advance but if you want to be on the safe side, make sure you book a hotel that is not too far from the village center because I had to walk 15 minutes down a hill just to get something to eat. But despite its isolated location, I did enjoy the silence and the quietness which was the whole point of me visiting in the first place.\nClimbing gears \u0026amp; guides #To climb Mt. Toubkal which is over 4000m high in mid-March, you would need crampons proper boots. I didn\u0026rsquo;t have either of these which was why I decided to ditch the idea of climbing up there, but there are many shops where you can rent any climbing gears for a very cheap price. It\u0026rsquo;s a lot cheaper than buying your own gear just to climb here unless you already own them, so even if you have nothing on you, you can still show up in Imlil and do some hikes.\nSince I made the mistake of forgetting to withdraw cash in Marrakech, I had barely any cash on me. Funnily enough, most of the stores said I could exchange some of my things I owned for the things that they sold/rented.\nYou can find guides everywhere in this small village, it\u0026rsquo;s a matter of finding one that you can trust. Try finding other tourists and split the costs with you. It\u0026rsquo;s also nicer to have other people to talk to while hiking.\nDay hikes around the area # I ended up postponing my trip up to the Toubkal for another visit and decided to do day-hikes around the area which is completely doable on your own and even though the internet says that the trails aren\u0026rsquo;t well marked, as long as you stay in the area and don\u0026rsquo;t get lost in one of the villages and their mazes of houses, you\u0026rsquo;ll be ok.\nDAY 1\nI stayed in Imlil for a few days. On the first day, I hired a guide to show me around the area. He grew up in the nearby village and he knew the area by heart, every trail, every tree.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve come here to hike, which is my hobby. But people who live in these villages hike as part of their daily lives, as a necessity, to buy their groceries, to visit their friends and families. Sometimes, I find it strange that a 3rd world necessity can be a 1st world luxury.\nDAY 2\nNext morning, I decided to go for a run to a village that was a little further away. I love going for a run in the morning to explore whenever I visit new places.\n","date":"August 31, 2019","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/the-high-atlas-mountains-imlil-morocco/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eMorocco may be best known for its desert camel rides through the sand dunes, the blue city of Chefchaouen, exploring the old cities and the souk in Marrakech and Fes but when I landed in Morocco, I really felt like going to the mountains. (It\u0026rsquo;s just this urge I get from time to time without any rational reason that I cannot fight off)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs it turns out, Morocco has one of the best mountain ranges in North Africa.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The High Atlas Mountains, Imlil, Morocco"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/indonesia/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Indonesia"},{"content":"This August, I had the pleasure of attending my friend\u0026rsquo;s wedding in Jakarta, Indonesia (it was beautiful) and I thought I\u0026rsquo;d do some hiking near Jakarta. Here\u0026rsquo;s a brief account of my day trip to Mt. Gede Pangrango National Park (Bogor).\nSummary of Day-hike\n13h hike (piston) 3h from Jakarta by scooter You need to pay for the permit + cannot climb alone. Bring a partner. The National Park is situated south of Jakarta, about 3 hours scooter drive (50k) from central Jakarta. In Indonesia, everybody seems to use the scooters to go EVERWHERE and my friend and I left Jakarta around 5am and I scootered away in the morning sun.\nThe streets were already busy, buzzing with people overflowing from the markets on the sides of the streets. We were surrounded by other scooters making their way back to their homes and their other respective destinations, with goat\u0026rsquo;s head hanging off the sides and house wall insulations stacked up on the back of their scooters.\nThe pollution was so bad that I had to wear my medical mask and a bandana to cover my mouth and nose (I advise you to be prepared). We arrived at the basecamp around 8:30 and we headed to the registration office where they asked us for our permits. We didn\u0026rsquo;t realize that we needed a permit for a day hike. If you\u0026rsquo;re a local, you would have to register 3 days in advance but a foreigner like me, I could register on the day (along with my accompanying friend who is from Indonesia), although the entree fee was considerably higher for me (around 200k IDR = 14 USD).\nFor the permit, I had to show them my passport and had to do a quick medical check-up followed by submitting a rough plan of our hike. We started hiking at around 9:30am.\nNow, I didn\u0026rsquo;t really expect the hike to take that long. I was expecting an easy day-hike and hadn\u0026rsquo;t slept properly for the prior few days due to the wedding (which I come to regret deeply by the end of the day).\nThere\u0026rsquo;s a couple of ways to enjoy hiking in this National Park which has become very popular over the recent few years due to its accessibility from Jakarta and the hype around hiking itself. The popular route is to do both peaks, Mt Gede (2958m) and Mt. Pangrango (3019m) over 2 nights/2 days. There is also a waterfall which is a much shorter hike easily done in a day. We only had a day so we opted to just do Mt. Pangrango.\nMy friend used to be in Mapala when he was at university, a student hiking community in Indonesia and had experience in this mountain range many times which was very assuring. The hike-up was pretty steep and was covered in trees all the way until the top, but it was we-paved and maintained and it was impossible to get lost, especially when there are so many other hikers around you. People we crossed were mainly from the local area, from Java at least which we could tell from the way we greeted (that\u0026rsquo;s what my friend had told me). I loved the greetings. It was all cheery and nice, and gave me a push to scrape up the energy that barely existed within me.\nThe route was quite sandy and slippery sometimes because of the volcanic nature of the mountains but there were plenty of routes and trees to hang onto. I was pretty surprised when I saw people climbing up in their sandals and flip-flops though.\nWe reached the top at around 4:30pm. At the top, there is a small opening where you can look down onto the crater of Mt. Gede and its ridges. It was cloudy all the way until the top so the view was rewarding than ever. From the summit, we hiked down around 10 mins in the opposite direction where there is an opening called Alun Alun Mandalawangi full of edelweiss, elderflowers.\nWe spent a good hour up there, just laying on the grass watching the sun slowly setting into an ocean of clouds while we munched on our snacks (bread with chocolate \u0026amp; cheese, classic Indonesian snacks). The breeze was crisp and cold, refreshing, but the sun shone upon us gently with its warmth and my body felt as light as ever.\n2 hours into our hike-down, the sun had decided to abandon us and we said hello to our moon, who wasn\u0026rsquo;t as generous as the sun in giving us enough light to navigate our way. My friend had brought one torch but I had forgotten my headlamp back in Jakarta.\nIt turns out that hiking in the dark is a big thing in Indonesia. We came across a lot of night-hikers and we also met some hikers on patrol. Apparently, it was quite popular to hike during the night to aim for the sunset on summit.\nBy the time we got back to the basecamp to our scooter, it was already 10:30pm. The basecamp was unusually dark and quiet and it turns out that there was a massive black-out in Jakarta and in West Java that day which explained the closed stores.\nWe ate our midnight snack and drank our ever too sweet tea in the candlelight and scootered into the nights towards Jakarta. By this time, I had gotten very used to riding on the back of the scooter, so much so that I found it impossible not to fall asleep. I felt bad for my friend who was driving.\nWe arrived back way past midnight, almost 2am in Jakarta. It was a good day.\n","date":"August 30, 2019","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/mt-pangrango-near-jakarta-indonesia/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis August, I had the pleasure of attending my friend\u0026rsquo;s wedding in Jakarta, Indonesia (it was beautiful) and I thought I\u0026rsquo;d do some hiking near Jakarta. Here\u0026rsquo;s a brief account of my day trip to \u003ca href=\"https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297706-d4699613-Reviews-Mount_Gede_Pangrango_National_Park-Bogor_West_Java_Java.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eMt. Gede Pangrango National Park (Bogor).\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSummary of Day-hike\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e13h hike (piston)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e3h from Jakarta by scooter\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYou need to pay for the permit + cannot climb alone. Bring a partner.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/e01e62d9-5876-4ff6-94b4-9b308b51ae45.jpg\" alt=\"mt-pangrango-jakarta-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe National Park is situated south of Jakarta, about 3 hours scooter drive (50k) from central Jakarta. In Indonesia, everybody seems to use the scooters to go EVERWHERE and my friend and I left Jakarta around 5am and I scootered away in the morning sun.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mt. Pangrango near Jakarta, Indonesia"},{"content":"After a gloriously disastrous attempt to climb Mt. Merbabu in Java, Indonesia, on my own, without a partner, by driving myself to the basecamp on a scooter that I did not know how to drive (a story for another time), I decided to book myself a tour for Rinjani (3726m) in Lombok, the third highest mountain in the whole Indonesia archipelago. It was the first time for me to book any tour for a hike like this, since I really like the freedom to climb in my own pace and the accomplishment that comes with being self-dependent in the navigation and carrying the weight.\nHow much did it cost? What was the itinerary? #Due to the earthquake in 2018, the summit was closed which meant that the only trekking option was the 1night/2days hike to the rim of the crater.\nI used a company called Rinjani Trek Adventure and according to them, there are about 92 agencies in Senaru, one of the basecamps for Mt. Rinjani and they all offer the same package at around the same price. I\u0026rsquo;d say the price varies depending on where you start but the average is around 1.4M ~ 1.8M IDR for the 1night/2days trek package including transport (shuttle buses) to and from, all meals, one night accommodation at the basecamp, one night on the mountain, guides and porters, permit fee etc. It\u0026rsquo;s cheaper to book it if you have a partner so I found someone to hike with through facebook (there is a backpacking community of facebook).\nMy Personal Itinerary: August 14th~16th 2019 #DAY 0 # 12:00am Picked up from KUTA LOMBOK in a private car 17:00 Arrived in Senaru, got myself my own room (double bed with bathroom) Went for a run, ate dinner and drank rice wine with the people from the trekking company. They told us about the devastating affect of the earthquake that happened the previous year and destroyed a lot of their properties and the trails. 22:00 Good night! DAY 1 # 7:00am Breakfast. Banana Pancakes 8:30am Joined with anther group (booked with a different company) 9:00am Arrived at the gate (start of the trek) (6h of hiking with lunch and breaks in between, lunch was rice with veggies) 3:00pm Arrived at the rim of the crater. The clouds cleared at the top and we watched the sunset. Dinner was Mie Goreng, Indonesian fried rice with Tempe and prawn crackers. 8:00pm Sleep! DAY 2 # 6:30am Wakie wakie rise and shine! 7:00am Walked around the rim watching the early sun warming the earth. Breakfast: Banana pancakes and toasts for the guests, Indomie instant noodles + rice for the guides \u0026amp; porters. 7:30am Started walking, the hike down was pretty quick and arrived at the entrance gate around noon. 13:00 Back to our hostels for a shower (we all got really dusty) and then popped on the shuttles that took us to our respective destinations 16:00 Already on the boat to Gili Air, an island just a 15 minute boat ride from the harbor in North Lombok After-thoughts #The overall experience has been really wonderful. I got to make a lot of new friends there, the guides and porters we crossed while hiking, the people I hiked with. The food was amazing and I honestly don\u0026rsquo;t know how they carry all the food and equipment up there and cook it so amazingly. The hike was steep and slippery so I can\u0026rsquo;t imagine how I would\u0026rsquo;ve managed that if I had carried everything myself. The view from the top was superb.\nHowever, it was a little too crowded for me. It was also very touristy and no room for the spontaneous breaks and naps, freedom to camp anywhere anytime etc. It was a little too touristy which made it less of a personal experience for me. The view from the top was nice but the climb up was quite monotonous and it was a shame that the summit was closed because I could see the trail from the rim to the top and it looked absolutely dead-gorgeous.\nAll in all, I\u0026rsquo;m happy I did it. I\u0026rsquo;m also grateful that I got the chance. Maybe Ill come back for the summit opening.\n","date":"August 30, 2019","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/mt-rinjani-1n2d-lombok-indonesia/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAfter a gloriously disastrous attempt to climb Mt. Merbabu in Java, Indonesia, on my own, without a partner, by driving myself to the basecamp on a scooter that I did not know how to drive (a story for another time), I decided to book myself a tour for Rinjani (3726m) in Lombok, the third highest mountain in the whole Indonesia archipelago. It was the first time for me to book any tour for a hike like this, since I really like the freedom to climb in my own pace and the accomplishment that comes with being self-dependent in the navigation and carrying the weight.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mt. Rinjani (1N2D), Lombok, Indonesia"},{"content":"Hiking near Tokyo? Where should we go? If you\u0026rsquo;re tired of hiking touristy mountains and want more peace and quiet, well here are some suggestions for you!\nMount Kumotori (雲取山) is a mountain on the borders of Tokyo, Saitama and Yamanashi prefectures in the Okutama and Okuchichibu mountain regions. It\u0026rsquo;s only 2 hours from the city center by train and perfect for a weekend trip or a day-hike if you\u0026rsquo;re up for a challenge. It\u0026rsquo;s technically IN Tokyo, which is hard to believe with the abundance of nature, clean air and wild animals you\u0026rsquo;ll encounter. Plus, its summit is the highest point in Tokyo with elevation of 2017m.\nAnd on a sunny day, you get a perfect view of the famous Mt. Fuji, a mountain that is nicer to look at than climbing up on, in my humble personal opinion. And it\u0026rsquo;s on the list of 100 Famous Japanese Mountains if you\u0026rsquo;re one of those people who are trying to peak-hunt all 100 (a very popular challenge people take on in Japan).\nHere was my itinerary:\n【Day 1】 #8:00 Left home on JR line \u0026mdash;\u0026gt; Arrived at Okutama Station 10:15 Took a bus from Okutama Station to Kamosawa Bus Stop 11:00 Arrived at Kamosawa Bus Stop ( bus timetable) 11:15 Started hiking 12:00 Passed by the parking lot 16:30 Reached the top of Mt. Kumotori 17:30 Got a little lost and finally arrived at Kumotori Sanso (Sanso = mountain lodge) 18:30 Finished setting up my tent \u0026amp; chatted with people 20:20 Good night!\n【Day 2】 #4:00 Wakey wakey rise and shine! 4:45 Left Kumotori Sanso and started hiking down 8:15 Arrived at Kamosawa Bus Stop 8:37 Got on the bus to Okutama Station 9:32 Took the train 11:30 Back home!\nDistance: 11km / elevation gain: 1760m (around the same amount of height gain if you climb Mt. Fuji from the 5th station) Duration: 5h climb up, 3h30 climb down (around 8~9hrs in total?) Difficulty: Easy\nWhy did I go there? #Good access, well paved path (perfect for trail-runners or even mountain bikers.) I wanted to try out my new tent and my new gear I bought in preparation for the long trail hiking I\u0026rsquo;ll be doing later this year. No need to worry about water because there are many water sources along the way, meaning I won\u0026rsquo;t have to carry too much on me each time. It\u0026rsquo;s the highest point in Tokyo, which is kind of cool.\nJR Line The train station overflowing with people going to work. Once I\u0026rsquo;m out of the central area, the trains become the perfect place to take a nap, sometimes getting the whole carriage to yourself.\nTaking the bus to Kamosawa Bus Stop. Since I started out quite late in the day, I was the only passenger on the bus. The weather tends to be better up in the mountains in early mornings so I suggest you take the earliest train/bus you can, or you can also arrive the night before and sleep at the bus stop.\nかもさわ登山口 (Kamosawa Trail Entrance) These benches will be perfect to sleep on, with a roof over too. On the right side of this \u0026ldquo;entrance\u0026rdquo;, there is a staircase that goes up. Climb those up, turn right and on your left you\u0026rsquo;ll see a little slope that goes up with a sign that says \u0026ldquo;雲取山\u0026rdquo; so follow that up.\nBefore you climb any mountain in Japan, it\u0026rsquo;s advised to submit a \u0026ldquo;hiking plan\u0026rdquo; in case something happens to you and you need to be rescued. There are couple of ways to do this, including submitting online/ faxing the local police or just posting it in boxes like these near the entrance of the hiking trails.\nTraditional houses are all made of wood and they remind me of my grandparents house I grew up in when I was younger.\nYou\u0026rsquo;ll see posts like this telling you which way to go. You should aim for 雲取山、七ツ石山. On the internet, and along the route, you\u0026rsquo;ll see signs telling you how long it will take to reach the top. The official course time said it would take 6 hours to go up and 4h to come back down but I\u0026rsquo;d say it would take a lot less even for a beginner and it\u0026rsquo;s very doable in a day if you pack light and start early. Although, I recommend you stay up there overnight for the sunrise.\nThere is a mountain lodge with camping ground in 七ツ石山, which is half-way up in the route. It\u0026rsquo;s a really long gentle climb up all the way to the top. Lots of drinkable water sources. There\u0026rsquo;s a heliport somewhere along the way. You might have some company up there too. As I got closer to the top, it started to get really foggy and the view from the top was a little unfortunate.\nSet up my new tent! It\u0026rsquo;s really light (300g) and I don\u0026rsquo;t need any tent poles, just my hiking sticks so I can fit everything into my 30L backpack. It was 500 yen to set up my tent there and use the bathroom and the water facility there (the cleanest bathroom I\u0026rsquo;ve ever been to on a mountain) but you can also book a room at the lodge (8000 yen/night/person including 2 meals). The owner of the mountain lodge is this grumpy old man whose idea of hospitality really differs from mine but I respect his ways. Despite that and the price, the rooms looked pretty nice and cozy and apparently, our emperor visited this place a couple of times.\nNext morning, view from the top. Overall, a nice quick getaway for a bit of peace of mind. I mean, can you believe this is still inside Tokyo?\n","date":"June 22, 2019","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/hiking-the-highest-peak-in-tokyo-mt-kumotori/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHiking near Tokyo? Where should we go? If you\u0026rsquo;re tired of hiking touristy mountains and want more peace and quiet, well here are some suggestions for you!\u003c/p\u003e\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  \n  \n    \n    \n  \n  \u003cfigure class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/img_7666.jpeg\" alt=\"hiking-highest-peak-1\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 rounded-md\"/\u003e\n    \n  \u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMount Kumotori\u003c/strong\u003e (雲取山) is a mountain on the borders of Tokyo, Saitama and Yamanashi prefectures in the Okutama and Okuchichibu mountain regions. It\u0026rsquo;s \u003cstrong\u003eonly 2 hours\u003c/strong\u003e from the city center by train and perfect for \u003cstrong\u003ea weekend trip or a day-hike\u003c/strong\u003e if you\u0026rsquo;re up for a challenge. It\u0026rsquo;s technically \u003cstrong\u003eIN Tokyo\u003c/strong\u003e, which is hard to believe with the abundance of nature, clean air and wild animals you\u0026rsquo;ll encounter. Plus, \u003cstrong\u003eits summit is the highest point in Tokyo\u003c/strong\u003e with elevation of 2017m.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Hiking the highest peak in Tokyo ~ Mt. Kumotori ~"},{"content":"3 day Hiking in Ein Gedi and Wadi Darga #When?\nWhen: December 2018\nItinerary\nDay 1: Bus from Jerusalem to Ein Gedi Nature Reserve → sleeping on the beach by the Dead Sea near Wadi Darga in front of Metsoke Dragot Junction Day 2: Walking the Wadi Darga, sleeping on top of the canyons Day 3: Walking around Wadi Darga and descending down to Mitspe Shalem → taking a bus back to Jerusalem Navigation\nAmud Anan app (Hebrew only, use Google Translate) + paper map (no English map available) Cell Phone Reception\nNo reception in the canyons in Wadi Darga (except along the ridges of the cliffs close to the Dead Sea) Packing\n30L bag, trail running shoes, sandals, long sleeve top + trousers, scarf, thermals, yoga mat, sleeping bag, headlamp, toilet paper, Swiss army knife, food \u0026amp; water (loads), maps, sunhat (essential), sunscreen, kindle, notepad, battery pack, student ID (discounts available)\nAfter walking the Golan Trail along the Syrian border, I was really itching for another desert hike. The problem was, I didn\u0026rsquo;t know where or where to get all the necessary information, and I knew I lacked gear.\nAnd as always, someone gave me a helping hand.\nJust before arriving in Jerusalem, a friend of mine had told me about couchsurfing, a platform where travelers can host or be hosted by other travelers in their homes. The fact that you get to crash at someone\u0026rsquo;s place for free was appealing, but I was more interested in being able to see the homes and the lives of local people and how they went about their lives. So I decided to give it my first try in Jerusalem.\nI found a host, who had accepted me despite me having no references. He was a school teacher and a guide, and knew a lot about the history, the politics and the geography of the place. He was also a big time traveler and he showed me his amazing photo collections and scrap books from his trips to Africa. It turns out that he also liked to hike and frequently took his students to hiking trips where he taught, and despite being tired from working during the day, he stayed up late to give me tips on where to hike, lent me his map and his sleeping bag and some tips about where to sleep and how to get there.\nMy plan was this. Go to Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, hike there for a day or two and then go up north to Wadi Darga to hike the canyons.\nimg_4522.jpg I took the bus from the Jerusalem Central Bus Station down to Ein Gedi Nature Reserve which took just over an hour. At the entrance, there was a free locker I could use to put all my unnecessary stuff and you can ask for a key to lock it. Then, after grabbing a map of the park, rather than entering from the entrance of the Ein Gedi Reserve, I went up the asphalt road that stretched from Route 90 up towards Ein Gedi Hostel and Field School. From there, I hiked up the black route (marked in the map below and came back down along the David Stream.\nNow, the part was beautiful. The view from top looking down onto Dead Sea through the rivers and canyons was stunning. However, because it was Chanukah, a Jewish festival and holiday, the place was packed with people and and school trips. When I got to the lower waterfall, I had to wait for 20 minutes just waiting for people to get through. Which turned out to be great in the end since that was when I met a group of women from Tel Aviv with whom I hiked the rest of the way. They were all besties from school and they told me some stories about living and working in Tel Aviv. They even shared some food (date cake, a classic) with me and gave me a ride to Metsoke Dragot Junction. Because of the over-crowdedness, I decided to not hike the Nature Reserve the next day but explore other places instead.\nIMG_4536 IMG_4525 (2) IMG_4557 IMG_4564 My couchsurfing host had told me that I could sleep on the beach by the dead sea, and right near the Metsoke Dragot Junction, I saw that other people had the same idea too.\nI met a Spanish guy who has been cycling and was headed down to Egypt and all the way down south towards South Africa. I met some other travelers who had hitchhiked here too. There were also tents that looked like they have been set up there for a while and it turns out that some people have been living here for years without ever leaving the beach. Now, this amazed me. It was December and the beach was still hot. There were no sources of water within walking distance. There was also a little hut that\u0026rsquo;s been built and equipped with random furnitures that\u0026rsquo;s been left behind. Lots of flies and it wasn\u0026rsquo;t the cleanest place but somehow looked pretty cozy at night when the darkness hid everything I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to see.\nAt the Metsoke Dragot Junction, there is a barricade with Israeli soldiers (who gave us lots of water!) , I\u0026rsquo;m assuming because it is very close to the Green Line between Israel and the West Bank. The whole area is technically within the West Bank, within Palestinian territory despite the fact that most of the people I met there were from Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. Now, I\u0026rsquo;m not going to go into politics because I\u0026rsquo;ve stayed both in Israel and Palestine long enough (but never enough) to know that I understand nothing of the complex political situation here and I\u0026rsquo;m just here to talk about my personal experience, about the beautiful scenery and the beautiful people I met. I just want to acknowledge the fact that I understand that I\u0026rsquo;m privileged to have the passport to be able to visit places like these to have met the people I\u0026rsquo;ve met.\nWhenever I tell someone that I\u0026rsquo;m in Israel or Palestine, the first question people ask me is \u0026ldquo;Is it dangerous there?\u0026rdquo; Maybe it\u0026rsquo;s because I\u0026rsquo;m from a country that\u0026rsquo;s far away and we don\u0026rsquo;t really know what\u0026rsquo;s going on in this part of the world, just like I had no clue before I decided to take a visit. Dangerous, what does that even mean? I wish I could tell my friends back home in Japan that it isn\u0026rsquo;t dangerous to visit but more dangerous not to visit and to have assumptions without having seen for oneself what is out there. (and I\u0026rsquo;m talking very generally because this is the same with any aspects of life, I think. Not that I know anything about it.)\nIt was a strange night. People gathered, a Russian guy was playing a hang drum, people started singing and someone else had brought a projector and did some small-scale projection mapping on the instrument and the musician. Nobody knew each other, but the collaboration was pretty magical. On the other side of the Dead Sea, you could see Jordan lighting up. The beach was warm enough to sleep with just my sleeping bag but someone on the beach told me I could use one of the empty tents. I had one of the best sleeps out of all my camping trips.\nIMG_4570 IMG_4572 IMG_4575.JPG Next morning, I left early to hike up the asphalt road that forked away in an ascent from the junction that lead to the entrance to Wadi Darga. The climb up was beautiful but What I didn\u0026rsquo;t realize was that it was quite a long way up and sun was already scorching by the time I started walking. After 15 minutes, a truck came from behind and stopped. The driver offered me a ride and I was super grateful since I was getting worried that the sun may set before I even reached the canyons. I got to practice my Arabic with the driver and his friend and we had a nice little chat (or I like to believe I understood what they were saying) and they even offered me a whole bottle of water, the last of what they had left, and when I refused, they insisted. My heart keeps melting from people\u0026rsquo;s kindness during this trip, seriously.\nIMG_4581 IMG_4583 I started walking. I was excited since this would be my first time walking alone in a desert. It was so quiet and so calm. I had missed the solitude and it was refreshing.\nThen I met a family. They were from Jerusalem, on a family vacation. It turns out that they live very close from where I was staying. A father, a mother with their 3 children. The father was a geologist specializing in deserts which was perfect because I was getting a free lecture about the geology of the place we were walking. He also gave me some tips about exploring the area, how it may be dangerous after a rainfall because there can be a flush flood in the canyons. They asked me if I wanted to join them on the same route, so I said yes. When I look back at my travels, the things that I remember the most are the chance encounters like these.\nIMG_4593 The geologist had walked trails around the country and around the world, he had even written a book about walking and hiking. His wife was also very interesting, working in something to do with organizational management and we exchanged opinions on gender-equality in working environments in both Japan and Israel. Their eldest son was interested in Physics and languages, had just finished high school and was going to Yeshiva, a Jewish Religious school, before he went on to study in university.\nimg_4604.jpg IMG_4611 IMG_4614 We also met a huuuuge family with 15 children (apparently all related) all doing the hike together. Coming from a country with low fertility rate problems and lack of children, it was interesting to see a family this big.\nimg_4637.jpg At night, they invited me to their bonfire and we sat around the fire talking, playing music and staring at the stars. By this time, I was starting to see some clouds but from the weather forecasts I was hoping it would hold, until the next day at least.\nNow, I knew that traveling without a tent was a bit risky but that night, I really regretted not bringing one. I forgot at which time, but it started to rain. I was sleeping on my yoga mat in my sleeping tent and it was freezing compared to the previous night on the beach. Who knew a 15 minute car ride up the canyons could make such a big difference in how cold I felt? So when it started raining and I found no shelter (obviously), I rummaged around and found a big rock to shelter myself from the wind and then put my yoga mat on top of me just to avoid direct rain. It may not have helped too much but I manage to sleep through it.\nNext morning, I found myself sleeping on top of large chunks of bird (?) poo. It didn\u0026rsquo;t register me the night before when it was dark and I was cold and wet and miserable. What a start to the day.\nIMG_4668 The weather wasn\u0026rsquo;t great and I knew that it was only going to go downhill so I decided to start early and to avoid going down into the canyons. I decided to walk the route around the canyons and down to a , Mitspe Shalem, down south.\nOn this hike, I truly got to enjoy my solitude. There was nobody around other than the occasional cars that passed me by headed towards the view point. Many of them stopped and asked me if I wanted a ride. Some of them gave me some water too and offered me tea. Again, I was truly grateful for their kindness, something I was not used to growing up in a big city like Tokyo. I said no thanks, though. Hiking for me was a sort of meditation and it was so refreshing, relaxing. And I really needed it.\nIMG_4680 I walked and walked and there was nothing but desert. It was quite windy and wind was the only thing I heard for a while. And it felt strangely comfortable as I concentrated on setting one foot in front after another. It was so simple.\nI reached a viewpoint where there was a big concrete structure with a lot of graffitis. I guess people come up here to enjoy the view, to hang out. On the day I went, there was nobody.\nIMG_4688 IMG_4690 I saw some clouds in the distance which looked like it could arrive where I was standing in a couple of hours. I knew, that the weather was going to get worse and I decided to pick up my speed a little so I didn\u0026rsquo;t have to descend in the rain where rocks could get slippery.\nIMG_4699 The trail downhill is one of the oldest mule paths where bedouins used to use to go up and down (according to the geologist). It was marked in the offline map I was using but I was quite skeptical about the route condition.\nIMG_4702 IMG_4711 The path was clearly marked, yet it was not the easiest place to walk. There were too many loose rocks and stones that would crumble underneath your foot and it was also a steep downhill. Judging by the way it looked, not many people were using it these days.\nIMG_4714 The sky was getting darker with the rainy clouds and I was getting quite frustrated since the rain would make it much more difficult for me to walk down. I walked as fast as I could but trying not to fall off the edge. Maybe taking this route on my own wasn\u0026rsquo;t the best idea.\nIMG_4709 As soon as I arrived at Mitspe Shalem, a Jewish settlement at the foot of the trail, it started to rain heavily and I breathed a sigh of relief. I was truly happy to be alive. At the entrance of the settlement, there was a group of girls in combat uniforms and guns, with an instructor. Two of them gave me a ride from to the main road so I could catch a bus. In Israel, there is a 2 year mandatory military service for both girls and boys. Usually, people attend the army after their high school graduation, but there are also people who go to religious schools (Yeshiva for boys, Midrasha for girls) like the boy from the family I met. But there are others who choose to take a training course before attending the army to prepare them more for the military service and at Mitspe Shalem, there was a training program like that.\nThis whole trip was an interesting experience because although I didn\u0026rsquo;t meet a whole lot of people, I got to meet a wide range of people from different backgrounds in this very geographically small space. All I know is, as always, I was touched by a lot of kindness along the way that helped me bring back a piece of memory that I can forever treasure.\n","date":"May 3, 2019","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/judea-desert-hikes-israel/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003ch4 id=\"3-day-hiking-in-ein-gedi-and-wadi-darga\" class=\"relative group\"\u003e3 day Hiking in Ein Gedi and Wadi Darga \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#3-day-hiking-in-ein-gedi-and-wadi-darga\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhen?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhen:\u003c/strong\u003e December 2018\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eItinerary\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDay 1:\u003c/strong\u003e Bus from Jerusalem to \u003ca href=\"https://www.touristisrael.com/ein-gedi-nature-reserve/5529/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eEin Gedi Nature Reserve\u003c/a\u003e → sleeping on the beach by the Dead Sea near \u003ca href=\"https://www.thelonelytraveler.org/trip-sunrise-israel-wadi-dragot/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eWadi Darga\u003c/a\u003e in front of \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/maps/place/Metsoke\u0026#43;Dragot\u0026#43;Junction/@31.58095,35.407585,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x15033cbc1394bcdd:0xe72ef2423cae99a6!8m2!3d31.58095!4d35.407585\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eMetsoke Dragot Junction\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDay 2:\u003c/strong\u003e Walking the Wadi Darga, sleeping on top of the canyons\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDay 3:\u003c/strong\u003e Walking around Wadi Darga and descending down to \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitzpe_Shalem\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"\u003eMitspe Shalem\u003c/a\u003e → taking a bus back to Jerusalem\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNavigation\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Judea Desert Hikes, near the Dead Sea"},{"content":"6 days (hitch)hiking the first long-distance trail in Turkey #My super-spontaneous trip to Turkey and an even more spontaneous hiking/hitchhiking adventure with my new Turkish friend Emel.\nI\u0026rsquo;m terrible at making plans. I booked my flight two days before leaving, purely because it was the only affordable option out of Berlin on the day my Schengen Visa expired. None of what followed would have happened if it had been planned. My best travel memories rarely are.\nThen I met Emel who is endlessly up for anything, in the best way.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s what happened.\nTrip Info #Dates: 08.04.19 – 13.04.19 (6 days)\nTrail: Lycian Way / Likya Yolu, section hike eastbound from Fethiye, ~100km of the full 503km trail\nBudget: ~€10 total\nMaps: maps.me (offline)\nGear # Trail running shoes, 30L Osprey backpack, hiking poles 2-person tent + repair kit, sleeping bag (15°C) Rain jacket, thermals (top + bottom), long-sleeve top \u0026amp; trousers, sandals 2 pairs socks, 2 underwear, 2 sports bras (one for swimming) Headlamp, swiss army knife, thin scarf (doubles as towel) Cooking kit (stove + kettle), 4L water bottles Sunscreen, toothbrush, toilet paper, wet wipes, plastic bags 1.5kg roasted chickpeas 💧 Water: Plenty of good sources along the trail\n🗺️ Tip: Camping spots are marked on maps.me which is very handy\nUseful Links # Wikivoyage Hike the Lycian (blog) Sunrise Odyssey (blog) Itinerary # Day Route Notes 0 Arrive Antalya Met Emel via Couchsurfing 1 Antalya → Fethiye → Ovacık → Kirme (C1) Hitchhiked to trailhead 2 Kirme → Kabak (C2) Past Butterfly Valley 3 Kabak → Gey (C3) Sheltered with sheep farmers in the rain 4 Gey → Patara (C4) Hitchhiked the 12km beach section 5 Patara → Kalkan → Kaputaş Beach → Kaş (C5) Swam at Kaputaş; camped at the amphitheatre 6 Kaş → Demre (Myra) → Phaselis → Antalya Ancient city tour; hitchhiked back Day 0: Sunday - Antalya #I found Emel through Couchsurfing when she accepted my request to stay at her family\u0026rsquo;s place in Antalya. She greeted me with a huge Turkish breakfast, and we spent the day exploring the city, walking along the beach with comically oversized waffles. That evening I told her about the Lycian Way, one of the oldest trails in Turkey and supposedly one of the most beautiful walks in the world.\n\u0026ldquo;It would be so cool if I could join you,\u0026rdquo; she said. Then after a pause: \u0026ldquo;Let me ask my boss tomorrow.\u0026rdquo;\nI thought: highly unlikely. But I was happy she was excited.\nDay 1: Monday - Ovacık to Kirme #When I woke up, she was already at work. At 10:30am, a message: she\u0026rsquo;d got the week off.\n\u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m coming with you!\u0026rdquo;\nBy 12:30 we were hitchhiking out of Antalya with full packs. First a truck, then a car, then a minibus to Fethiye, and finally to Ovacık, the trailhead. Three hours total, faster than any bus.\nWe set off at 15:30, a little late. The first few kilometres were a gentle coastal climb with beautiful sea views. As we gained elevation the fog rolled in, and we found a spot to pitch the tent.\nWe knew it would rain that night. We didn\u0026rsquo;t know it would be a full thunderstorm.\nIt started around 9pm. Wind, then heavy rain, then a tent pole snapping, the whole side collapsed onto us. Then lightning, close enough to light up the sky like a strobe. Then thunder, close enough to shake the ground.\nEmel was calm. I was frantically Googling \u0026ldquo;what to do in a lightning storm while camping.\u0026rdquo; Lesson learned: know your storm protocols before you need them. Bring a tent repair kit.\nWe made it through, hunched inside, covering our eyes and ears. Looking back, it\u0026rsquo;s exactly those moments that make you feel how small and alive you are.\nDay 2: Tuesday - Kirme to Kabak #We slept in.\nThe walk took us through villages and past Butterfly Valley, worth a detour for the views. There\u0026rsquo;s a steep path down to the beach, but with the wet ground from the night before, we skipped it.\nWe met a group of Ukrainians on the trail, and a Russian man hiking with his family gave us a tent pole splint to fix our broken pole. It saved the rest of the trip. The kindness of strangers, honestly.\nDay 3: Wednesday - Kabak to Gey #A beautiful morning, followed by pouring rain. We took the coastal route, well-marked but narrow and bushy, and got completely soaked.\n(Lesson 2: waterproof packing cubes. Plastic bags are not enough.)\nWalking through it, Emel and I talked about languages and shared passions. She speaks Turkish, English, Korean, and both Turkish and International Sign Language, she\u0026rsquo;s half-deaf, and her parents are both deaf. She reads lips. We also invented our own language of gestures, made up songs, and laughed hysterically through the cold for no reason at all.\nWhen the rain got too heavy to continue, we started to pitch the tent roadside, and then another stranger appeared. A man in his 50s, working a nearby sheep farm, gestured us into a little hut where he and his wife had a fire going. They were waiting out the rain before riding home on their motorbike.\nWe dried our clothes by the fire, slept next to the sheep. The sheep were being kept for Eid.\nDay 4: Thursday - Gey to Patara #An early start, right after dawn.\nAround noon we reached Patara beach and napped in the sun. Then we hitchhiked the 12km beach stretch, surprisingly easy despite minimal traffic, and passed some Xanthos ruins along the way. We restocked food in town and ended up sleeping in the Patara National Park car park.\nWe were not supposed to do that. We slept like babies.\nDay 5: Friday - Patara to Kaş #A beautiful five-hour morning walk to Kalkan. The trail was overgrown in places and we fought through the stinging bushes with our poles feeling like absolute warriors. Long sleeves: seriously recommended.\nFrom Kalkan we hitchhiked to Kaputaş Beach, turquoise water, dramatic cliffs. We stripped off our dusty hiking clothes and jumped straight in. Completely worth the stop.\nThen on to Kaş - Emel\u0026rsquo;s hometown. We pitched the tent on top of the ancient amphitheatre, apparently the only one in the world that faces the sea.\nDay 6: Saturday - Kaş to Antalya #We spent the morning wandering Kaş, Emel\u0026rsquo;s first time back in a while. Then hitchhiked to Demre to see the Myra ruins, then to Phaselis for a picnic and a swim before heading back to Antalya.\nBy the time we got back it was dark, but Emel\u0026rsquo;s parents were up and fed us an enormous amount of food. Her father is also an adventurer, still hitchhikes, completely deaf and non-verbal. I found I communicated better with her family than with many people I share a language with. They\u0026rsquo;re so expressive and full of presence. It was a whole new world.\nThe Short Version #We walked ~100km, slept through a thunderstorm, survived pouring rain and burning sun and stinging bushes, hitchhiked on the back of an open truck (a dream for both of us), and were saved repeatedly by the kindness of strangers.\nThis is when we found a street plate with Emel\u0026rsquo;s Instagram handle on it.\nEmel made a short video of the trip, watch it here. She\u0026rsquo;s also done hitchhiking trips to the Balkans and Jordan, worth a follow (@secretgarden07).\nSometimes no-plan really is the best plan.\n","date":"April 24, 2019","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/lycian-way-turkey/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003ch1 id=\"6-days-hitchhiking-the-first-long-distance-trail-in-turkey\" class=\"relative group\"\u003e6 days (hitch)hiking the first long-distance trail in Turkey \u003cspan class=\"absolute top-0 w-6 transition-opacity opacity-0 -start-6 not-prose group-hover:opacity-100\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"group-hover:text-primary-300 dark:group-hover:text-neutral-700\" style=\"text-decoration-line: none !important;\" href=\"#6-days-hitchhiking-the-first-long-distance-trail-in-turkey\" aria-label=\"Anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h1\u003e\u003cp\u003eMy super-spontaneous trip to Turkey and an even more spontaneous hiking/hitchhiking adventure with my new Turkish friend Emel.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m terrible at making plans. I booked my flight two days before leaving, purely because it was the only affordable option out of Berlin on the day my Schengen Visa expired. None of what followed would have happened if it had been planned. My best travel memories rarely are.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Lycian Way, Turkey"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/countries/uk/","section":"Places","summary":"","title":"Uk"},{"content":"I had decided to walk the West Highland Way in Scotland in mid-June 2018, which was one of the most spontaneous decisions I\u0026rsquo;ve ever made in my life. I\u0026rsquo;d booked a flight to the UK a week before its departure and I only decided on walking the WHW after I arrived in Edinburgh. I started doing real research a few days before I started walking and my last-minute planning meant a lot of frantic googling on the internet and numerous calls to the cheapest accommodation available during one of the busiest seasons of the year.\nIf you are planning to camp out, then this won\u0026rsquo;t be a problem since you\u0026rsquo;ll be carrying your own accommodation. Also, if you\u0026rsquo;re willing to pay the money, there are many agencies that sell packages with accommodation, baggage transfer and other support all included.\nHowever, if you are walking for the first time on your own, want to keep it low budget, and don\u0026rsquo;t have your camping gear with you, I hope this will be helpful. One of the things I found most helpful on the internet were personal accounts of how they walked the trail and where they stayed.\nMy Itinerary # Route Distance Est. time Accommodation Day 1 Milngavie → Drymen 19km 5h Kip in the Kirk Day 2 Drymen → Rowardennan 23km 7h Rowardennan Lodge Youth Hostel Day 3 Rowardennan → Crianlarich 32km 10h Crianlarich Youth Hostel Day 4 Crianlarich → Bridge of Orchy 21km 5h West Highland Way Sleeper Day 5 Bridge of Orchy → Kings House 21km 5h Glencoe Independent Hostel Day 6 Kings House → Fort William 36km 10h — One thing I wish I could\u0026rsquo;ve done was to climb Ben Nevis (near Fort William) with an extra day at the end. However, due to a trail-running race on that particular weekend, all the accommodation was fully booked out. If you do decide to climb Ben Nevis, book Glen Nevis Youth Hostel which has great access to the mountain and is on the trail (£19 in 2018).\nAbout the West Highland Way #Elevation Profile # Total distance: 151km 30-minute train ride from Glasgow (although you could take an extra day to walk from Glasgow to Milngavie) One of the oldest and most famous Scottish walks Many solo hikers, first-timers, father-son duos and female hikers wild-camping for the first time! Booking Accommodation #I wanted to walk the entire way in 6 days and so I tried finding accommodations in recommended places for a 6-day itinerary. I booked all the hostels through Hostelworld. I found accommodation lists on baggage transfer service websites very useful — they often include a full list of stops with contact details. There is also an official website for the walk with lots of useful information.\nPacking for the Walk #Must-Bring Items # Buff, gloves and a woolly hat — even in summer, it gets pretty cold up there Midge spray — essential Head net for midges — not essential for non-campers but worth having just in case Compeed anti-blister stick and blister protection plasters (both!) Maps #You can buy all of these at a local outdoor shop and also at little village shops along the trail. The West Highland Way XT40 Route Map is a special map that fits the whole path into one single map by cutting it into sections.\nGuidebooks #West Highland Way (Trailblazer) by Charlie Loram — after comparing about a dozen guidebooks that people from all over the world brought, we came to the conclusion that this was the best one. It\u0026rsquo;s relatively cheap compared to others and although it\u0026rsquo;s mostly in black and white and doesn\u0026rsquo;t look as fancy as some, it gives you information on the details of the walk, the historic backgrounds and other must-know details to give your experience a lot more depth. Highly recommended.\nMy Story #Here\u0026rsquo;s a record of my days on the Way.\nDay 1 #8:30 Edinburgh → 10:30 Milngavie (train) 11:00 Milngavie — 16:00 Drymen (19km) weather: cloudy → sunny\nAccommodation: Kip in the Kirk B\u0026amp;B ★★★★★ Fantastic host, pretty building, warm clean showers and comfortable beds. Afternoon with freshly out-of-the-oven scone with jam and butter were waiting for me when I arrived. People from literally all over the world — from Texas, Germany, Israel… and me from Tokyo! There is a supermarket right across the road.\nNotes: Milngavie (pronounced \u0026lsquo;Mull-guy\u0026rsquo;) had lots of shops so if you need last-minute shopping, you can do that at the village center. Walked by a big group from the US, lots of female hikers in pairs (and they all seem to have their camping gear!). Walked most of the way with a woman from Austria, her first time solo-camping a trail. A very lovely woman and fantastic company to spend the first day of the trail (we later kept in touch throughout the journey to let each other know where we were).\nDay 2 #9:00 Drymen — 11:00 Conic Hill — 12:00 Balmaha (2h break and lunch at the Oak Tree Inn) — Rowardennan (23km) weather: cloudy with a bit of rain toward the end\nAccommodation: Rowardennan Lodge Youth Hostel ★★★ Clean with nice hot shower. Breakfast and dinner are optional (with extra cost) but there is a big canteen and an eating space where you can bring in your own food. However, there are no shops nearby so make sure to stock up on some food in Balmaha or Drymen. The hostel was ok, although it was a bit lonelier than the previous night since there was only one other person in my 6-bed room.\nNotes: The view from Conic Hill of Loch Lomond and the Highlands right before arriving at Balmaha was absolutely beautiful. We had lunch at the Oak Tree Inn but I recommend leaving early to arrive at the pub just before lunch if you want to get a seat. Tried traditional Scottish haggis for the first time. Most of the walk was right along the coast of Loch Lomond all the way to the hostel.\nDay 3 #7:00 Rowardennan — 11:00 Inversnaid — 15:00 Inverarnan — 18:00 Crianlarich (32km) Probably the most difficult section in the entire walk. The footing wasn\u0026rsquo;t great and it was a super long walk so my feet were killing me by the time we arrived at the hostel. weather: sunny with occasional clouds\nAccommodation: Crianlarich Youth Hostel ★★★★ Clean, hot shower (although water pressure wasn\u0026rsquo;t great), overall nice bedrooms and big canteen. Very close to the train station if you want to take a shortcut the next day. A decent shop with a lovely lady (with ATM) round the corner from the hostel, open from 7am–7pm. There were two pubs nearby too.\nNotes: The toughest day ever. E (whom I met on the first night in Drymen) and I decided to walk together and it was amazing how much I could talk about stuff that I never told anybody to this stranger who happened to be walking the same trail at the same time. He was from England and I was from Tokyo and we were both at a similar time in our lives, figuring stuff out, and there was so much I could relate to despite coming from two opposite ends of the planet. We went past some amazing woods in different greens, said our farewell to Loch Lomond that glistened under the sun, walked with the sheep, and just talked for 11 hours. By the end of the walk, my legs felt heavy like iron but my heart felt a bit lighter than when I started out. Walking is so therapeutic sometimes, when you have good company.\nThe night at the hostel was very interesting. Every person in the room was from a different part of the world!\nDay 4 #10:00 Crianlarich — 12:00 Tyndrum (2h break) — 18:00 Bridge of Orchy (21km) The road was a lot flatter, nicer on the legs, compared to the previous day. There are buses and trains connecting Crianlarich, Tyndrum and Bridge of Orchy if you feel like taking a rest day. There\u0026rsquo;s nothing much at Bridge of Orchy so make sure to do your shopping in Tyndrum. weather: super sunny with clear skies!\nAccommodation: West Highland Way Sleeper ★★★★ The bunkhouse is literally on the platform — you can wave at the passengers on the train in your pyjamas from the bunks. It\u0026rsquo;s very cosy with about 12 beds, 2 showers and 2 bathrooms. They serve some croissants and toast in the morning if you tell the lady the night before, but there\u0026rsquo;s a pub down the road where you can have a proper big breakfast. The warm water for the shower seems to run out pretty quickly so you might want to get there first.\nNotes: Woke up pretty late, my knee was killing me and so I decided to send my big backpack to Bridge of Orchy for the day and walk with the minimum baggage. The hostel arranged it nicely for me. I walked slowly for my knee and it was the first time to actually walk on my own. Because I started walking pretty late, there weren\u0026rsquo;t many people on the trail and it felt nice to be able to feel the tranquility of the vast nature all for myself. I felt my senses come alive a lot more and I was taking in my surroundings like I never had before.\nFrom Tyndrum to Bridge of Orchy was a straight long path through the high mountains on both sides and I saw nobody for miles and miles and felt so alone but safe and overwhelmed by the beauty of my surroundings. Since I was in no hurry and I was on my own, I would occasionally stop to lay down on the grass to stare up at the blue skies, open up my sketchbook and watercolours to do some sketches and journal in my diary. I would walk behind a mother sheep and a baby lamb playing around with each other with so much affection.\nAfter arriving at Bridge of Orchy, I ordered my first ever pint of beer at the pub, played cards with people from all over the place — Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland. I also met a very nice couple from Czech Republic.\nThis day was probably my favourite out of all days, maybe because of the amazing weather, but also because I really took my time to enjoy my surroundings.\nDay 5 #8:30 Bridge of Orchy – 14:00 Kings House (2h cakes and coffee) – (hitchhike) — 16:30 Glencoe Village (wandering around) — 21:00 arrive at hostel (21km) weather: sunny with a bit of cloud at Kings House but clear sky toward the end of the day — amazing sunset.\nAccommodation: Glencoe Independent Hostel ★★★★ This independent hostel is located about 20km off the WHW to the west, near Glencoe Village. You can take the bus from Glencoe Mountain Resort, but hitchhiking is usually easy. Note: Kings House Hotel was under construction in 2018, making accommodation in this area difficult — check current availability before planning. Staying at one of the Glencoe hostels is one of the more affordable options. Glencoe Village and the surrounding area is a popular place to visit, with culture centres, historical sites and some nice short hikes around the lochs. The hostels are about 3km walk from the village centre, so make sure to stock up on some food in the village shop before arriving.\nAnother option is to stay at the Glencoe Mountain Resort in one of the pods, which sits right along the WHW. A third option is to walk on to Kinlochleven, where there are more accommodations available — there are also buses from Kings House if you\u0026rsquo;re too tired to make the full section.\nNotes: Had a big breakfast at the pub and walked to the Mountain Resort with E and two Germans who shared their interesting stories. We arrived at Kings House in about 4.5 hours, had a break and some of us hitchhiked down to Glencoe Village. It was my first time hitchhiking and the woman who gave us a lift was very adventurous — walking from the west coast to the east coast of Scotland on her own, rock-climbing and more. In Glencoe, I took a walk around Loch Leven and Glencoe Lochan, munched on some bread and apples, sketched and journalled a bit, then went back to the hostel. Glencoe Village is famous for the Glencoe Massacre and there are lots to see so I wish I could\u0026rsquo;ve stayed another day. The hostel was way too far away from the village center to walk though. But it was cheap and the facility was great so no complaining.\nDay 6 #6:20 Glencoe Village — (hitchhike) — 6:40 Kings House – 10:00 Kinlochleven – 16:00 Fort William (36km) weather: sunny/cloudy\nTook the last train at 17:25 from Fort William to Edinburgh (approx. 5h). Fort William is a large town with most amenities. There\u0026rsquo;s not much along the route until Fort William so make sure to stock up before that.\nAlthough the easiest and the fastest way to travel to Glasgow or Edinburgh from Fort William would be to take the bus, you\u0026rsquo;d have to book it in advance. Also, the view from the train is just so amazing that it was worth the money and time.\nNotes: My original plan was to skip the section between Kings House and Kinlochleven — which includes the Devil\u0026rsquo;s Staircase — and get a bus to Kinlochleven and walk from there to Fort William to catch the last train. However, I really wanted to complete the whole walk. So instead of waiting for the first bus in the morning, I woke up at 5:00 and tried hitchhiking to Kings House where I left off the previous day. It had to be early so that I could walk 36km in time for the last train. If I couldn\u0026rsquo;t catch a ride by 6:30am, I was going to give up and take the shortcut bus to Kinlochleven.\nI wasn\u0026rsquo;t successful and I was almost in despair, about to give up, when a car stopped. Three Irish guys who happened to work at Kings House Hotel offered me a ride. Perfect location, perfect timing — how kind. I felt like God was with me that day, and the morning breeze felt cold against my skin but I felt exhilarated for the 36km adventure. Running down the hills after the Devil\u0026rsquo;s Staircase felt so amazing. No words can describe it.\nManaged to catch the train back to Edinburgh on that day. Great view from the train. My feet were sore and worn out but my heart and soul had been filled with so much energy, love and encouragement. I felt a bit more confident about myself, for being able to plan a trip and go through with it, and I was surprised by how much I didn\u0026rsquo;t mind walking for hours on my own. I also learned how therapeutic nature was — I should do this more often. And the people I met on the trail all had amazing stories to share.\n","date":"April 23, 2019","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/posts/walking-the-west-highland-way-for-beginners-female-solo-hikers-last-minute-walkers/","section":"Posts","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI had decided to walk the \u003cstrong\u003eWest Highland Way\u003c/strong\u003e in Scotland in mid-June 2018, which was one of the most spontaneous decisions I\u0026rsquo;ve ever made in my life. I\u0026rsquo;d booked a flight to the UK a week before its departure and I only decided on walking the WHW after I arrived in Edinburgh. I started doing real research a few days before I started walking and my last-minute planning meant a lot of frantic googling on the internet and numerous calls to the cheapest accommodation available during one of the busiest seasons of the year.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"West Highland Way, Scotland"},{"content":"","date":"July 30, 2017","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/logentries/2017-07-30-enzan-area-cycling-14/","section":"Log Entries","summary":"","title":"Enzan area 塩山 cycling"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/logentries/","section":"Log Entries","summary":"","title":"Log Entries"},{"content":"","date":"February 9, 2017","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/logentries/2017-02-09-adatara-san-12/","section":"Log Entries","summary":"","title":"Adatara-san 安達太良山"},{"content":"","date":"October 27, 2016","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/logentries/2016-10-27-hiwada-yama-11/","section":"Log Entries","summary":"","title":"Hiwada-yama 日和田山"},{"content":"","date":"September 17, 2016","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/logentries/2016-09-17-hiwada-yama-10/","section":"Log Entries","summary":"","title":"Hiwada-yama 日和田山"},{"content":"","date":"July 2, 2016","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/logentries/2016-07-02-kinpo-zan-8/","section":"Log Entries","summary":"","title":"Kinpo-zan 金峰山"},{"content":"","date":"January 10, 2016","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/logentries/2016-01-10-kagura-ga-mine-5/","section":"Log Entries","summary":"","title":"Kagura-ga-mine 神楽ヶ峰"},{"content":"","date":"January 1, 1","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/all/","section":"Mountain Diaries","summary":"archives","title":"All"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/all/","section":"All Posts","summary":"","title":"All Posts"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/gallery/","section":"Gallery","summary":"","title":"Gallery"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/logbook/","section":"Logbook","summary":"","title":"Logbook"},{"content":"","date":"January 1, 1","permalink":"https://mountaindiaries.com/search/","section":"Mountain Diaries","summary":"Search","title":"Search"}]