Day 9 The Tongariro Crossing!

We woke up at about 6 and quickly showered and assembled our gear for a final check. The air was frosty and you could see you breath in the morning sunshine. We opted for the cooked breakfast, as we wanted as much reserve food energy as we could. We filled up the water bottles and boarded the bus for the 30 ride to Mangatepopo parking lot where the 17 km crossing starts. The weather was perfect 10 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. When I did the crossing in 2005 we didn’t see the first half of the climb, as the weather was dreadful. We began the climb and after 1 hour we arrived at Soda Springs. The day was heating up and we removed our polar fleece jackets and the legs to our pants, as all that was needed was shorts and a light shirt. The view was stunning as the perfect cinder cone shape of Ngaurahohe volcano (Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings) was overwhelming. We began our climb up and up and up and up for almost 2 hours over a rock strewn difficult path. I places you have to step up onto ledges that are 18 inches high for long sections and you must pause frequently to catch your breath and give your quivering legs a chance to recover. When you are not looking down at your feet the views are overwhelming in their beauty. It became colder as we gained altitude and as we reached the summit and crossed the saddle the wind was howling and we had to use the straps to hold our hats on, as they would have been long gone and probably sitting at the bottom of Red Crater. After 3 hours we had gained about 850 meters in height and were rewarded with some of the most spectacular vistas you can imagine. Photographs do not do justice to this awe-inspiring landscape. We crested the saddle and looked down on the Emerald Lakes and simply gazed in wonderment at the sight. We had met a young girl named Ami from Edmonton who shared picture-taking responsibilities with us and walked with us for most of the day. Ami was in NZ to work for a few months before returning to Alberta to work to earn more money for her next trip abroad. She defiantly had the travel bug and kept us entertained along the track. We would our way across the main crater and lave field to make the final little climb and then began our long decent. We crested the crater rim and gazed on Blue Lake and walked along the edge until we turned the corner and started down in earnest. We finally saw Ketehahi hut our destination for lunch in the distance. It seemed like a few hundred meters away but took us over an hour descending on the track that switched back and forth. Each steps was becoming more and more difficult for me as my old creaky knees began to rebel. We arrived and made cheese sandwiches had some fruit and nuts, reapplied our sunscreen and started down the track once again. Winding trough the tussock grass and stepping down with every step was both beautiful and painful with every step. Finally we arrived in the bush section and were engulfed by trees and the sounds of birds. The small spring parallels the track and was a constant reminder of the pristine beauty of this place. We finally came around the corner and emerged into the parking lot to wait for our bus back to the lodge. We finished the track in 7 hours and sat in the cool shade for an hour watching all the hikers arrive. Everyone had a look of accomplishment on his or her faces and we all understood that we had just completed one of the top one-day hikes in the world both for difficulty and sheer beauty. Maybe in another 10 years Mary and I will return to do it one more time! For know another two Motrin’s and a hearty meal awaits us at the Railway Station Restaurant in the village of National Park.