“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
–Robert Frost

A coworker of mine informed me of a lesser known hiking trail up to Mount Mitake. He gave me a map of the trail which started near Kori Station, took you up to Mount Mitake and ultimately dropped you off at another train station. I was determined to hike the trail the following weekend.

After a late start, Jared and I hopped on the train towards Mount Mitake. Instead of getting off at Mitake Station like everyone else, we stayed on for another two stops before getting off at Kori Station. After walking a few blocks, we eventually spotted a chain-link gate nestled in between two homes.

“I think that’s it,” I informed Jared dubiously.

“You sure?” He asked.

“Yeah…I think so.”

We walked up to the uninviting gate and sure enough, it was the entrance. After spraying ourselves with bug spray, we were off.

As we walked along the steep trail, I couldn’t help but think of Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken.” I began to ask myself how it related to our current situation. Sure, we had taken the road—or in this case trail—less traveled, but something else about the poem seemed to resonate as well…”Maybe it’ll come to me later,” I thought to myself.

After hiking for a few exhausting hours we made it to Mount Mitake. The destination was somewhat disappointing in that rather than rewarding us with a beautiful view, the trail led us to a town. I guess people come to visit the shrine? I wasn’t really sure.

I informed Jared that we had to look for the next section of the trail which would take us to another mountain and eventually lead to another train station. After showing him the trail map, Jared looked hesitant. “This trail is two times longer than the one we just took and it’s already two o’clock.”

“Yeah but I think we can still do it,” I claimed. After some more persuasion, I convinced my patient husband to help me find the trail entrance. By the time we found the hidden trail head, it was 2:30 p.m. Jared and I were tired, and I too was beginning to have my doubts.

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe we should just go home,” I decided in disappointment.

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” I responded in defeat. I had never not finished a trail before. “The Road Not Taken” ended up being “The Road Not Taken by Us.”

“Maybe we can come back next weekend and finish the hike?” I asked.

“Sure.”

I knew we wouldn’t. I was even more annoyed when we realized we had to take a bus back to Mitake Station which wouldn’t arrive for another 40 minutes. I put my pouty face on and plopped down on the bus station bench. Today’s adventure had been a failure.

“Miranda, let’s just walk to the train station. Google Maps says it’s only a 30-minute walk.”

“No,” I replied defiantly. I was angry and my feet hurt. Jared was persistent though and his persistence eventually paid off as I found myself walking along the downhill road towards Mitake Station.

As my anger began to ebb, I started to fully notice my surroundings. Mitake was a beautiful mountain town. Sprinkled in among the plentiful and wild, dark green plants were colorful flowers. Besides the few Japanese-style homes, there were few signs of civilization. The only noises heard were that of a flowing stream and chirping birds.

“Well at least the walk is scenic,” I said.

The stream we were following eventually transformed into a large river.

“Want to go down and check it out?” Jared asked.

“Sure.”

As I sat along the river next to Jared and lay my now bare feet in the cold, refreshing water, a thought came to me.

“Jared, you know the Robert Frost poem, ‘The Road Not Taken’?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, maybe sometimes it’s not about the road less traveled but rather the road unexpected.”

We both smiled at that.