So one day I went for a walk...

As the sun was rising this morning, and I was breaking camp, the sound of monks chanting morning prayer slowly drifted through the trees from a temple on the next mountain. This sound, slow, calm and steady broke me out of a funk. I feel pretty shit about having to turn back, and I am generally questioning if I am really able to manage the tokai even when the weather cools. But that chanting reminded me of where I was, and the shape of my problem; I am in Japan, and frankly it's amazing to be here. Even if all my planning and good intentions get tossed out the window, I have an incredible opportunity to explore a country I have found fascinating for my entire life. When I get back to Osaka I will keep this in mind.  Whatever plan i land on next, it will be grounded in the fact I have so much in front of me to choose from. After all, how often have I repeated the mantra "fail fast" in my professional life.  I have failed fast, and that's not a bad ...

It is now 5:30am the sun has not yet risen and it is 26C. In this heat I do not think I am capable of carrying enough food and water to take a slow enough pace to continue. Botht weight and the bulk of the additional supplies to support a slower pace to accommodate the heat simply won't fit in my bag and be far to heavy if it did. I had hoped that starting the hike in September would have helped me avoid the summer heat, but it seems I was overly optimistic. I am going to return to Osaka now and regroup. Work out a different plan and then return to the trail once the weather is more favourable. I feel it is too risky to move forward knowing the conditions, possibly stranding myself between Osaka and Kyoto. Not a great start.

It is 7:30pm, It is dark, and I am sitting in my tent in my underwear sweating. My clothing from the day is soaked. It must be 30C in my tent. I've said this before in many posts, but I cannot understate the serious issue the heat here is becoming. During the day it is an intense, ever present challenge, sapping my energy as fast as the hiking. But at night it present a more insidious concern for me. My tent is unexpectedly good at capturing my body heat, of which I produce copious amounts of. Even when I take my rain fly layer off the tent (and risk getting rained on in the night, messing gear up inside the tent) and expose all my vent panels, including the main one stretching the arch of the ceiling, it is still significantly warmer in here than outside.  And I cannot leave my door flap open for more than a moment before my tent is invaded by all manner on insect. Add to that the other issue of my air mattress.  Specially selected for its a design and materials that refl...

This is the first real day of hiking, and the heat and humidity from yesterday continues today. I spent a lot of time planing, and in retrospect over emphasized my concern about the colder periods of my hike in late October and through through November. While this has lead me to bring all the gear I need, i failed to prepare mentally for the hot period in early September.  It's had been a serious shock to my system.  Before coming here I did a little of 300km of walking and hiking in Calgary, trying to prepare physically. And to some extent it has helped.  But for any physical progress I made before the trip, the climate of Calgary is nothing like the climate of Japan and my system is struggling to acclimate. The saving grace in all this is that I knew how punishing the would be generally, and I planned for a slow hike.  If I keep a pace of 15km per day I will finish in roughly 63 days, leaving me 27 spare for exploration and break days.  Right now ...