KARAMATSU PEAK, Nagano Pref. -- The sight of the red and green mountain huts nestled below the summit of Mount Karamatsu was a welcome one. It was there that I planned to rest my aching legs for the coming night.
Considering that I'd been hiking up hill and down dale for six hours since leaving Mount Shirouma soon after sunrise, I'd made it in good time.
In perfect hiking weather on day two of a three-day sojourn high in the Japanese Alps, I'd already admired dozens of different alpine flowers: white gentians, orange lilies, purple bellflowers and the diminutive pink, fragrant wild thyme.