On a windy winding path of Tongariro

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5 am and the alarm goes off.
I’m not a morning person at all.

But every time I happen to be awake in the early morning hours I simply love it.
Those silent, peaceful hours waiting for the sun to return.
At least if I’m not forced to wake up.

This morning it was kind of voluntary.
We were up to the Tongariro Alpine Crossing hike.

If you prefer to read in Finnish, continue here/Jos luet mieluummin suomeksi, jatka tänne.

We had long awaited to do this one of the best day hikes in the world. We had already headed back to New Zealand (2018), where we’d been one year ago.
It was our first time in the Northern Island and I had dreamt of trekking – or should I say tramping like Kiwis do – the famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

But the Lord of the Rings wasn’t auspicious to our plan.
We needed to wait for the storms to pass, the skies to clear and paths to dry.

Days passed, two weeks passed.
We were hanging around the Northern Island. First in Rotorua, next in Gisborne, then Napier.
I began to feel desperate. Are we ever going to make it?
Our time was running short here.

And then.
Clear blue skies, muddy paths drying.
Permission given, gates opened.
Guards of the Mount Doom finally turned propitious for us.

The winding path of Tongariro was there, right before our eyes.
We stood at the beginning of the path.
And the sun rose.

Getting doubts in the very beginning

19,6 kilometers. It isn’t bad for a day hike. Not bad at all. But there will be moments of doubt.
In the beginning, there’s swampy soil, pure flat ground. After about an hour we reached a rocky area and began ascending.
Devil’s steps. That’s what they are called. And that’s how they feel.

And there is that thing… There is no way to quit between the beginning of a trail and the end. You start, you do it.
Midway of the Devil’s steps a slight horror hits. We are still at the very beginning of this trail. And we are already exhausted.
Maybe we could turn back? Maybe we should turn back.
But I don’t want to give up.
Come hell or high water.

Ahead we go. Up there scenery is wide open, breathtaking but not literally. Volcanoes right in front of us.
And the trail is flat again.
During our day in Tongariro National Park, we learn that there are lots of ascending and descending on the path of Tongariro Alpine Crossing. – Yes, the name should give a hint.
Yet it isn’t physically too demanding.

However, we made one mistake at the end. Well, we thought it was the end. Of the trail I mean.
We had lost some time descending a very rocky volcano side just before reaching the famous Emerald Lakes.
Let’s back a little.

In the Middle-Earth we went bananas

Gravel rolling under our boots I was pretty sure we’d soon fall into a burning red crater. Heavy wind didn’t help much.
And I mean heavy.

You will be sweaty on the flat soil between the mountains and you likely want to take off your jacket. It’s all fine, but before rising again make sure you will wear it again and close it tight. I’m serious, wear your jacket before ascending, there is no way to dress at the top hence the whistling wind. And you’d freeze to dead in your sweaty t-shirt.
Note that the weather is very unpredictable in New Zealand and Tongariro National Park is not an exception.

But there, at the top, you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world. Doesn’t matter how many pics you’ve seen of those Emerald Lakes, they will impress much more than you could imagine.
I could have stayed for hours just staring at those lakes glittering in green, blue, turquoise.
Time is limited, so no too much sighing. The descent is demanding hence the gravel. I basically took a slide sitting on my butt.

Down at the lakes we went bananas. We knew we were running short of time and should be running, but we sat down for five minutes. We just couldn’t leave this scene when we had finally reached it.
It was time to sip some water and eat bananas.
And it was time to continue.

No running on trails!

In the beginning, we had been so fast that we were way ahead of our schedule but had lost time struggling with the gravel.
We were only halfway but had spent more than half of our time. – The nasty part is that the bus wouldn’t wait if you weren’t there at its leave.

So we kept going, partially jogging. When we again descended we started running.
There were still a lot of hikers behind us and we passed many running. We weren’t much tired.
– Only a couple of kilometers left. So easy!
And then there are stairs.
Up.

We had used all our energy running, believing we wouldn’t ascend anymore. But no choice. Back on the flat ground again we were so exhausted we could barely walk slowly. On a descent, I felt dropping on my knees. Never underestimate mountain trails, I should know better.

We reached the bus 15 minutes prior to its scheduled departure. But we weren’t the last ones to arrive at our destination.

What to pack for the Tongariro hike

• Wear layers: You will need a t-shirt/tanktop, windscreen & warm clothing such as coat, long-sleeve shirt/pullover, cap & gloves – yes, all on the same day and in the summer too (you can’t even access the Tongariro trail on winter).
  I prefer *an ultra-lightweight jacket, not only for hiking but traveling in general – such a space saver for minimalist nomads!
• Sun protection: sunscreen lotion with high SPF, hat, sunglasses
• Proper hiking boots, *this is what I use
• Multiple liters of drinking water
• Eat a heavy breakfast before leaving on the route and bring snacks.
  Fresh and dried fruits, peanuts, and boiled eggs are good options.
  Protein bars are nice too if you like them. (I don’t)
• Pack everything in *a small backpack like this, I prefer Jack Wolfskin for its high quality.

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