Goshikigahara-Sansō – Tonbiyama – Sugonorikoshi-Goya

Sunday, September 20, 2009Nagano

鳶山

Cover photo: Goshikigahara-Sansō – Tonbiyama – Sugonorikoshi-Goya — Above the sea of clouds
View 8 photos

Distance: 6.7km
Ascent: 603m; 827 m of descent
Walking time: 2 h 53; 8 h 20 with breaks
High point: 2,616m; low point 2,155 m
Season: Autumn; September 2009

Valleys filled with clouds

Between Goshikigahara and Sugonorikoshi, the High Route passes Tonbiyama and follows open terrain. The valleys are filled with clouds while the ridges stay in view. Along the trail, yellow leaves show that autumn has already reached the plateaus.

At Sugonorikoshi-Goya, the setting sun turns the clouds orange. The conifers stand out in silhouette against the horizon, at the edge of the slope that drops below the hut.

Night at the hut

Sugonorikoshi-Goya スゴ乗越小屋 night of September 20 · on the map · official site

From the GPS tracks: where they stop in the evening and start again in the morning.

Map and profile

Download the GPX track How to read this map Hover over the profile to follow the track on the map. The thumbnails show where each photo was taken; click one to enlarge it.

Topographic map of the day — GSI (国土地理院) topographic map with the day's track · original file

Photos 8

Panorama: the Goshikigahara plateau and the ridge at dawn, from Tonbiyama — On the summit of Tonbiyama (鳶山), 2,616 m: the Goshikigahara plateau and the ridge at dawn.

Golden autumn foliage, between Tonbiyama and Ecchūzawa-dake, at about 2,410 m.

Panorama: the ridge and the sea of clouds, descending from Ecchūzawa-dake — Descending from Ecchūzawa-dake toward Sugonorikoshi, at about 2,420 m: the ridge and the sea of clouds.

Sunset over the sea of clouds from Sugonorikoshi-Goya (スゴ乗越小屋).

Panorama: a hiker sitting and facing the sea of clouds between two ridges — A hiker sitting and facing the sea of clouds, at about 2,420 m, descending from Ecchūzawa-dake.

Panorama of the Goshikigahara plateau with a snowfield and the ridges in the distance — The Goshikigahara plateau (五色ヶ原), grassy and stony, a long snowfield and the line of the ridges, at about 2,540 m.

Panorama over the ridges and wooded valleys from Tonbiyama — From the summit of Tonbiyama, 2,616 m: ridge after ridge and the wooded valleys under a blue sky.

Panorama over a deep valley and peaks, just below Ecchūzawa-dake — Just below the summit of Ecchūzawa-dake (越中沢岳), at about 2,530 m: a deep valley, peaks and clouds on the horizon.