Tongariro Alpine Crossing

A quick word about the Tongariro Alpine Crossing might be in order at this juncture. The crossing is considered one of the best day hikes in the world. It is 19.4 km long and it goes through the flank of Mt. Tongariro, past craters and lakes. Mt. Ngauruhoe - the famed Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings - is to the south of the trail. In the past, one could also divert off the main trail to climb Ngauruhoe, but this side trail was recently closed to keep hikers off the sacred peak.

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I left the motor lodge in a minivan at 7am after eating breakfast and collecting my packed lunch from Maggie, the lovely proprietress. The weather was overcast as we drove into low clouds, but the driver gave us hope when he said we may climb above the clouds during the trek.

The minivan deposited us at the trailhead at 7.30am, at which point I started my MapMyRun app (more on this later). The first part of the hike was an easy gentle ascent through scrubland on a well marked path. The snow covered peak of Mt. Tongariro was to my left, and Mt. Ngauruhoe was on my right, not that I could see them through the clouds. I covered the first 5km to the Soda Springs turn off easily within 90 minutes. I then veered off the main trail to visit Soda Springs, which turned out to be a small waterfall.

A little further on was where the real climb started, and it was marked with a rather demoralizing sign telling trekkers to consider turning back now if they weren’t in shape or adequately provisioned. Up till this point, the elevation gain had only been around 700 feet. The trail now went up the flank of Mt. Tongariro to the Red Crater, which is the highest point in the climb at over 6,000 feet, or almost 2,000 feet above Soda Springs. I won’t lie here. Even though I am an experienced hiker, this was a tough climb. The trail was well marked, but I did have to scramble over rocks quite a bit. Sadly, even with this steep ascent, I did not get above the clouds.

After a hard slog, I got to the Red Crater and took my first break there. The crater was covered by clouds so I didn’t get to see much. After a quick break, I tackled the last bit of the ascent to the true summit, and then psyched myself for what I knew would be the most difficult part of the hike - the descent to the lakes. This descent requires one to slide down a steep scree slope, with drops on both sides. I’ve done enough scree slopes to know that it is best to dig your heels in and slide down. I took a deep breath and started out, trying to stay away from the edges. I fell once on my butt. Unlike many other hikers, I’m a lot more comfortable ascending than descending. But boy was it beautiful. There was a huge caldera on my left, and, as I left the Red Crater (it was on my right) behind, the scenery beyond the clouds hinted at two beautiful lakes - the Emerald Lakes.

At the lakes, I took another short break, willing the clouds to clear, but they didn’t. During this break, I took off my boots, shook out the stones that had gotten inside, and felt immensely pleased that I purchased a pair of thin socks before I left Singapore. I was wearing these socks underneath my thick hiking socks and I had no blisters so far.

After leaving the lakes, the trail took me through the caldera that had been on my left. The landscape here was stark yet beautiful. At the end of the caldera, I made an ascent up the side to come to another cloud shrouded lake - this one was called the Blue Lake. I sat here with a bunch of other hikers wishing the clouds would part, but they didn’t. Disappointed, I left the lake behind and started the descent.

The signposts indicated that this descent was 10.4km. I swear it was longer than that. Up until that point, I hadn’t been paying much attention to my MapMyRun app which was mapping the hike in miles. I expected the hike to only be a little longer than 12 miles. I turned up the volume on my phone so that I would hear my app chime off each time I completed a mile.

The first part of the descent was down switchbacks through scrubland. It started to rain. It was a relatively easy descent to the Ketetahi Hut, which was the main rest stop on the descent. After the hut, though, the descent got steeper, and it went on and on. I let a lot of youngsters with stronger knees pass me. I started feeling demoralized. Then, the scrub abruptly gave way to forest. My app chimed 11 miles, then 12, at which time I expected the hike to end soon, but this forest went on and on. I trudged on in the rain. Everything hurt - middle age really does suck. I was quite demoralized when the app chimed 13 miles. The trail went on for almost another half mile before I saw the end point - a most welcome sight. My pickup wasn’t due to depart for another 45 minutes, so I hung out until the minivan appeared.

Back at the lodge, I showered and then hopped into the hot tub, which, unfortunately, was set at only 38 celsius with strict instructions not to change the setting. Later that evening, I hauled myself to the local cafe and then called it a night.

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