TNT Day 2 - what's that smell?

 7 Sept 

Map 1: (tent) Arashi-yama -> Kenkyo-ji -> Sekiro-yama -> Ishizare-yama ->  Bakansumura Camping Ground (campground)

Another lovely day of 30°c and high humidity

Things that I didn't succumb to in the night: bears, boars, deer, leeches, murder wasps, spiders, sleep.

The sun woke up to me, as last night I didn't get much sleep, too keyed up about animals, people, weather, tomorrows plans, etc. I'm hoping it was just first night jitters and that I will be able to get more shut-eye over the coming nights. Another thing to note is that everything is damp, whether it be from sweat or the humidity over night - it's constant and not at all pleasant.

I was packed up and walking down Arashi-yama by 7, this decent had a few ups and downs, many many spiders and some mushrooms.

Next up was Kenkyo-ji, the path up was quite literally a stream in places, but once there it delivered something that I had been looking for for the last 4km, a restroom!!

The trail though the temple was shut so a slight detour took me around the back and then up to Sekiro-yama.

The path up from Kenkyo-ji to Sekiro-yama was nice, and quite busy. At the peak there were 4 other groups already there and as I ate lunch more groups arrived and left, a large group of parents and kids also rocked up just after noon. Conversely I didn't see anyone on the way down. I did see this little guy though -this is the 3rd of these I've come across now.

The decent (which may not be used very often) lead my to a cute little village where all the houses had name plaques with little sunshades.

 I stopped at Fukushin-in graveyard for a drink and a bit of shade. Met these chickens crossing the road, they weren't very talkative, much too focused on the bugs.

Next up was Ishizare-yama, this was a rather pleasant walk, until I was faced with the stairs leading straight up for the last 300m to the peak. I only saw a single trail runner on his way down on my way up.

Down the other side, at 4:45 I decided to stop at a campground for the night as I didn't know if there would be any spots to do so in the village I was approaching. Unfortunately for myself and anyone in my vicinity they don't have showers ...

I am now weighing up my choices for tomorrow, as it is possibly going to rain for much of the day, and I am starting to smell horrendous, as myself and my clothes have been drenched in sweat for at least 24 of the last 48hrs - a wash is really needed. The heat and humidity are also really sucking my energy - I am having to force myself to eat during the heat of the day, and the amount of water I have been carrying is weighing me down.

~13km today and I don't think I'll be able to really do more per day until it cools off, elevation gain lessens or my legs get longer.

Leeches: I