New Gadget

     You may have great product or great adventures but what good does it do if the photo itself cannot convey it. Instead of robbing ourselves in the isolation of the iPhone's capabilities we decide it was time to grow up and purchase a grown up camera. Say hello to our new gadget.

    It's a Nikon D5200 with an 18-55 mm lens. Along with our purchase price the strap, charger, SD card and bag were all included. There's various settings, zoom, focus, effects, a flip screen, additional flash ability and more.
We've spent some time playing around with the features and it's abilities though to be honest we've only scratched the surface. There's plenty of research to read up on especially for upcoming adventures.

     Needless to say we are very excited with our new gadget and all the incredible photos yet to come. Make sure to stay tuned as the pics start streaming in.

Fernweh

Fernweh is the longing for far off places. It's a bit like the opposite of homesickness. Between fernweh and our deep desire for once in a lifetime adventures it's no surprise that we hiked Mt. Fuji. It was a long arduous journey overnight but provide an incredible sunrise view and spectacular artistic inspiration. Just to let you know the nitty-gritty of what we went through here is some statistics along with our own.

~Mt Fuji is one of Japan's 3 Holy Mountains. 

~It's a strato-volcanoe. 

~Last erupted 1707-08. 

~Tallest mountain of Japan with the summit at 3, 776 m (12, 389 ft). 

~Average day ascent is 6-8 hours. Average night hike is 7-9 hours.

 Ours was 8!

~Average descent time is 4-6 hours. We descended in 3 hours. 

~Official hiking season is only June - September pending weather. We hiked August 16th/17th.

~You can receive "stamps" on your Fuji walking but there's a special one for doing a "sunrise" hike. 

~Snow stays on the mountain ALL year round. It was between 30-40 degrees Fahrenheit when we summited. 

~Seeing the sunrise from the top of Japan is considered the "best" way to hike Fuji. Sun rose for us at 5:06 am. 

~Approximately 300,000 people climb Mt Fuji yearly.