Shintaro Fushida-Hardy

About: this is a catalogue/summary of some trips I've been on. I have visited some places multiple times (because I love them so much!), namely the Big Sur back country, Point Reyes, and of course Yosemite Valley. Instead of repeating them here, each (specific) location is only featured once. In addition, a trip must involve at least one night in the back country to be featured here.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking them. The numbered lists (describing the photos) are in reading-order.

Hotakadake 2026/05

Hida Mountains, Japan. I summitted Hotakadake, the third highest peak in Japan. Day 1: Kamikochi trailhead up to Karasawa cirque. Day 2: Karasawa cirque to the summit, then back down to a campsite just a few hours from the trailhead. Day 3: back to Kamikochi. This was a technical mountaineering ascent (ice axe, crampons, etc.) This was a solo trip.

  1. The serene valley of the Azusa river, near the trailhead. This is one of the headwaters of the Shinano river, the longest river in Japan.
  2. Sunrise the next day, from just below Shiradashi col. This was my favourite sunrise I've ever seen, the warm colours on the surrounding peaks beautifully complemented the harsh conditions.
  3. The view to the south-east from the summit. In the distance (left-of-center of the image) you can see Mt Fuji--the tallest peak in Japan. One mountain-range forward from Fuji (right-of-center of the image), you can also see Kitadake--the second tallest peak in Japan.
  4. Japanese macaques on the way down to the trailhead. Adorable.

Emigrant Wilderness 2025/06

Emigrant Wilderness, California, USA. We spent three days exploring the many lakes in the Western half of the Emigrant Wilderness, just North of Yosemite National Park. Day 1: Crabtree trailhead to Gem lake along the "north" trail. Day 2: Clockwise loop visiting Buck lake and Karls lake, back to Gem lake. Day 3: Back to Crabtree trailhead via the "south" trail. I was with my friend Talia.

  1. Gem lake, from the direction of our tent. (We set up our tent a little further out however, to minimize our impact on the terrain around the lake, as well as to minimize mosquitoes!)
  2. Upper Buck lake. Although we saw a decent number of hikers between the trailhead and Gem lake, we didn't see anybody out here. I have completely fallen in love with the vast granite landscapes of the Sierra Nevada since my first time seeing them in 2022, and I can never get enough of being in these lands.
  3. Talia crossing part of Wood lake.
  4. More of Wood lake. I couldn't get over the absurd proportions of the lake (very narrow, very long). Every lake we saw was different, and had something exciting to offer.

Routeburn Track 2024/12

Routeburn Track, New Zealand. We spent two days traversing the Routeburn track from East to West. Huts and campsites were booked out, so we had to push 85% of the walking into one day (in order to not break the law). Day 1: Routeburn shelter to Routeburn flats. Day 2: Routeburn flats to The Divide. I was with my friends Matt and Annina.

  1. The Routeburn River, near the trailhead.
  2. Slightly upstream of Routeburn Falls.
  3. Looking down onto Lake Harris, from near the Harris Saddle.
  4. Matt and Annina, heads down and powering ahead. The mist added to the atmosphere of this part of the track, but it was a shame that it occluded our subsequent views as we descended the track on the west side.

Kepler Track 2024/12

Kepler Track, New Zealand. We spent three days traversing the Kepler track, counter-clockwise. Day 1: Kepler track car park to Luxmore hut (where we camped, because the hut was booked out). Day 2: Luxmore to Iris Burn hut (where we camped, because the hut was booked out). Day 3: Iris Burn to Rainbow Reach trailhead, where we took a bus back to our car. I was with my friends Matt and Annina.

  1. A curious Kea. The kea was friendly enough here, but later that night it (or maybe a different kea) punctured Matt's tent and Annina's water supply, and stole their food. Somehow I made it out unscathed.
  2. Luxmore (limestone) cave. A remarkably extensive cave system, but we turned around once we were satisfied.
  3. Looking down onto Lake Te Anau, specifically the South Fiord. Behind it are the Murchison Mountains, which kept calling to me! However those mountains are an important native bird sanctuary and I think recreational use should be limited.
  4. Lots of cute tarns all over the landscape.

Gillespie Pass Circuit 2024/12

Mount Aspiring National Park, New Zealand. We spent four days traversing the Gillespie Circuit counter-clockwise, with a day in the middle to see Crucible Lake. We stayed in huts the whole time! Day 1: River crossing at the confluence of the Young and Makarora Rivers, up to Young Hut. Day 2: Young Hut over Gillespie Pass, and down to Siberia Hut. Day 3: Siberia Hut to Crucible Lake and back, and further to Kerin Forks Hut. Day 4: Kerin Forks Hut to the confluence of the Wilkin and Makarora Rivers. I was with my friends Matt and Annina.

  1. The "Young Basin", the glacial hanging valley upstream from Young Hut, and just below the steep ascent to Gillespie Pass. The area was beautiful in a distinctly "New Zealand" way--rather than grandness of scale, I was in awe at how alive and (in some sense) "balanced" the landscape felt.
  2. Matt getting up to shenanigans just beyond the mountain pass. Siberia valley in the distance, with unnamed peaks behind them (obscured by clouds). Mt Alba is slightly to the right, along that range.
  3. Siberia Valley. Once again, I was filled with a sense of "Yeah, this is New Zealand".
  4. Matt and Annina crossing the Wilkin River at Kerin Forks Flat. (Kerin Forks Hut was on the river right, even though the track was on the river left.)

Enchanted Valley 2024/06

Olympic National Park, Washington, USA. A rather erratic trip in which our itinerary evolved in response to the conditions. Day 1: Graves Creek trailhead to Lake Sundown. Day 2: Slightly beyond Lake Sundown along the Six Ridges trail, but we turned around soon after due to snow (which we were not adequately equipped for). Back down to Graves Creek, and then up the Quinault River to the Enchanted Valley campsite. A huge day! Day 3: A low-key exploration day, further up the valley towards White Mountain, then back down to our tent. Day 4: Back to the Graves Creek trailhead. I saw my first ever wild bear here! I was with my friend Matt.

  1. Lake Sundown. One of the few lakes in the Olympic range, and evidently seldom visited. The trail was in rough condition!
  2. An amazing halo around the sun, seen from the White Creek hanging valley. White Mountain stands tall below the sun. I always love stepping into hanging valleys, there is something magical about the high-elevation meadows that always seem to grow in them.
  3. As close as we decided to get to White Mountain.
  4. Enchanted Valley, with Mt Anderson in the distance. The spiky peak just to its front-left is Mt Watterson. The valley was breathtakingly beautiful, and I didn't expect it to be of such a grand scale. The peaks on either side rose over 4000ft from the valley floor, carving out a deeper valley than Yosemite.

Hetch Hetchy 2024/06

Yosemite National Park, California, USA. We did the classic Hetch Hetchy loop over three days, clockwise. Day 1: Hetch Hetchy dam to Lake Vernon. Day 2: Lake Vernon to Rancheria Creek. Day 3: Rancheria Creek back to the dam. I was with my friends Annina, Matt, and Samir.

  1. A picture of us all, with Falls Creek behind us. This creek is supplied by Lake Vernon, and it looked extremely seasonal to me. (i.e. snow-melt.)
  2. Looking down at Lake Vernon from the north. I wanted to explore a bit, and walked around in the early morning while everyone was still sleeping.
  3. Sunset over Rancheria Falls.
  4. The Hetch Hetchy reservoir. Kolona Rock on the left, and Wapama Falls on the right. The reservoir exists because it was dammed in the early 1900s. Previously, indigenous people (Miwok) lived in the valley. (The name Hetch Hetchy is a bastardization of the Miwok name of an edible plant they harvested in the valley.) The reservoir is now the largest source of drinking water in the California Bay Area.

Snow Creek 2024/01

Yosemite National Park, California, USA. I had two objectives on this trip: first, figure out if public transit is a reasonable method of visiting Yosemite valley. (It was!) Second, test out a bunch of snow-gear I recently acquired. Day 1: Hike up the Snow Creek trail to the hut. Day 2: Hike back down! This was a solo trip.

  1. The view of Half Dome from Tenaya Canyon.
  2. It snowed over night! Lots of fresh snow to melt and drink.
  3. The view to the west, towards Indian Rock.
  4. Back on the valley floor again. Looking upstream, up Tenaya Canyon. Overall it was brutal, the switchbacks never seemed to end along the Snow Creek trail.

Redwood 2023/12

Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California, USA. This is part of the greater "Redwood National and State Parks" collection of protected coast redwood forests in Northern California. These are the tallest trees in the world, but sadly only ~5% of old-growth redwood forests exist today. Day 1: hike from Elk Prairie campground along the West Ridge Trail to the coast, and then walk along the coast to Gold Bluffs Beach. Day 2: Return back to Elk Prairie along the James Irvine trail. I was with my partner-at-the-time, Elena.

  1. Elk Prairie in the morning.
  2. Fog in the trees along the West Ridge trail. Everything was wet, it was truly a temperate rain forest.
  3. Elena watching the sunset at Gold Bluffs Beach.
  4. The "West Ridge Giant", the largest redwood along our path. This is the 15th largest known redwood by volume. If you look closely, you can see how tiny Elena is, standing at its base.

Point Reyes 2023/11

Point Reyes National Seashore, California, USA. This is a peninsula just 50km north of San Francisco. Point Reyes is on the Pacific plate, while all other land in the area is on the North American plate--Point Reyes is ever drifting north! Day 1: Bear Valley trailhead to Kelham Beach along the Sky trail, then up to the Coast campground at Santa Maria Beach. Day 2: Back to Bear Valley, along the Fire Lane trail and Horse trail. I was with my partner-at-the-time, Elena.

  1. Whale remains we found on Kelham Beach. I've never seen such enormous bones.
  2. My hand. (Banana slug for scale.)
  3. The northern end of Kelham Beach. The warping of the geological strata was next-level. Elena is wearing an authentic icelandic sweater from our vacation there earlier in the year.
  4. Sunset looking down onto the Coast campground. A lot of campers here arrived via boat.

Big Sur 2023/10

Ventana Wilderness, California, USA. In my opinion, this is the harshest place one can go backpacking near the California Bay Area, especially relative to how accessible it is. The landscape is much more jagged than, say, the trails in Yosemite National Park, and you must be very mindful about when and where to collect drinking water. Day 1: De Angulo trailhead to Cold Spring Campground. Day 2: Cold Spring to Sykes Hot Springs Campground. Day 3: Sykes to Big Sur Station trailhead. I was with my friends Annina, Elena, Matt, Milo, and Samir.

  1. Making our way up to the Coast Ridge. Straight uphill for quite a while! From the left: Annina, Samir, Elena, Matt, Milo.
  2. Annina ahead of me. I love the distinctive Big Sur chaparral. My favourite feature of Big Sur is how rapidly the biomes change as you gain elevation or enter/exit sheltered areas. A large cause of this is that Big Sur is entirely fed by spring water, and has negligible rain year-round.
  3. Looking inland, into the Ventana Wilderness. The pale peak on the far left is the Ventana Double Cone--the namesake of the area.
  4. Coast redwood groves fill many of the valleys of Big Sur. The climate feels completely different when you are walking through the forested valleys as opposed to the exposed ridges, even though the difference in elevation may be only 1000ft.

Cloud's Rest and Half Dome 2023/10

Yosemite National Park, California, USA. This was my second time up Half Dome and Elena's first time. We went up after the official Half Dome season, during which the cables are down but permits are not needed and the weather is still predictable. Day 1: Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley. Day 2: Little Yosemite Valley to Half Dome, then Half Dome to Cloud's Rest, and finally back to Little Yosemite Valley. Day 3: Little Yosemite Valley back to the trailhead. I was with my partner-at-the-time, Elena.

  1. Elena on the cables. We used a prusik knot system to safely ascend the east face of Half Dome. Several other hikers were attempting this but were confused about it, and I had to help one hiker tie prusik knots half way up the cliff. Please be safe. Little Yosemite Valley is visible in the background.
  2. Looking towards Half Dome from the summit of Cloud's Rest. To its immediate right is Tenaya Canyon, and behind it is Yosemite Valley. El Capitan is visible in the distance, on the right side of the valley. Smoke is visible in the valley; this is due to controlled burns. A lot of visitors complain about smoke in the valley when this happens, but it is essential for the local ecology as well as general fire satefy.
  3. The view east of Cloud's Rest: the Yosemite high country. The sharp peak on the far right is Mt Clark. On the far left are Maclure, Lyell, and Florence, all side-by-side in the photo. Lyell, at 3997m, is the highest peak in Yosemite National Park, and a bucketlist item for me.
  4. The Merced River at Little Yosemite Valley, with Liberty Cap in the back.

Kitadake 2023/06

Minami Alps, Japan. I summitted Kitadake, the second highest peak in Japan. I ascended on day one, then stayed the night in the hut near the summit, and descended the following day. This is a (very steep but) non-technical mountain. This was a solo trip.

  1. I have always been of the belief that Japan has the most beautiful greens. I think this photo (facing North-East from Kitadake) justifies my claim somewhat!
  2. Mt Fuji! I have no desire to climb Fuji, but it is certainly a sight to behold.
  3. I quickly made friends with these four other hikers. I spent most of my time on the mountain with the two on the right, but I've sadly forgotten their names. I recall the guy on the right lives in Montreal, and (as of writing this) I am living near Toronto! Small world.
  4. "Kitadake-sou", an alpine plant that grows only near the summit of Kitadake! It also only flowers for a couple of weeks following the snow melt.
Updated 2026/09/07