Omine Okugake Michi is an old mountain trail extending about 90 kilometers along the mountain ridges 1,000 to 1,900 meters above the sea level from Mount Yoshino in Nara Prefecture to Kumano Hongu-Taisha Great Shrine in Wakayama Prefecture. However, Minami Okugake Michi, the southern part of the trail, had refused entrance of mountain-climbing lovers as the path was blocked with dense weeds. Shingu Yamabiko Group has been working at a volunteer activity to clear and maintain this 45 km section of the trail for as long as 20 years. The late Yuichi Maeda, a mountain-loving ascetic, initiated this activity to restore the trail. And the activity was succeeded by this mountain climbing group, formed 30 years ago. A total of 4,000 mountain lovers has trekked the trail, weeding and shearing thickets to clear the path. Huts were also built to maintain and manage the trail. The work is very hard. Volunteers advance side by side in a 5-meter interval as they shear bamboos taller than their height. Gnats and leaches torment them. There is also a danger of vipers in the bush. The cleared path would return to the former bush if not maintained. So they continued the second and the third rounds of weeding treks. Two huts were also built to invite more visitors to the trail. "Shedding sweat in this activity is our mission," said the leader of the group.