I wasn't really big into hiking when I lived back in Canada. In Calgary, a mere hour away from the Rockies, I only ever went to the mountains to snowboard. Since coming to Hokkaido - the outdoor mecca of Japan filled with easily accessible hills and mountain - I was immediately drawn to take up hiking as a hobby. Like my friend Eliza said, "[In a Scottish accent] I twig you like the outdoors a wee bit." I've hiked quite a few of Hokkaido's mountains over the past two summers but I had yet to tackle the biggest mountain range of them all - Daisetsuzan.

Last weekend presented us with a five-day weekend consisting of three consecutive national holidays (the Japanese really know how to celebrate), dubbed Silver Week. Taking advantage of all this free time, I signed up for a guided multi-day trek in Daisetsuzan. Our route started in a gorge on the Eastern side of the mountains and ending at an onsen town on the Western side, spanning 40km and topping numerous mountain peaks - namely Kurodake, Hakkundake, Chudake, and Kaundake. There were nine of us in my group: five ALTs, two ex-pats, one Japanese woman, and our Kiwi guide, Leon.

Loaded down with our 20kg packs, we started the trek at Sounkyo Onsen with a ropeway gondola and chairlift ride that quickly brought us up to the 8th stage. After our first taste of the spectacular early-Autumn forest colors spread out below us, we began our steep three-hour ascent to the peak of Kurodake. The night was spent at a hut thirty minutes from the peak, packed with others taking advantage of the long weekend. The sun set at early 6:00pm, taking the day's warmth with it and leaving us in the unforgiving shadows of the mountains. The night was cold and sleepless for those of us who opted to stay in tents outside rather than in the warmth of the hut. The night was crisp and clear, displaying an amazingly rare glimpse of the Milky Way splashed across the night sky. I tried, unsuccessfully, to capture the moment with my camera.. but no picture can compare to being atop a mountain and closer, however minuscule, to the stars.

We spent the next three days trekking across the mountainous high country, making our way from peak to peak, only stopping long enough to rest and take epic photos on rocky outcrops. We stayed in huts for the remaining two nights, arriving before nightfall to make dinner as the sun went down, relying on our headlamps to avoid bumping into each other in the dark. The weather decided to cooperate and greeted us with warm sunshine and cloudless skies for each days' hike. Every morning we would rise with the sun and eat a hearty breakfast of oatmeal and coffee before setting out. We trekked over 16km for two of the days, walking over barren, rocky landscapes and scraping through knee-high brush, guided constantly by the towering peak of Asahidake on our right. We dropped down into river valleys, crossed withered glaciers, climbed up dried river beds, forded streams, and scrambled over boulders, continually working towards the next distant peak.

The last day of the trek saw us leave our lake-side hut near Kaundake for the long trek out of the mountains. The gradually sloping ridgeline we followed gave panoramic views of the river valleys and Asahikawa in the distance. As we dropped below the tree-line we began to navigate through overgrown underbrush, low-hanging tree branches, mud ponds threatening to swallow our boots, and along conveniently placed boardwalks through marshy wetlands. Once we reached the forest, the hard rocks underfoot began to be replaced by soft foliage and fallen pine needles. The path broadened out and I was able to change my focus from my footing to the amazing colors of the trees overhead. We were walking through a majestic forest awash in the reds, yellows and golds of Autumn. A few kilometers from the end of the hike, we stopped for a break at a lookout platform across the canyon from the misty Hagoramo Waterfalls. After a short hour descending down steep switchbacks, we finally arrived at our destination - Tenninkyo Onsen. The dirt accumulated on our bodies from the previous four days of trekking across Hokkaido was quickly washed off in a long, relaxing soak in the onsen, bringing to an end an amazing four days experiencing the wonders of Japan's outdoors.

Check out my album for more pictures of Daisetsuzan, and check out the Japan Adventures website for info on upcoming hikes around Hokkaido.