2 trekkers die on Yakushima

"On Yaku Island, (mountain streams) tend to be swell quickly when it rains," Higashi said. "It's important even for experienced trekkers to make a cautious judgment."

It is unfortunate, but they at least lost their life doing something they loved! However, I would question the common sense of the guide if there was one and the hiking group themselves. One of the first things I learned as an amateur hikers was to not camp next to streams or hike near one when the weather changes for the worst because there is always the risk of a flash flood. Which means they deliberately ignored this rule or never learned it. With all the things that have happened in the last 6 years, you would think that people would have learned that "Mother Nature" always win.

The guide's fault, ALWAYS!

If I remember correctly, Yakushima and Odaigahara in Mie are Japan's rainiest places.

My first impression on reading this story was that Yakushima is so popular that it's hard to imagine a normal trail being allowed to go through a stream (that can swell) on exposed rocks without a bridge. I guessed they were on a minor trail or the first hiker must have slipped and fallen off a bridge. I then checked the Japanese media, and yes, it said that they were on a closed (tachi-iri kinshi) trail. They weren't traveling with a guide. They had stayed the night on a hut at the top of the closed trail having got there on a different official route. The question that remains is whether the people running the hut knew they were going down the closed trail and how strongly they discouraged them from doing it in the rain. It is the decision to go down a closed trail in bad weather that caused this accident. We all make mistakes, but ones in the mountains can have fatal consequences.

kohakuebisu The question that remains is whether the people running the hut knew they were going down the closed trail and how strongly they discouraged them from doing it in the rain.

Over fifteen years years ago I hiked across the island and the huts were unmanned. Maybe things have changed

I trekked Yakushima two times, once alone and a second time with my wife. On second time we did a stream crossing and that was very difficult, we used ropes to get across.

Sometimes the conditions in nature can get just too difficult. In Hawaii on the Na Pali Trail I hiked six hours with about 45 minutes left to hike. The cliff side trail got too dangerous to pass. I ended up turning around and hiking back another six hours. You got to respect nature and know your limits.

Thanks for that frenchosa. I was just suggesting that people with better knowledge of that mountain would probably have warned them had they been aware of their plans.

Hiking in Japan is almost exclusively on marked trails, so its generally very safe. There is lots of fantastic mountain scenery to be enjoyed, but you don't get that if you climb in rain or poor visibility. I like hiking, but I'd rather go to the onsen when the weather is bad. Otherwise you are just ticking the mountain's name off a list.

Hiking in Japan is almost exclusively on marked trails, so its generally very safe.

Having hiked a lot, there are always patches that you have to be careful and have steady footing. Japanese mountains are very steep compared to the ones I climbed in New England in my youth, (even the small ones) One slip and it could be your last.

In the mountains trails can easily be damaged by land slides, or typhoons. What was once a marked trail, may no longer be that way.

I am thinking of going back to Yakushima and I did a little research after I wrote my last post. it looks like all of the huts on Yakushima are free with no staff. I have stayed at three of them, they are more of emergency shelter than anything else. No water, or toilets inside. It was dirty and had a few mice that would try to nimble at your food. I would much rather have a nice piece of grass to pitch a tent, but there wasn't. Luckily when I went there was no one else, so I pitched my tent inside the huts. it solved the mice problem.