Day 4

Temples: 12 Distance logged: 13.02 miles (Fitbit); 14.02 miles (Google) Steps logged: 30,257 (Fitbit); 40,419 (Google) Lodging: すだち館 (Sudachi-kan) As promised, the hike to number 12 (Sho Sanji) was brutal. It was 12.4 km of a series of steep ascents and descents. There were six sections of the trail marked へんろころがし (henro korogashi), or "henro fall down." Almost immediately I wished I had purchased a walking stick or two. Luckily, about 1 km in, some kind soul had carved and placed about 15 walking sticks up against a shed for people like us. Even with hiking sticks, it was incredibly slow going, both up and down. I could feel every muscle in my legs screaming. By the time we got to the highest elevation of the day (750m, the peak before the peak with the temple on it), I nearly kissed the ground when the ascent stopped. The views were fantastic, though. We stayed at the first lodging coming down the mountain, and they were kind enough to take us to the local onsen before feeding us curry rice and sending us to a warm bed.