Day 5 – Ryokan after Temple 12

Only one temple today….just the hardest of the whole hike.  We left at 7 am and did not arrive until 4 pm.  It was three mountains with terrible downhill sections.  All were marked “Ohenro falldown”.  No kinding there.  I saw Sensei early and walked with him almost the entire day.  Sensei is amazing at 80  years old but the uphills were clearly causing him problems.  I shared my snacks with him and he gave me a riceball for lunch.  When we finally made the Ryokan, everyone was truly happy to spend the money for a bed, shower, and dinner.  Unfortunately, our friends from Canada E & S ran into injury issues.  S fell down and badly sprained her ankle.  One tough lady that went up and down a mountain with a 8 kg pack.  Sadly, they had not planned to stay here; hence, no dinner for them or beer.  Insult to injury.  I think S needs to ice the ankle for a few days and she refuses.  Her husband says that she put her foot down and he needs to respect her decision.  That would be 40 plus years of marriage.  Such a nice couple.  We were just planning our next couple days.  Our group of the Frenchman, Italian, and American will probably part ways in the next day or two. Everyone has a different speed…and level of injury. Laundry is done. Time for bed. Good night all.