I fought the mount and the mount won

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Remember a few short months ago when I shamelessly boasted on about my hiking prowess? Yeah, I retract all of that. I am officially out of shape. Yesterday, Steve and I embarked on a 18.5 km hike through the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. We clearly have not mastered the kilometers-miles conversion if we thought that would be a fun way to spend the day.

The hike started out pleasantly enough, passing through a huge crater between a few volcanoes. The sun was shining, the flat trail was clearly marked, and we were chipper and energetic. Until we encountered the "Devil's Staircase." This was absolutely nothing compared to the steps we climbed at Machu Picchu or in Nepal, yet my thighs burned and threatened to collapse under me early on. We made it up, only to learn we still had about 15 kilometers to go. We admired the beautiful views, the almost perfectly conical volcano (featured in LOTR, I've heard), and the shimmering emerald lakes. Fully rejuvenated, we opted to take a 3 km detour to a second volcano. We had to slip through snow on the last bit of the climb to the summit, which was thrilling until our shoes filled with icy slush with many miles to go. Rather than fight the snow back down, we sat on our ponchos and slid back to the rocky trail. I never thought I'd sled down a volcano on a 70 degree day!

The trail planners appeared to be sadists who fit in as many switchbacks and traverses across the face as they possibly could to extend the length of the hike. By the end of our nearly 22 km of fun, my legs were about to give out and Steve was on the prowl for more food.

Once we returned to the car, we rethought our itinerary and drove immediately to Rotorua, renowned for its thermal hot springs. We set up our tent over some thermally heated ground and plopped down in a ridiculously stinky pool until our legs were again capable of movement. A bad cover band and local pub grub completed the evening.

I cannot believe we'll be back in the States in less than two weeks. I have no idea where the time went, though my nearly-empty toiletries bag proves that we've been away for a long time. Most of our conversations have drifted to "when we get back..." and "I can't wait to see/eat/visit...." The emotions are definitely mixed - we're really excited to see our family and friends and experience married life in a familiar environment, but we also are great travel companions who are sad to see this adventure end and the realities of normal life resume.

See you very soon!

~Kelly

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Comments

[jenny]

Almost home :)
Can't wait to see y'all and here all of the stories and see all your pictures :)