The Crossing

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Hello Everyone,

Somehow this entry never got published...this was back on Dec. 7. Don't know what happened.


Joe and Judy vs. the Volcanoes
December 7, 2008

My tootsies hurt tonight! The Tangariro Alpine Crossing may not be the “greatest day hike in the world,” but it has to be one of them.

The shuttle bus picked us up at our hotel door promptly at 5:45 and delivered us to the trail near the Mangatepopo hut. It was a rugged uphill to the top of Red Crater and Emerald Pools that are the highlight of the trip. Most of the trail’s ascent was over steep volcanic terrain. This hike had a little of everything: mountains, volcanoes and craters, steam vents, lava flows, sulphur smells, hot springs, pools that are a pretty green from minerals leaching from thermal areas, blue lakes, streams, snow, waterfalls, wild flowers, tussock-type plants, and forests. It was physically demanding for me, but the great motivating factor was that we had to be at the road beyond the Ketetahi hut in 8 hours to get the shuttle ride back. Again, we were probably two of the ten oldest people on the crossing, but I think we did fine keeping up with the kids. I wonder if those 20 and 30-somethings look at us and think, “I hope I’m still doing stuff like this when I’m their age” because I think that when I see somebody 30 years older than I am doing some activity that requires some stamina. It’s all relative.

For you “Lord of the Rings” fans, Mt. Tongariro was Mordor and Mt. Ngaurahue was Mt. Doom in the movies. These were the two volcanoes we walked between today. On the long knee busting descent Joe remarked that it just wasn’t fair that an eagle flew Frodo down and we had to walk.

We took only the small camera with us and are sorry that we didn’t take more photos. I was mainly focused on where I was putting my feet. The track included some tricky rocky places and a narrow steep descent filled with scree where I felt like if I took one wrong step I would slide right off into the abyss below. Others, including Joe, just cruised down it. I don’t know how they do it so fearlessly.

The day was perfect for this grunt, no wind, no rain, cool temps, blue skies and some cloud cover. I’m glad we did it, it was spectacular and I’ll remember the Red Crater forever and the fact that I hiked 12 hard miles to see it.

Tonight we just kicked back and visited with other travelers and watched TV for the first time in weeks.

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Photos

The Descent
Look closely to see the narrow mushy trail that scared me.

Waiting for the Shuttle
Lots of exhausted bodies!