Nov 13 - Tongariro Alpine Crossing and Mordor

Had to get up at 5 AM today. Let me repeat that for emphasis; 5 in the morning. The bus picked us up at 6:20 so we both had to shower, then cook and eat breakfast, make lunch and pack our hiking backpacks. Hopped on the bus and listened to the iPod as we stopped at a couple other hostels in Taupo to pick people up, then drove to another town and picked up more people. Then the bus drove to the Tongariro National Park and dropped us off at the start of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. The "TAC" is a grueling 19.4 KM hike through and over a mountain range then a descent into grasslands and rain forest. We wasted no time and hustled over and onto the trail as soon as the bus doors opened. We booked along at a pretty good pace on the initial trail, as it was wide and groomed (though it still had lots of stones and rocks that we could feel through our street shoes the whole day). After awhile, the track wound around some low cliff-like rocks for quite some time, which were much more difficult to maneuver through as it was a tight trail of dirt and mud with lots of boulders in the way that went up and down and around big pieces of rock. Surrounding the tight trail were open fields in the distance full of lava rocks. Eventually we arrived at Soda Springs, the first landmark on the hike, which was just a tiny stream coming off the mountain, trickling down to the ground. From here we had to hike up. Up and up and up some more. This section was called the devil's staircase and the map said "When you get there, you'll know why." It was section after section of steep trail, with lots of stairs and just when you thought it was over, the trail turned and there was a section even longer than the previous and even steeper. This took quite a long time to get all the way up and the legs were burning once we completed the climb. The result was a big crater area that thankfully was as flat as Saskatchewan. However, it didn't last long and then we had to climb up to the mountain top of some mountain or other that was challenging because there were lots of people climbing up the slope, the slope was narrow, the ground was loose pebbles and dirt and the winds were strong; something in the region of 50 km/hr. And it got cold. So less than ideal conditions, but after a long, tiring climb we reached the top of that mountain ridge. From here you could venture off on a side trail to climb to the summit of another mountain that was higher, but we figured we had enough of a task ahead of us, so we motored on. We also passed the mountain that was used as Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies and some of the valleys we looked down upon were used for the evil land of Mordor in the movies. Looking at the landscapes and black volcanic ash surrounding them, it was almost too easy for Peter Jackson to use this area for the films, it just works so perfectly. On the other side of the ridge, we had to descend basically the same distance we just climbed (there goes all the vertical progress!) and the ground was loose sand-like volcanic dirt with pebbles. We figured out a way to stay heavy on our heels and sort of ski down it though, which worked well and got us down quickly. At the bottom we came upon the Emerald Lakes. These 3 very cold little lakes (ponds really) were an abnormally vibrant turquoise green (and smelled of sulfur, yuck!). Stopped and ate lunch here and rested the legs for a bit, then packed up and continued on through slushy snow. This made the shoes all wet, and then all muddy when we got back onto a dirt trail that led up another ridge. At this point I really missed the flat land back home. Over the top of this ridge the landscape turned tundra-like and we had to navigate steep, winding trails on a mountainside. This trail eventually led to a warmer (lower) area and the trail wound back and forth and back and forth. It could have been a few KMs less if it just went straight down, but I guess they couldn't sell it as a "full day hike" that way. As the trail wound left and right over and over, the vegetation changed to grassland, then the trail curved less dramatically, but was on a constant decline that was very hard on the legs. So for sections of the awkward decline we jogged and eventually the vegetation changed once more, this time into rain forest. We walked quickly through the forest that lasted the last few KMs of the trail and after crossing over a nice stream, we emerged from the forest at the parking lot. Never before has the sight of a parking lot been so sweet. The ETA for the trail was 8.5 hours, but we had done it in 5 hours and 13 minutes, with probably 45 minutes of that as a lunch break. So the times were evidently overestimated hugely, but that being said, we were some of the first in our group to finish. Because we were early, we had to sit around and wait for the bus to arrive, which was alright, as we used that as nap time and snack time. The bus drove us back to the hostel in Taupo and a shower has not felt that good in ages. 20 KM of hiking through hot and cold and snow and mud and dust does a number on the body. As I stretch out, I notice the following sore body parts: feet, ankles, shins, calves, quads, butt, back and arms. The rest of the night was dedicated to Subway and watching TV. Tomorrow we take the Magic bus down to the National Park, where we'll spend 2 days. Not sure what we will do there now that we've done the hike, but Monday (for us) will be the Rider playoff game, because we didn't want to be on the road and miss that.