Day - 3

 

88-Temple Pilgrimage

(四国遍路)

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Shōzanji (焼山寺)

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March 6, 2018. 

I awoke to a crisp morning and clear skies.  Last night I shared the Henro Hut with two other guys. Peter from Holland and a young man from Japan who spoke no English.  The young man was doing the pilgrimage by bicycle.  Peter is very tall and walks much quicker than me but he chooses to walk together today because the mountains will be hard and slow.  He is planning to stay at a small family inn after temple twelve.  I am going to see if I can stay there too.

Rest hut next to onsen

Rest hut next to onsen

Fujiidera (藤井寺)

The walk to temple 11 was only about a mile from the Henro hut.  Peter is a practicing Buddhist so I get a better chance to see all that should be done when visiting the temple.  After praying we get our stamp at the office and head into the mountains.

Fujiidera (藤井寺)

Fujiidera (藤井寺)

After praying we get our stamp at the office and head into the mountains.

Shōzanji (焼山寺)

I had no idea what was to come.  Almost immediately you begin climbing.  It is steep, rocky, and the climb seems to go forever.  Peter lead the way and we took frequent rests. 

By the end we had done nearly 4000 vertical feet of climbing over about a 7.5 mile hike. It took us 6.5 hours to reach temple 12. 

Shōzanji (焼山寺)

As we got to the entrance we ran into the man that runs the inn Peter is staying at. He said he had room for me too (we think).

Shōzanji (焼山寺)

Shōzanji (焼山寺)

 

Click here to see all the photos from the 3rd day.