So, the last few days before the event itself, and time to finish off this list with a few of my final pearls. In case you missed them, you can find Rules 1 to 5 and 6 to 8 on previous blogs.
Rule 9: Be prepared for bad conditions: We discovered on Kumotori-san, that hiking can get really serious really quickly if conditions deteriorate – be as prepared as you can, but stay as light-weight as possible. Hiking is basically an optimization problem involving weight and bulk of back-pack on one hand, and safety and comfort on the other. Different people have different tolerances in terms of their carry and comfort threshold – personally, I prefer to travel a bit heavier and be more comfortable during the hike, so I tend to carry more food than necessary, and a few changes of clothes where others might make do in wet ones for a few hours. The essentials are covered in our 100km packing list
Rule 10: Regardless of all else, enjoy the hiking – Japan has some beautiful, unique and very accessible back-country. Make the most of it , and enjoy every opportunity you get to be in the great Japan outdoors. And what better way than 48 hours out on the hiking trails 