The next week and a half marks the first time in our two
month-long adventure that we have truly been on our own. With that in mind,
Caroline and I wanted with such fervor to hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing
that we planned to spend the next two, even three days waiting out the weather.
The Crossing, situated above 1000 meters for its entirety, is prone to high winds
and nasty rain, kind of like good ol’ Mt. Rainier in motherland Washington. Leaving
Rotorua with hopefulness and a little nervousness, we called the DOC office in
Whakapapa Village in Tongariro National Park to check the conditions. Not to
our surprise, things were not looking swell. Or rather, quite the swell of
weather was coming. We grabbed a soggy camp site near the Village, pitched our
tent, and soon after fell asleep to the sound of rain pelting our rainfall (its
first major test). Waking up in the morning we were greeted surprisingly by the
sun! We quickly ate some oatmeal, hastily packed the car, and raced to the DOC
office to get the conditions. We were told that the weather would not be
advisable for the crossing. Again, what a killjoy. However as I sat back in the
car, a restless sense of needing to at least try the hike delivered the
confidence to call a local shuttle company and ask if they would suggest the
hike. The kind woman on the line warned us that the Red Crater which is the
high point at 1800 meters had 80kmh winds, but if we were keen to go, we could
start on the north end and potentially make it to the emerald lakes before the
weather set back in. With that the pedal was near the floor and we were racing
the clouds in our trusty chunk of metal.
This is when things got good. As I was changing out of my
pajamas and racing through the items we would need for our climb, my mind was
flying faster than the winds at the crater. Without thinking about it, I locked
the car haphazardly. Just before our packs were filled and the boot (what a
trunk is called in NZ) it donned on me. “Sh**, Caroline, the keys are still in
the ignition…,” I stated, with the panic growing in my stomach. I instantly
went into criminal mode. Breaking in to my car is not a novelty to me. The best
until this point being the time I locked myself out before school with the car
running, the tank on empty, and the spare key with my mother in Idaho. This was
worse. We were out of cell reception, potentially a long ways away from any,
and trying to get on the mountain before the weather set. After unloading the
trunk of all of our belonging, the next 40 minutes were spent trying to get to
the latch which folds down the back seat. After physically bending the frame of
said seat, and to the crowd of the family that pulled up in their camper, we
finally got it! Needless to say, we were on the hill with the key glued and
zipped inside my pants pocket. Since that moment I check my pocket every thirty
seconds and present the key to Caroline when leaving the car.
The hike was a workout from start to finish. Trying to make
up for lost time we climbed 6.4km with close to 1000m of vertical gain in 1:26.
This exhausting pace would have had us to the lakes by about two hours had the
wind not picked up. With gusts hitting us swiftly in the face, the decision was
made to head back down. Those mountains, or I should say volcanoes, were
glorious. Still active and steaming from multiple craters, Tongariro is a site
to behold. Tussock and other harsh weather plant life covered the landscape in
between big blocks of volcanic rock.
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| Surprisingly got a good view even with all the clouds. |
Though we couldn’t tramp the whole crossing, there was absolutely
zero regret following us trying to walk on one of the world’s best hikes. The three
hours and 13km of hiking with 6000 feet of vertical gain and loss will leave us
with a sense of accomplishment and adventure for the rest of our lives.
Oh, and we’re going to get another key cut.
Until then,
Blake
P.S. Tongariro National Park is the site of Mordor from Lord
of the Rings. Mt. Ngauruhoe being the famed Mount Doom from the films. Any LOTR
fan would understand the thrill of walking through Mordor…
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