Minami Shokan-betsu-dake

Kyle is out of town for a while, so last weekend I had an adventure without him, thanks to the Hokkaido International Outdoor Club and friends.  We went to the Uryu Wetlands and Mt. Shokanbestu- an area famous for its beautiful wildflowers in summer.  I'm sure Kyle would have loved it because I had a great time.


We met Saturday morning and drove basically due north for a few hours.

We drove through farmland almost the entire way there.  Most of the farms were rice fields, although we saw a few other vegetables that we couldn't identify.

At the end of the road is a well-maintained camping area and lodge.  The facilities were very fancy. 

I stayed in the lodge since I had no tent.  While it was an interesting experience, I think next time I'd try to camp.  But of course, if it was raining I would have a different opinion.

When we arrived, we set up a camp and BBQ area.

Leon made dough for pizza and bread that he cooked in the dutch oven (my pictures didn't turn out of the pizza, or I'd show you that too).  Very impressive.

We barbecued all sorts of tasty things.

I think Olga and I are trying a grilled mushroom in this photo.

Scallops, pineapple, and corn on the grill.

On Sunday, I went on the middle-distance hike with Rick, Rob and Masami.  We went to Minami-Shokanbetsu, the shorter mountain next to Shokanbetsu.  If I remember correctly, it was a 17-18 km hike, with ~800 m elevation gain.  We left at 8 and made it back at 3, but we took a 1 hour break for lunch and walked slowly through the Uryu wetlands on the way up.

There was some nice geology while we climbed up the river valley to the wetlands.

The undergrowth at the beginning was pretty intense.  There were a lot of plants I recognized from Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands, including all the poisonous ones (just talk to Jessica about her adventures in the nettles).

These flowers looked almost like Mountain Laurel, but without the pentagonal symmetry.

After climbing steeply up 300 m, the ground very suddenly flattened out.  It was very exciting because the hike up was very humid and hot with still air.  Suddenly there was a breeze and we weren't going up anymore!

Rick found this crazy caterpillar mass.  I'm not sure what was happening here, but it was cool.

Here you can see Shokanbestu in the distance through what I called the "bamboo Serengeti".  There were few isolated trees, with a mass of bamboo underneath.  However, you can't just walk through bamboo like you can through the grasslands of the Serengeti. 

Here you can start to see the Uryu wetland in the middle-distance.  It was very exciting when we got to this point.  The Uryu wetlands is pretty big for being nestled in a mountain range.  According to the internet, it's 4 km east-west and 2 km north-south.

The peak on the right is Minami-Shokanbestu, the one I climbed.

Skunk cabbage and purple irises.

Japanese trail engineering.  Actually, it worked quite well to cross.

The wetlands!  So pretty.  According to Rick, there were not nearly as many wildflowers as normal for this time of year because this part of Hokkaido had a lot of snow this year.  So everything was late.

Here's both Minami-Shokanbetsu (left) and Shokanbestu (right and snowier).  Jessica and Olga climbed Shokanbestu (and Minami-Shokanbestu because the trail connects the two).  They had to hike for more than 10 hours round trip.. they left at 4:30 am to get there and back!

More bamboo Serengeti.

I bet everyone who comes here has this photo!

A purple marsh flower that I recognize, but I can't remember it's name.  Jody, do you know?

Masami walks between two lakes that are at completely different elevations.  It looked trippy.  I think it means that the lakes are fed by artesian springs.  

A lily with a spider in it.

Here is a skunk cabbage with a purple brown flower.  I had never seen one like it before.  We were half-way up Minami-Shokanbetsu by this point... no longer in the marsh.

It was weird walking through a birch forest with bamboo everywhere.

Lots of impenetrable bamboo.  It meant there was no going off the path and getting lost!!  But also no going off the path to go pee.

Such different vegetation than what we started with.

Everyone takes a photo of Shokanbetsu.

At the very top, we found a melting snowfield... The source of the little stream that had been using the trail to work its way downhill.

The view from the top was beautiful if somewhat hazy.

There's the peak on the right that Olga and Jessica made it to!  Very impressive.

You can just barely see Jessica and Olga in this picture.  They are not too far from entering the forest.  We waited for them at the top of Minami-Shokanbestu.

It was nice to sit for a while.

Jessica made it!

Olga made it!

Here's the marsh from above on the way back down.  You can see where the marsh drains out.  The trail follows it.

Whew...  made it back to camp only a few minutes later than the meeting time.  Everyone was very tired after the hot day.

Afterwards, we went to an awesome onsen (hot springs-bath house) for some relaxation and dinner.  I think I would have fallen asleep in the onsen if I stayed in any longer!

Here we are crammed in Leon's car.  Clean after the onsen!

That's all for now!

-Bre (but not Kyle)