Day 22 - another beautiful day

MCT Day 3 — When the River Says No

Cindy was not enthusiastic about the 7 a.m. start, but we joined the children traveling to school and took the train back to yesterday’s stopping point at Rikuchū-Nakano.

The day’s main obstacle was the Koge River, which the official trail crosses on foot. We arrived near low tide prepared to ford it, but the water was rushing far too strongly. Experience sometimes means knowing when not to cross, so we backtracked and followed the highway bridge detour. Our expected 14 mile day eventually became 17 miles.

After that came forest paths, rugged Pacific cliffs, mushrooms recycling a fallen tree, chestnuts drying beside the road and the quiet Itsukushima Shrine. Its red torii marks the passage into sacred ground, while a wonderfully carved lion-dog guards the wooden shrine.

We also found a dead snake on the road, probably a tiger keelback—or yamakagashi. It is an extraordinary snake: venomous through its rear fangs and also able to store toxins from the toads it eats in glands behind its head. An exciting find, especially in a form that did not require emergency medical care!

We met seven other people walking portions of the trail. Bears were a frequent topic: one couple said they had been told they could not hike without bear spray. Iwate has recently experienced several serious attacks, so this was more than casual trail conversation. We would enjoy seeing one—from a generous distance.

The train stations also have digital stamps featuring local mascots and symbols: squid, festival floats, sharks, fishermen and ama divers. Japan seems determined that every town—and every manhole cover—should have its own personality.

We finally reached Kuji after 8 hours 15 minutes, 17 miles and 1,529 feet of climbing. The river won the crossing, but we won the day.Read more