The Narrow Path

"What the gate-keeper had told me turned out to be true. The mountains were so thickly covered with foliage and the air underneath was so hushed that I felt as if I ware groping my way in the dead of night. There was not even the cry of a single bird to be heard, and the wind seemed to breathe out black soot through every rift in the hanging clouds. I pushed my way through thick undergrowth of bamboo, crossing many streams and stumbling over hidden rocks, till at last I arrived at the village of Mogami after much shedding of cold sweat." 

— Bashō, The Narrow Path to the Deep North 
(translated by Noboyuki Yuasa, first published in 1966 in Penguin Classics).

Haibun — A Study in Grey V

Final stop. We’re in the clouds. The valley has disappeared from view. Only the dim outlines of scattered mountain chalets are visible. The last three kids descend from the bus. ‘Bon appétit!’ the driver yells, but there’s no response. He doesn’t seem to mind. He pulls his lunch from a satchel and tucks in. He waves jovially as I set off, unsure where the trailhead begins.

the meteo says
the snowline will descend
to autumnal altitudes

[Photos taken between September 21-27/2025 on the Tour de l'Argentine and Tour des Dents du Midi, Cantons of Vaud and Valais respectively, Switzerland. A series of seven accompanying haibun was composed on the trail.]