Uphill – Trailchew https://trailchew.com Trail Maps, Photos, Stats and Info Thu, 01 Oct 2020 16:38:16 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.2 https://trailchew.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/cropped-Trailchew-Icon--32x32.jpg Uphill – Trailchew https://trailchew.com 32 32 Fushimi Inari Trail – Orange Gates – Kyoto https://trailchew.com/fushimi-inari-trail-orange-gates-kyoto/ https://trailchew.com/fushimi-inari-trail-orange-gates-kyoto/#respond Tue, 06 Nov 2018 05:01:27 +0000 http://trailchew.com/?p=962 Close to the centre of Kyoto is the Fushimi Inari Trail. The trail is comprised of two loops, with very long sections of concrete steps. The Fushimi Inari trail will…

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Close to the centre of Kyoto is the Fushimi Inari Trail. The trail is comprised of two loops, with very long sections of concrete steps. The Fushimi Inari trail will take you to the top of Mount Inari while passing under 5,000 torii orange gates. This day hike is moderate with an elevation gain of 233 m, but every step is worth the effort. The orange gates and surrounding nature offer a magical retreat from the city. The trail could be hiked in just over an hour, but you would be missing out. Go slow to see all the good stuff. 

  •     Distance: 4 km
        Elevation Gain: 150m
        Time: 1 to 2 Hours

Route

The beginning is super busy, but the 3.7 km trail has lots of room for photos. . Plus, most people only venture around the bottom loop. The upper loop has less traffic because of the greater change in elevation. The entire trail is covered with stone tiles or steps, and they can become quite slippery. Shops can be found every 300 meters, but washrooms are much harder to find. There is only one washroom on the trail. Here is a link to the start of the Trail

 

The trail is super easy to follow, however there are a few junctions where a map check is handy. The buildings are numbered to let you know where are on The Map. There are a bunch of side trails with cute little tiny shrines and other things of interest. 

Shrines, Foxes and Food

The Inari shrine located at the top of the trail is the central location for some 40,000 Japanese shrines. The trails are lined with statues of foxes, which are seen as the messenger for the god of grains. The graveyards and miniature shrines are also quite interesting. On your way out, the local street food offers a large variety of tasty treats.   

 

Nearby Trails

On the North end of Kyoto is the Arashiyama District, which includes a Bamboo Forest, beautiful river, and Mountain Top Park with monkeys.  

Trip Advice

  • 2 Hour Walk

  • Go to the Bathroom Beforehand

  • Earlier the Better, but Sunlight is Key

  • Strong Selfie Potential

  • Birds and Boars

  • Mini Shrines are Cool

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]]> https://trailchew.com/fushimi-inari-trail-orange-gates-kyoto/feed/ 0 Hakone Trails – Chisuji Falls to Mt Byobu Hike https://trailchew.com/hakone-trails-chisuji-falls-to-mt-byobu-hike/ https://trailchew.com/hakone-trails-chisuji-falls-to-mt-byobu-hike/#respond Mon, 05 Nov 2018 04:27:44 +0000 http://trailchew.com/?p=958 Less than 100 km's from Tokyo is the mountainous Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. This park has some of the best Hakone trails for hiking and running. You have to be lucky…

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Less than 100 km's from Tokyo is the mountainous Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. This park has some of the best Hakone trails for hiking and running. You have to be lucky to see Mt Fuji, but it is worth the chance. If you cant' see Fuji, the trail system around Hakone will not disappoint. The trails run up and over tree covered peaks, and back down into lush valley's with amazing waterfalls. One of the best day hike's is between the 350 year old Ancient Cedars near Lake Ashi.

  •     Total Distance: 10 km
        Elevation Gain: 805 m
        Time: 2 to 4 Hours

Route

You will need an offline map with GPS to find your way around the Hakone trails. First, pick up a free local trail map at a hotel to plan your route. There a lots of trails in Hakone that have been abandoned, which is why I you need to local trail map. The Alltrails App is great once you know which trails are still in use. There are very few signs on the this trail. Lots to see on this tough trail run. 

 

You really need to work hard to stay on the trail. Study the map so you know when to expect a junction, and best to keep tabs on the offline map. Had a tough time finding the trails when they crossed over the road. It doesn't really matter which way you go, as long as you head in the right direction, since the trail follows the road. Ancient Cedar Avenue is not included in the All Trails route, but it is only a few hundred meters away from the end.  

Old Cedars, Waterfalls, and Vertical

Ancient Cedar Avenue is lined with 350 year old cedars and is one of the best Hakone Trails. Hard to believe it used to be a road, but everything here is super old. Chisuju Falls is so amazing, it almost looks man made. Hakone is steep, and this trail feels like you are always going up.    

 

Nearby Trails

The mountains in Kyoto offer another great adventure. For instance, one of the best hikes in all of Japan is under the thousands of orange gates on the Fushimi Inari Shrine trail.

Trip Advice

  • 3 Hour Trail Run

  • Offline Map Mandatory

  • Very Few Hikers 

  • Chisuji Falls

  • Ancient Cedar Avenue

  • Lots of Vertical

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]]> https://trailchew.com/hakone-trails-chisuji-falls-to-mt-byobu-hike/feed/ 0 La Cloche Silhouette Trail – Killarney Provincial Park – Multi Day Hike https://trailchew.com/la-cloche-silhouette-trail-killarney-provincial-park-multi-day-hike/ https://trailchew.com/la-cloche-silhouette-trail-killarney-provincial-park-multi-day-hike/#respond Fri, 24 Aug 2018 14:55:40 +0000 http://demo.codesupply.co/authentic/?p=26 Just North of Toronto, the La Cloche Silhouette Trail in Killarney Provincial Park offers one truly amazing multi day backcountry hike. The 80km trail is unforgiving, rugged and worth the…

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Just North of Toronto, the La Cloche Silhouette Trail in Killarney Provincial Park offers one truly amazing multi day backcountry hike. The 80km trail is unforgiving, rugged and worth the effort. The bright quartzite peaks gleam under the sun, and provide a beautiful contrast to the windex blue lakes. Deciduous trees are a plenty, which makes it a great fall camping adventure.

  •     Trail Distance 80 km
        Total Elevation Gain 2800 m
        Total Time 1 to 8 Days

Getting Started

On a good day, the commute is around 4.5 hours north of Toronto. The La Cloche Silhouette Trail starts and ends at the George Lake Campground, but it is close to a 20 minute walk across the campground. Parking closer to the finish might be in your best interest, as normal people will want their last day to be as short as possible. Choose your direction wisely, as the elevation chart below points out the trail is significantly more challenging while you are hiking through the La Cloche Mountain Range.

Killarney La Cloche Elevation Counter Clockwise

Trail markings are colour coded to distinguish between side trails, campsite access, and the La Cloche trail. In addition to the trail markings, there are also giant rock piles that hikers have added to help blaze the trail. Even with all the markings, rock piles, and three sets of eyes, we still went off course a bunch of times. Downloading an offline map is super handy for getting back on course. One option is Gaia GPS, Another option is AllTrails. Unfortunately, you will have to pay some money to download the offline maps.    

Finding water was a bit challenging, so plan your stops ahead of time if you have some big days planned. I have been using the Sawyer Mini, and feel fairly confident dipping it into almost anything, so far so good. After water, the next thing to think about is your feet. If you get blisters like me, you might want to wear two pairs of socks, and lube your feet to avoid hot spots. Nothing worse than twisting an ankle halfway, so please watch your footing. Of course, on day two it rained for the entire 7 hours of hiking. We bailed on the slick rocks close to six times between the three of us. When it gets wet, watch out for those dark slimy rocks.

 

Wildlife

We heard a moose walking through the marsh before sunrise. One passerby mentioned they came across a family of black bears. Thanks to the wet weather, the number toads along the trail was crazy. Night two at Threenarrows, I forgot to remove an empty wrapper from my backpack, and we ending up hearing a mouse beside our tent side for most of the night.

Route

The park recommends tackling the trail in 7-10 days, which is around 12-8 km a day. Eric Batty completed the entire 80 km loop in 9 hours and 25 minutes alongside Ryan Atkins. There at least another dozen times on Strava, where the trail was conquered in one day. Regardless, if you go max speed or relax mode, you have signed up for some suffering, so why not tackle the 2nd highest peak in Ontario. Silver Peak is a 2 km hike up 300 meters of elevation. It doesn't look much higher thank the other peaks, but it is that spike in the elevation chart. Great trail!  

 

Shortcut or Swim

If  you are feeling a bit rough, and are in need a 3 km short cut. Its easy to cross the dam 1 km north of Topaz Lake. Lots of boaters enjoy parking at the Pool so they can hike into Topaz Lake. Whisky Jack lake is another Windex lake close to the trail, but you will have to bushwhack to find one of the clearest lakes in the park.

 

Campsites

We camped at Silver Lake and Threenarrows Lake. The La Cloche sites have to be called in and can't be booked online. Bookings for Ontario Provincial Parks are available five months in advance. The difficulty of the trail and the weather can sometimes cause people to unexpectedly alter their campsite schedule. You never know when the weather is going to peak, but early fall camping is a pretty safe bet. If you have the right sleeping bag, then maybe consider visiting the last two weeks of September or the first two weeks of October for a glimpse of Killarney when the Autumn Colours Peak.

 

FKT and Similar Trails

The La Cloche Silhouette Trail is one of the biggest adventures you can undertake in Ontario. The Fastest Known Time of 9 hours by Ryan Atkins is mind boggling. If you like to go fast and enjoy a sufferfest, then putting down a fast time on this trail is super fulfilling. Another awesome Ontario trail system is the Frontenac Trail System which includes 160Km of trail. 

  • Trip Advice

  • 7-10 Day Hike

  • Wear 2 Pairs of Socks

  • Look at Elevation Before Choosing Route

  • Amazing View from The Crack

  • Pretty Great View on Top of Silver Peak

  • Bear, Moose and Toads

  • Go for a Swim in Topaz Lake

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