01/4/2017 - Tongariro Alpine Crossing

Day of week: Wednesday
Places visited: Tongariro National Park Village, Mordor
Lodging: Tongariro Crossing Lodge

The day of our big hike has finally arrived! This was one of few days we used an alarm to wake up early, and we got up with plenty of energy for the day. We had reserved a guided trip through Adrift Tongariro. They picked us up from our lodging and drove us over to their shop where we picked up some extra clothes and food, both of which we were grateful for later that day. Then we drove about 30 minutes to the start of the hike.

When we got out of the van we met our guide Sam (the name feels fitting for a guide leading us safely past Lord of the Rings filming locations). To start he showed us a map and gave us a preview of what was in store for our 12 mile (19k) hike.

It starts off pretty easy, gently uphill beside a shallow stream and tussocks. Then we come to the longest climb of the day which is called the Devil's Staircase. It takes us beyond where the grasses can grow via a twisting set of stairs built into the side of the mountain. We see some other hikers going our direction, and precious few coming the other way. Those hikers coming from the other direction are seasoned hikers as they got up very early to traverse the crossing in the more challenging direction without a guide. Maybe someday!

Ready to start!

Tussocks

Emma's confidence not hindered by sign

Post-tussocks on the Devil's Staircase

There's a nice flat section after the Devil's Staircase. Along that stretch we took a short break for the bathroom, and planned to continue hiking until lunch. However, shortly after we started walking again Emma's glasses snapped in half right across the bridge! This was unexpected and unfortunate since Emma's vision is pretty bad. The three of us had a pow wow to try to tape the two pieces together, then executed plan B of duct taping the glasses to Emma's face! There was no way we were turning back. Vision restored as much as the heavy fog allowed, we continued to the end of the flat stretch.

Walking to the end of the earth

We engaged the second long ascent towards the red crater. While shorter in distance, this one is much steeper and technical and at times had steep drop offs on both sides. It was a particularly windy and at times rainy day to begin with, and while were on the ridge line the wind was especially intense as it gets funneled up and over the ridge. Due to the fast wind we literally watched the clouds racing towards, around, and away from us as we climbed.

Pro tip - watch the wind whip over the ridge and a certain someone holding their glasses together

New Zealand guides are intense!

Last video of our long march up the hill

We stopped a few times during the second climb for Sam to point out where Mordor scenes were filmed, during which Zach grabbed some footage. Soon after conquering a short climbing chain we reached the peak of the second climb. There is a large rock right at the top and to our surprise, very warm air issued from vents in the rock. Our glasses fogged up as we walked past!

Mordor for reals

Take 2

After that we had a steep sliding descent through deep black "sand" which we traversed using a fun sideways slide-and-dig technique. On the way down, fleetingly when the fast-moving clouds allowed, we could see three bright teal pools of water called the Crystal Lakes. We walked up to one of the lakes and could smell the sulfurous water.

Crystal lakes at the bottom of the zig-zag descent

We came from up there

Lakes are cool (or warm), just don't drink from this one

From there we had another walk across an easy flat to Blue Lake. By walking down the hill towards the lake we found some shelter from the strong wind and took a break to eat lunch. After a nice break we resumed the flat, sometimes wet journey including walking level with huge, jet-black, long-hardened flow of lava. The final climb of the day, shorter and less challenging, gave us a good view of the lava from above.

Lunch at Blue Lake

We spent the next three hours mostly descending to the finish. Descending turned out to be just as hard in its own way due to bracing yourself every step, especially when the ground is soft dirt. That said, the descent comes with its own reward of many beautiful views: Lake Taupo and another lake; a planted pine forest; rolling hills; small craters where sulfurous bright yellow rocks landed after being shot into the air by volcanic eruption.

That's not the ocean in the distance, it's Lake Taupo

We walked by a former housing hut that had been hit multiple times with rocks from volcanic eruption. Multiple volcano-hot rocks literally hit the hut and pummeled through roof and floor. The hut hasn't been restored; instead of being used for shelter it's now an opportunity to see how easily Mother Nature dominates the humble man made structure.

After the hut was hit the Department of Conservation put out an official recommendation in case of eruption: stand still and attempt to dodge rocks. (This is not a joke.) Note that it took four seconds for the rocks that hit the hut to cover a mile from where they were launched. Also note that the leading scientist at the time said if he found himself in this situation he'd close his eyes and count to ten.

Once we moved on from the hut Sam gave us fair warning that the next 45 minutes is the most boring part as there are no major new sights or terrains. At the end of that time was another surprise: the landscape naturally shifts from dirt and small tussocks a foot high to a literally forest with high trees and dense bush. The transition happens in just a few minutes of walking. It was beautiful and also so nice to have our first real shade of the day (yes, Emma and Zach both got a little wind/sunburned).

The last 45 minutes were a fairly easy downhill through the forest. For about ten minutes we were alongside narrow but forceful stream of running water. Turns out this is a new water pathway born out of one of the volcanic eruptions which blocked the old path. As we walked Sam pointed out small dry valleys where the water once ran, and led us slightly off the path to a waterfall that didn't exist five years ago.

The very end of the trip was on a wide flat path, anticlimactic but still beautiful. When we reached the parking lot we saw the same map of the crossing that Sam talked us through at the start and were reminded of how far we'd come.

Happy hikers

In the end we were so grateful for the semi-inclement weather. Pros:

• Adventure! Sam said it was the windiest weather he's actually made the crossing in, as on windy days people sometimes choose to turn back on the steep ascents.
• Empty space! Apparently in nice weather 1,000s of people do the crossing each day so it was a blessing to have the trail mostly to ourselves.
• Opportunity! In inclement weather all trips are cancelled. The heavy rains the previous day caused all trips to be cancelled. We were fortunate as our itinerary was too tight to reschedule if the weather had been too bad.

Feeling proud, relieved, and not a little tired we were picked up and driven about 40min back to Adrift headquarters. (Funny how a day of hiking amounts to an extra ten minutes in a car...) During the ride we chatted with guide and Adrift owner Stewart, who explained why people like Sam are great guides and how he'd be guiding a snow hike the following day. 

After we returned the borrowed gear to Adrift and got back to our lodging, Emma napped while Zach read. Then we tried to tape Emma's glasses together using a couple kinds of tape and a little wire, with limited success. We rounded out the tour of Tongariro National Park Village restaurants by having a big dinner at Spiral in The Park hotel. Spurred on by our physical achievement we had the energy to talk more about our hopes and plans for 2017. In the end we didn't go to bed early, but once we did we slept deeply.