Proposal at the Peak

Valerie and Andy took a trip to Japan in 2006. After waking up in Tokyo, Valerie and Andy traveled most of the day by train and bus to get to Mt. Fuji. They didn't arrive until 9:00 pm and immediately started their hike up the mountain.

They were hoping to get to the peak early enough to catch a magnificent sunrise. Apparently they weren’t the only ones... unfortunately, there were so many people on the mountain that they were unable to make it to the peak before the sunrise. 

They had traveled all day and been hiking all night, but still had a few hours to go before getting to the top. So they sat down and watched the sunrise from the side of the mountain, and it was amazing.

Valerie and Andy finally made it to the top around 10:00 am, and had not slept in over 24 hours, though they were both handling the altitude and sleep deprivation just fine. They took in the amazing view from the top - all those fluffy cloud pillows below them. Andy thought to himself, “What a perfect place to propose, in this surreal place, above the clouds, away from all of our everyday problems – just perfect.”

Andy wanted his proposal to be a surprise, though he felt it would be too obvious a setting. So he didn’t propose at the very top of Mt. Fuji, but instead he waited until they started the hike down.  After just one minute into the descent, Andy said he was tired and needed to rest.  Valerie gave him a dirty look and said “What?!?  You can't be tired after one minute!  We have this entire mountain to get down!” She humored him, and he wandered off the beaten path.  Andy sat down and tried to find the ring hidden in his pack without Valerie taking notice.  He found it, and after talking for a moment to mentally prepare himself, decided it was time. 

He put his tired knee down on the lava rock, looked up at Valerie and asked her to marry him. 

Valerie was obviously surprised, and if you’re reading this, then you know what the answer was.