Mt Akadake hike (Southern Yatsugatake, Nagano)

Let's try again! Last hiking attempt at Yatsugatake in Nagano resulted in us starting at a completely different trailhead than intended and hiking to a peak we hadn't considered at all (Nishi/Higashi Tengudake hike post here). 

This time, we wanted to get to the top of the tallest peak of the Yatsugatake mountain group - Akadake. There are many different routes in the area which include sumitting Akadake, especially if you don't mind spending the night tent camping or in a mountain hut, but we wanted hike with a little less commitment and chose a route that would allow us to get up and back within 8 hours. 

We did this hike on September 30, 2023. 

We were out of the house at 01:50 in the morning, aiming to get a spot in the nearest parking lot (eliminating the need to do an additional 1 hour's worth of hiking). We were lucky that M&M's car could handle the unsurfaced road and got one of the last few spots near Minoto Sanso (parking fee 1000yen) for non-guests. 

We got our gear on and started on our way just after 05:30am. This was the route we were aiming for.

We started the hike among a few other groups which made me feel like maybe we were finally hiking on a good weather day (if other people thought it would be a good day)? It's a little junk to have to pace yourself around others, but I'd much prefer that to another hike in the rain with no one around!

We weren't hiking to specifically see koyo/autumn colors, but there were a few spots with some red/orangey leaves which I really appreciated.

Without too much fuss, we made it to Gyojagoya at 07:30, just about right on pace. It was colder than I had expected, even just at this elevation (approx 2350m) with cloudy skies ahead :/

The trail is well maintained and easy to follow. There was a sign or two that was a little faded, but nothing you couldn't figure out. 

Somewhat similarly to Tengudake, there was a rocky a near the summit. This one was a bit longer and slightly more challenging compared to Tengu though with lots more hikers wearing helmets. 

Arrived at the summit at 09:20! Again, pretty much on pace for what we wanted, if anything a little quicker (which we didn't mind). Unfortunately, it was all grey and cloudy though, even at 2899m. 

None of us were quite prepared for it to be this casually cold at the top (although we weren't nearly freezing in comparison to other hikes in the rain), so we took a break at the mountain hut at the top for some coffee/hot chocolate and a snack.

 I had really hoped that the clouds might lift for a second or so while we were up there, but no such luck.

Just after 10:00, we started our descent on a slightly different path than we had ascended, there some some aspects that I found a little tricky/hadn't encountered before. Luckily M&M are more experienced and also quite patient with me, so they were able to give me some tips to get through it.

Said hi to Jizo on the way down (at 10:35).

And kept going and going. We could see the red roof of Gyojagoya in the distance!

I'm always the one holding up this group on the descent because I'm just not sure-footed enough or confident in where I'm stepping (plus I overthink and am overly cautious). But that just gives them time to take these pictures of me struggling lol. 

Took a breather at this same mountain hut at 11:30. From here, we'd be retracing our steps pretty much exactly back to the car.

Clouds started parting a bit and some sun and blue skies got through! Maybe if we had been a couple hours slower to get to the summit... lol.

Tbh, the way down was a little monotonous and felt slow compared to how we experienced it earlier in the day. Part of it is that I held up the group (I literally hike so much slower down than up), but also I think we were all just looking forward to getting out of there at a certain point!

Check out that blue sky as we finish up the hike :)

Mt Akadake hike complete at 13:30! 

This hike/peak is one of the more popular ones in Yatsugatake, especially because of the max elevation, but somehow, we didn't seem to enjoy the route itself that much. We appreciated some of the landscape and the changing colors, but after talking to M later, we both agreed that we liked the Tengu route more (thunder, lighting and rain notwithstanding). Absolutely no regrets about doing it of course, and I was happy with how quickly we were able to complete it, even with the three decent size breaks we took.