A Life of Mountaineering Vol. 767: Entering Itsuki Village from Kagoshima Prefecture to Kumamoto Prefecture Part 10: Mt. Shirohige

I have been looking back on my mountain diary, which I started keeping on September 23, 1969, on my blog for the past four years. This series, 'A Life of Mountaineering,' began two years ago.
In the year I started my second life, I have been continuing to visit the 100 Famous Mountains of Kyushu and first-order triangulation points.
After completing the 100 Famous Mountains of Japan for the second time in September, I resumed the 100 Famous Mountains of Kyushu in November.
I entered Kagoshima Prefecture again, traveled north from the south, entered Kumamoto Prefecture, and the third mountain of the day is the first-order triangulation point, Mt. Shirohige.

There are 168 first-order triangulation points in the Kyushu region.
I considered 74 of them with an elevation of 500m or more as targets for climbing.
Climbing on remote islands is difficult, so I have narrowed my focus to the 62 points on the mainland (including Miyanoura-dake) and have completed them.

No. 942: From traversing Kagoshima Prefecture to entering Kumamoto Prefecture, Gokanosho, and the longest stone steps in Japan

October 31 - November 3, 2009: Solo
10/31 Sasebo 16:30 => Satsuma Yoshida IC => 20:30 Yoshida-cho, Kagoshima-gun, slept in the car
11/01 Muregaoka climb => Eboshi-dake climb => Nomadake climb => Kinpo-san climb => Kanmuridake climb =>
Yaeyama climb => Moved to Yahazu Forest Road in Kumamoto Prefecture, slept in the car
11/02 Yahazu-dake climb => Kunimi-yama => Gokanosho =>
Ronin-goe Forest Road trailhead 14:15 -> Mt. Shirohige summit -> Arrival 14:35 (20 minutes round trip)

49th first-order triangulation point: Mt. Shirohige

(Supplementary point, point name: Shiragatake 1244.26m) Iiboshi, Itsuki Village
North latitude 32 degrees 27 minutes 17 seconds, East longitude 130 degrees 49 minutes 09 seconds

Descending from Kunimi-yama to the Kuma River
I head for Mt. Shirohige by going up the forest road along the Hirasawatsu Valley from Hitoyoshi and Gokanosho to the west.
If I make a slight mistake on the road, the yellow line on the navigation display goes in the opposite direction.
My head starts to spin too.
I got out of the car several times to check the terrain, and somehow managed to arrive at the trailhead.

After a 10-minute steep climb, I arrived at the summit, a small open space where limestone outcrops spread out.
Light snow flurried for a moment.

More than the climb, the drive from Gokanosho allowed me to fully enjoy the tunnel of autumn leaves.

I crossed the Kobetsu Pass, entered Misato Town, bathed at Samata no Yu, and slept in the car at the Chuo-machi observation deck.

Tomorrow, for the final part of this mountain trip, I will challenge the longest stone steps in Japan.