Tongariro Crossing and Mt Ruapehu

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November 21, 2007

It was a very early morning for us again today, starting well before the sun came up. The shuttle picked us up from the hostel at 6:00 a.m. and drove us forty-five minutes to the trailhead for the famous Tongariro Crossing.
We began hiking at 7:00 a.m., but it still wasn’t enough to beat the crowds. This is one of New Zealand’s “Great Walks,” which means the tracks are crowded and we still have to pay for staying at the huts on it, despite already paying for a year-long countrywide hut pass.
Within an hour of hiking up a volcanic canyon we came to a very steep section that ascended about 1,000 feet up to a saddle between two mountains. The terrain is very different from everything we’ve seen so far, with black and jagged rocks jutting out from a martian looking landscape. The entire area is rock, ash, dirt, and the occasional patch of scrub grass, but no trees grow up here. This is the area that Mordor in Lord of the Rings was filmed in, and at the saddle we had an excellent view of Mount Ngauruhoe which is what they also used in the movie to portray Mount Doom.
We walked further across wind-swept flat ground surrounded by several craters-- some of which still give off gas. Ascending further we came to several lakes with beautiful turquoise-green water, colored that way by the sulfur and other minerals. And then we came to the great Red Crater, which is at the high-point on the crossing. The beautiful reds and blacks inside the crater show how this area got the coloring that it did.
After spending some time at a lake near the top, we headed down into a valley on the opposite side of the mountains. Winding our way through a valley littered with huge volcanic rocks, thrown there miles from the crater thousands of years before, I noticed the landscape changing even further to almost desert-like.
It was another hour until we got to the Oturere hut, but it was only 12:30 p.m. and we had finished our hiking for the day even before lunchtime. The only person we found at the hut was a woman named Fern who was resting and waiting for some friends to arrive. She had blisters on her feet so I gave her some moleskin and bandages to help repair them; but her bigger problem was her boots, which were rapidly disintegrating as she walked. Hopefully they’ll last her back to her car!
Tonight I cooked pancakes for dinner as the hut began to fill up. It’s almost full with around twenty people and it’s very interesting to hear the wide array of languages going over the adventures of the day. No matter the nationality, we’re all trampers here and all grateful to sleep in this beautiful hut tonight.

November 22, 2007

Most people at these huts try to get an early start. We are not most people. We had a leisurely breakfast and talked with Deiter and Cathy, a couple from Carbondale, Colorado, who were also staying at the hut. Just before 9:00 a.m. we rolled out, headed south and off of the Great Walk trail onto a connecting trail that gets much less use.
The morning walking went great, and soon we arrived at another hut which was located at a junction of two trails. One way looped back around to our starting point on the Great Walk trail and the other led south towards Mount Ruapehu. A group of Israelis from last night’s hut were stopped at this hut, so we stopped as well for an hour to have coffee with them.
From there we began the trail that skirted around Mount Ruapehu, the largest semi-active volcano in New Zealand. We would see no one for the rest of the day-- quite a contrast from the previous day and a half.
The terrain changed to even more arid and wide open. This area is in a rain-shadow from the towering peaks to the west, so it is a very desolate place. We did come to an interesting place late in the afternoon. Whenever Mount Ruapehu erupts it sends a volcanic mudflow known as a lahar down a valley on the mountainside. We came to one such place and saw several signs telling us not to cross if we saw lava flowing or if we heard a loud rumbling noise up on the mountain. I’ll tell you what, if I heard a loud rumbling noise while on this mountain, continuing on the hiking path is the last thing I’d do. More likely I’d be running down the mountain as fast as possible. Anyway, we got across the valley without any eruptions. (They only happen about every ten years or so, so I had a feeling we’d be fine.) From there it was only another forty-five minutes to the Rangipo hut for tonight which is empty except for us and I anticipate it staying that way.

**On a side note: during dinner tonight I realized that today is Thanksgiving back home. While the meal Eric and I are eating is no feast, we did happen to have some Thanksgivingish things. We had potatoes (instant), a carrot (raw), a can of tuna instead of turkey, scrambled eggs (instead of deviled), and part of a chocolate bar for dessert. Ok, so it sucked compared to the meal my family is surely having, but at least I’m being thankful for the spectacular views from where I'm eating it.**

November 23, 2007

Today was a good day for hiking. We had great weather and it was only four hours to the next hut. I’ve really enjoyed this track over the past few days.
The front of the hut last night faced to the east so I made it a point to wake up at 6:00 a.m. for the sunrise. I wasn’t disappointed as it was a brilliant one. We were situated so high that I could see the clouds below me as I watched the sun rise above them.
After a leisurely breakfast we set off for the day’s hike. The mountainside continued to undulate, sending us up and down, but more down than anything else. Within an hour we came to the biggest hurdle of the day: a deep river valley. Scrambling down the rocks on one side surprisingly took longer than climbing back up the other side. At the top we ran into the first other hikers we’ve met on this Round the Mountain trail. After talking to the people, a couple from Australia, we sat down for lunch. Sitting on the edge of the valley with the mountain towering behind it gave me a wonderful view to enjoy while eating my english muffin with Nutella as well as some trail mix. That is a pretty standard lunch for us.
An hour after lunch the trail began to come off the eastern desert side of Mount Ruapehu and turn toward the south side, which is more of a beech tree forest. Within an hour we arrived at the Mangaehuehu Hut, which offers views of yet another side of this volcano mountain.
Tonight we cooked dinner completely on the wood burning stove inside the hut and didn’t have to use our own stove or gas at all. We had bean and rice burritos, which has quickly become one of our favorite meals.

November 24, 2007

Getting up early seemed almost easy today, as it was a choice between that or continuing to hide from the cold inside my sleeping bag. Without a fire going, some of the huts can get pretty cold at night.
The hiking was also easy, the trail winding through the beech forest losing elevation and eventually spitting us out on a road. We walked for an hour before getting picked up for the last ten kilometers. We were in no rush though, as our bus didn’t leave town until three p.m. So after getting to town with three hours to burn we enjoyed some fresh produce and ice cream on a street bench.
This bus picked us up and took us south to the city of Palmerston North. The ride was about three hours, although we didn’t cover much north/south distance. The road was very windy around steep farm-hills, which makes me realize why there are no trails through the area.
Once in town we had to try two different hostels to find one with room, but the second one turned out to be very good as it was more like a home-setting. We had crepes for dinner and some relaxing time vegging out in front of the TV afterwards.

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