Snowshoe Hakkoda

Snowshoe Hakkoda Mountain

2 January 2006 - Snowshoeing up Hakkoda Mountain

We decided to bring in the new year with a hike up Hakkoda Mountain. Only thing is, there is 10 feet of snow on the mountain, so it's time to try out snowshoeing. 6 of us piled into a Delica van and headed out to the mountain. In the group were two new guys we just met, Eric and Jeremy, and Scott Z and Amy. The hike up the mountain is to a cabin up near one of the peaks of the hakkoda range.

Since it was our first time snowshoeing, it was good to be going with a few people who knew what they were doing. Scott and Eric had both been up the mountain before. But, like anything else we do, we couldn't just do it regular...so we decided to carry plastic sleds up the hill, so when we got to the top, we could sled down, rather than just walk down. So we set out from the parking lot with snowshoes on our feet and of course, yellow camera case at the hip. Our first trek across from the parking lot to the trail head met immediate peril...while trying to take the pictures below, I crossed up the snowshoes, and ate crap all the while keeping my camera from hitting the snow while plunging my ungloved hand into the snowbank. I found out early you really have to pay attention to where you step. Then, we had to cross the road to get to the trail, so we had to jump down the snowbank into the road, which was interesting, but passed without incident or injury.

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After crossing the road, we headed up the trail. I say trail, because luckily for us, it had not snowed for at least a day, because there was already a trail broken in the deep powder snow. Even in snow shoes, when you would step in the untouched snow, you would sink up to a foot. So, if you are the first one to walk the route after a good snowfall, you have to break trail. Uses up a TON of energy to do it. But, on this hike, the trail was already set. We followed the route packed down by those who had walked before us.

The one bit of advice we did get on snowshoeing was :DON'T BACK UP. The snowshoes pivot around the balls of your feet, making them really easy to hike up steep grades. They also have steel claws on the bottom for traction. However, if you walk backwards, the claws catch, and your feet stop, and you don't...we got an example of what not to do early on from Jeremy.

As you hike up the trail, you the different trees, and how the snow attaches to each one. It is a fascinating place, the snowed forest.

About a third of the way up the trail, there is a tree called the hanging tree (look at the branch to see why). It's a very distinguishable feature along the trail, and it is also a great gauge to see how much snow there is on the mountain. There has been enough snow in recent years to sit on the branch.

The first 3/4 of the trail is up and down small hills through the forest. The last bit of the hike begins by entering a small canyon, and taking the canyon up to the top. In the forest, you are somewhat shielded from the wind and snow. The canyon is bare of trees - the wind comes whipping up the canyon, and can get pretty nasty. Also, you are getting higher on the mountain, and the canyon is usually clouded in, as it was when we got there. The canyon leg of the journey is also the steepest part of the hike. So, the canyon section makes the hike a little bit more for the adventurous at heart. One thing that is good is that the wind blows up the canyon. And, seeing as we had large plastic sleds strapped to our backs, we kinda had built-in wind shields. Worked out pretty nice.

An awesome part of the canyon is the amazing ice the winds create on the snow-covered rocks and trees. The ice is streaked and flows in intricate patterns along the terrain, carved that way by what must be hellacious wind. Unfortunately, rarely is there good light to take photos of the natural sculpted ice blocks.

After topping out in the canyon, the trail wraps around the lesser peak to the cabin. Eric, Jeremy, and I decided to take the direct, shortcut route through the unbroken snow, while Z took the girls around on the marked route. The shortcut, while maybe shorter, is a little hard to follow when you are walking in a cloud through knee-deep snow, surrounded by trees covered in the while stuff...needless to say, we got to the cabin 2nd.

The cabin has one large room with three levels of bunk areas. When we arrived, there were already a large gathering of Japanese there, making the cabin quite packed and quite warm. Many of the Japanese had brought camping stoves and were eating hot meals. We settled for our PBnJ and some M&Ms. We plan to do an overnighter some time later while we are here. Should be interesting. If you look at the photo of the cabin below, you can see the door off to the left. As the snow continues to fall into the winter, that door will be covered up, and you end up using another door that is up near the roof, and you take a ladder down once inside.

Now comes the part we had been waiting for. We headed out from the cabin, and started walking down the canyon, just waiting to try out the sleds. At the top, the visibility was so poor, we couldn't jump on them at first. A little ways into the walk down, we decided to give it a go. And, while it turned out to be a fun attempt, there was so much snow that the sleds would mostly get bogged down in the powder. There were a couple hills steep enough and a path defined enough to get a little ride. However, it was quite the chore trying to keep your snowshoes up and on the sled while steering to stay on the path. We concluded that we needed a sled with a much larger surface area to get through all the powder that it up there...

Most gave up on their sledding attempts as we got into the forest section. Walking down the trail on snowshoes proved very easy and quick going, and it breezed by.

Near the bottom of the trail, we came across one small section of ground that was not white. While everything else as far as the eye could see was covered in snow, this one crack showed greenery and rock. As we came up on it, we noticed some steam coming out of the ground. As you may or may not know, Japan sits on the Ring Of Fire - basically, a circular chain of volcanic islands that circle the eastern Pacific. Japan is really a series of volcanic islands, with some still active. And, there are hot springs and vents, like this small one, all around Japan. This one was keeping this area warm enough to keep the tremendous amount of snow falling away...

As we neared the trailhead, I got the old sled one more shot, only to end up eating snow.

All in all, a great hike...

Notice the snow bank behind us in the group shot...that is where we had to come down on the way up....also, cool snow cave leading down to an onsen nearby.

We did have some additional excitement on the way home...remember that photo above of the road...

Well, as we were driving down the mountain, we reached a small curve, and our van did a complete 360 right in the middle of the road. Unbelievably, the van did not strike either snow bank while spinning, the people behind us saw early enough for them to stop, and there was no one coming up the road at the time...so it turned out to just be a fun ride, even if it did scare the crap out of us while it was happening...