The Michinoku Trail and I are not clicking. It is as simple and as difficult as that. Sitting here, trying to decide what to do, I ask myself whether it is him or me? Or is it just both of us not being in sync.
I try to figure out what it is that puts me off so much and I am just not sure, which is, why I booked a few more places until the end of the month, but also building in huge shortcuts, basically picking and choosing what I want to do.
Let me start with the thing (yes, I use the singular) I really like: the people and their stories! Wherever I go and have conversations there is a personal story that lets the person shine. I am not going to tell the stories here, as that is a blog post in itself. And then there is the other side.
When I decided to walk the Michinoku and started the research, I was pre-warned, that long stretches are actually on roads, and I had that with other trails before. The Camino Frances has quite a few of them and so does the Henro, but I just had no clue how much it would be.
I probably made the mistake to actually start in the south, as I encountered some gruesome up to 9km long straight lines of walking on tarmac in extreme heat…
And I was not prepared for the mental toll of hiking through an area, that used to be inhabited by thousands of people who are now gone. Either because they were victim to the tsunami or because they moved away afterwards.
At the same time places are rebuild really beautifully but completely lifeless as no one is there who will use them… It is like walking through a ghost town, waiting for someone coming out of a house.
When I finally hit a part that brought me into nature, the trail was just plain dangerous. I was literally hanging on a rope for my dear life. Considering that a Japanese construction site is like Fort Knox in terms of safety, it really haunts me. Check out this blog entry from my last trip to Japan. Then the marking of the trail is at times difficult and the other day led me into a complete wrong direction. I somehow figured out how to get off the mountain, but don’t ask for the bruises…I understand, that maintenance of a 1000 km long trail costs and is not always supported and the people who put their heart into it are AMAZING. Nevertheless, I wonder how many people get hurt while hiking. Perhaps it is just me being clumsy and scared like shit, but the decision to hike a mountain or not here is every single time a tough one for me.
And when you are happily off road, you will be surprised how much garbage is accumulating in the mountains… Yes, there is a fine… but never mind, who will see you throwing things away in the middle of nowhere?
To cut a long story short, I am cutting the Michinoku short. I am not going to leave mid trail (being proud and so on) but I will choose very selectively where I go and where I hike.
One Year - Five Continents 