「シャクナゲの花 − 天城山」 鈴木優香 Rhododendron flowers / Mount Amagi - Yuka Suzuki

When I walk in the mountains, I try to see as many things as possible. However, there are many things that we see but don't recognize. This is especially the case when I go into the mountains with a specific goal in mind. If the rhododendrons had been in bloom on the day we hiked Mount Amagi, I wonder how many things I would have noticed.

It was late April when I visited Mount Amagi in search of the peach-colored rhododendrons. Usually, they bloom in May and June, but this year the cherry blossoms were in full bloom earlier, so I thought the rhododendrons might follow suit. However, all the buds remained tightly closed and unmoving, and I could not find a single flower. Nevertheless, my heart was sufficiently filled by the fascination of the trees, which I had never been aware of before.

One was the Japanese Andromeda, a shrub of the azalea family. The trunk of these shrubs twist and turn in many different directions, and their finely divided branches are covered with deep green leaves. I felt that this mountain was so free and lively; the way this shrub was growing all over the place, twisting and turning as it pleased.

The ridge connecting Manzaburo-dake and Manjiro-dake is particularly nice. The unrestrained trunks straddle the trail and form a tunnel. I lowered myself down and walked through it, looking for the intricate branches. The flowers, white and plump, bloom in clusters. They were just at my eye level and seemed to be offering their pride and joy to me.

A caramel-colored daisy tree. The leaves of the viburnum furcatum sprouting as if to open their arms. A large beech tree swayed in the shadow of the forest. I was unable to see what I came to see, but this meant I was able to look at the mountains with a deeper gaze than usual.

【Our route this time】
Rhododendron Course
Amagi traverse trailhead (Amagi Kogen Golf Course) - dry river branch - Manzaburo-dake - Manjiro-dake - Yotsuji - Amagi traverse trailhead
Course time: Approx. 4 and a half hours

【Items worn】
W SPHERE LS LOW CREWE

【Profile】
Yuka Suzuki
After graduating from graduate school, she joined an outdoor manufacturer, where she worked on product planning and design, before going independent in 2016 and starting her own project, "MOUNTAIN COLLECTOR," in which she makes handkerchiefs from the scenery she sees in the mountains. She continues to express herself through photography, design, and writing, with mountains and travel as her life's work.
www.mountaincollector.com