Fuji for real? Pt. I

Full disclosure: we were unable to see the sunrise. We were dismayed by full cloud cover at the summit, just like the time we hiked up Mt. Sorrow in Australia. Although the view is supposed to be breathtaking, I remain unconvinced that this sight alone can make up for the colossal disappointment that is the rest of the Fujisan experience. First and foremost, the mountain is horrendously overcrowded. All sides are crawling with herds of tourists. Of course, I am a tourist myself and should not, therefore, look down upon those who simply wish to see more of the world than their own backyards. I have no problem, however, criticizing people who ascend in such painfully slow-moving flocks that the trail becomes one giant human traffic jam. We were stunned by the complete lack of oversight on the part of Japan's national park service. It would appear that there is little or no regulation with regard to how many travel agencies are allowed to book tours within the same time frame. Given that some of the trails can get rather narrow in spots, this presents a problem to climbers who are younger or fitter than the masses being gently coaxed from one boulder to the next. We found ourselves scrambling around group after group, risking some rather precarious footing in an effort to actually get somewhere before dawn. Even more incredulous than the Disneylandification of this national treasure was the preponderance of professional climbing gear on the poor souls who barely managed to crawl ten feet in ten minutes. Though they were clearly in no shape to be anywhere near a hiking trail, some of these people were dressed appropriately for immediate relocation to Mt. Everest base camp. Gear does not a climber make. I will say that the headlight I wore for the first time in my life was awesome and highly recommend it to anybody going at night. The people with hand held flashlights were less agile on the rocky parts.