Amidst the cypress (?) trees, I spotted movement and quickly turned and fired off a shot - from my camera. I was rewarded with this photo of a kita-kitsune, the famed Northern Fox. I needn't have gotten so excited; a few minutes later I got a much better shot of another fox.

This is perhaps my most Jurassic-Park-like photo. All of this natural beauty comes at a price: hiking in many areas includes the very real danger of encountering a bear, and the tourist people go out of their way to tell you the proper way to react if you happen to find yourself in that situation. One YH manager impressed upon us the distinction between "seeing" a bear and "meeting" a bear - two very different experiences.