Tongariro Alpine Crossing
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I’ve scheduled this post to publish on what will be four years to the day since I hiked the Tongariro Alpine Crossing on New Zealand’s North Island. Devastatingly, while looking for the photos of that trip, I’ve seen that they’ve all been corrupted. Thankfully, I still have all the handwritten text safely stored in my fourth journal. (January 2024 update: I found all the original photos!)
I completed the Tongariro Alpine Crossing two days after what is to-date my last triathlon (Ironman 70.3 Taupo). I lost interest in the sport not long after, but there’s no question that this race was my favourite triathlon. Perhaps second only to the New York Marathon as my favourite, and best ever race! This trip to New Zealand in March, 2019 ended the day after I saw Red Hot Chili Peppers perform in Auckland. It was the first time I traveled solo (mostly, friends from work were at the race too) and remains one of my absolute favourite holidays. Below is a verbatim reproduction of what I wrote in my journal in the hostel at Tongariro National Park the afternoon after I finished the hike…
4th of March, 2019
I’d inaccurately said to everyone that I would be venturing into Mordor today to climb Mt. Doom. Turns out that Mt. Tongariro is not the site of the iconic volcano from The Lord of the Rings. Small details aside, the trek along the Tongariro Alpine Crossing was phenomenal! Whilst I was up there, I was trying to think of words to use to describe what I was seeing, but nothing came to mind. I started at six-thirty in the morning, as I’d read that the twenty-kilometre trek took between six and eight hours to complete, and wanted to give myself the maximum amount of time up there. I spent the first two hours after the bus dropped us off, walking along a trail to Mt. Tongariro itself. I remember climbing over a hill and then dropping down into what I can only describe as a barren volcanic valley. Tongariro to my right, and more mountain range to my left. The valley was gigantic and completely devoid of anything but rock and sand. I’ve never felt so small before in my life. I reckon one could comfortably land a jumbo jet in that valley. It was just so big! As I walked closer to the volcano that is Tongariro, that trail started heading up, and so up I climbed, breaking into a sweat as I ascended the steep cliff. Upon reaching the top, I was able to look back over my shoulder and see all at once, the incredible size of the valley I’ve just described. As I continued along the hiking trail, Tongariro now at my back, the valley on my left, I was left awestruck by the view to my right. Spectacular endless New Zealand countryside being gently kissed by the still rising sun. I had to stop and sit on a nearby rock, unwrap a sandwich, and just soak up what I was seeing while I munched it down.
As I continued along the trail, I was taken further from Tongariro. Having now climbed to the highest altitude (870 metres) it was time to ‘cross’ the alpine crossing. Much of my view on the left and right became obscured by the mountains themselves, and I became aware of the smell of sulfur. I’d smelled it before on this trip, most recently at Craters of the Moon. As the path curved around, I saw the source of the smell. I learned after getting back to my hostel this afternoon, that this particular section of the crossing is called the Emerald Lakes. We’d been warned not to drink any of the water on the trek due to the volcanic nature of the environment. I was blown away by these green bodies of sulfuric water. I’d never seen anything like it before, and it really did look like something straight out of The Lord of the Rings – complete with steam rising from the ground and surrounding rock. We were able to get quite close to the lakes, but it required a careful, steep descent down slippery volcanic slate. I nearly hit the deck on multiple occasions and was pleased I’d brought new shoes for the hike. The closer I got, the more overpowering the smell became and the more aware I was, of the volcanic region in which I was hiking.
Another steep climb lay ahead of me as I continued the crossing. I’d walked far enough by now (almost four hours) that I could see Lake Taupo way in the distance. Before long, I was beginning my descent. It was amazing how quickly the terrain changed from barren, never-ending rock, to green, alpine bush and shrubbery. The descent was very steep and I could feel my knees taking strain. At some points it was easier to run, which of course caused my aching leg muscles from the Half Ironman two days ago to scream at me. As I approached the very bottom, the terrain changed again. Instantly, just like a light switch. So I spent the last three kilometres walking through rain forest as I made my way to the pickup point and await the bus that would take me back to the hostel after this epic five hour hike.