After many months of absence I finally went hiking with the mountain climbing club again. Unfortunately, the weather was not too great. In the morning it was just cloudy and seemed fine, but by the time we got to the mountain it was raining, and the rain did not stop. In hopes that it would let up we started climbing anyway, but it never did and soaked we were forced to give up. However, hiking in the rain has its advantages. I got to see things I wouldn’t have otherwise, especially 2 animals I didn’t even realize lived in the mountains. The first were crabs complete with pinchy claws. The second… leaches! Lots of them! At one stopping point there were so many leaches squirming around on the ground that it was impossible to count them, almost like the ground was blanketed with leaches. Leaches are also really sneaky… 2 of them found their way to my legs and sucked enough blood out to have their fill. Another member got bit on the stomach, and countless more leaches were brushed off people’s shoes, pants, bags, hats, shirts, umbrellas, etc. It’s amazing how they can find their way to some of the places we found them. All in all, I had an interesting and educational time. The onsen afterwards was especially nice.