Photos of the Mizunashi Gorge

Today I had the opportunity to visit the Mizunashi Gorge again, so this posting will be photos followed by some short descriptions.

The road ended here, so we parked our car.  It's the one in the back with the trunk open.  I'm facing towards the direction of our university and the small town of Urasa.

Here are my fellow summer IEP instructors walking up the trail.

This is a dragonfly.

A dramatic waterfall lies ahead.

This is a grasshopper.

This is me in front of a waterfall that brought down the temperature by at least 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

Our hiking group hung out here for a while to enjoy the sight, the sound, and the feel.

That waterfall ends here.

The best stuff is still ahead.

What's this?  

The videos in the next posting will provide a better idea.

A branch emerges out of packed snow.

Underneath the packed snow, new life is budding from the ground.  

Evaporating mist wafts out air much cooler than that waterfall.

The netting failed to contain the mountain.

Nature wins again!

The side of this mountain makes for good desktop wallpaper.

The famous snow bridge!

It was about 88 degrees Fahrenheit at the start of the trail.

It's closer to 80 degrees here.

But it's July!

The snow bridge in its mountainous context.

Walking over a little snow hill to get a closer look of the snow bridge.

Can we trust this man-made tunnel to walk under the snow bridge?

We enter.

From one of the tunnel's windows, I grab this shot of the snow bridge.

But one of my colleagues discovers that, in the darkness, the tunnel's left wall has fallen apart.

So we exit.

The snow bridge has another tunnel.

This is a butterfly.

The other side of its wings are a beautiful cerulean blue.

When it flutters around it keeps that blue color, but when it lands on stones, it disappears in its camouflage.

I get a chance to dip my feet in the glacial icy blue water.

It was about as cold as Autumn's wading pool.

This should last a little longer than my footprints.

Flowers

Can you spot the snake?

It's a mamushi--a poisonous snake that isn't afraid to attack.

You will need to spend a week in the hospital if bitten.

All in all, this isn't bad for the first weekend back in Japan.