Today I was helping my landlord with some slap together renovations on my cabin.  I bent over to pick up something and poked myself in the eye really hard on a stick that was aimed directly upwards.  I stood up in shock and pain only to look directly into the arc welder a few feet away. 

My eye hurts.

A few hours before departing for our planned 5 days hike behind the Hakuba ridghe we heard froma reliable source about the Green Patrol that would be stations at key points on our hike. Green Patrol = no dogs allowed. Its only for the very busy summer month, before and after which dogs = A-OK (most of the time).

Japan Meteo have forecast a 50% chance of a hotter than normal summer. Great. And next week Hakuba is forecast to get 19cm of rain. This will really hurt my chance of getting ok snow for my August ski. At the moment you can still score some reasonable pitches of old corn from Yari summit down towards Yari onsen.

Tomorrow I am hiking from my house to Kashimayari (which I refer to as Kash, 'cause its the best peak in Hakuba). Its a 30km round trip/2000m vert, plus cumulative with undulations total ascent is 2900m or so. Trying fast and light rather than overnight. This is my first trip out without skis or snowboard since November. I'm hoping I don't get up there and see loads of corn over the north side, that'd mean I have to go all the way back another day to ski it.

Six months ago, snow everywhere, 2.5 meters outside my house.  Now I have 2 meter high weeds and an infestation of giant spiders in my house.  The bastards are everywhere, its freaky how many run across the floor.  And they are on the walls and ceiling in my bedroom when I go to bed.  The dog has become tired of chasing them.

I haven't even seen a bear yet.  Just spiders.

Summer 0

Winter 1