The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is a hike that came highly recommended across the board from fellow travelers. It definitely lived up to all the hype for me - the experience was spectacular- my favorite part of the north island of New Zealand and a major highlight of my trip thus far! I stayed in Taupo and took a shuttle bus from there to the trailhead at 5:20am. Our bus blew a tire on the way there, so we didn't end up getting there until nearly 10am! Didn't bother me much, I just got an extra long nap in :) I had decided to run the crossing in order to inject some extra marathon training into my vacation. I added in summits of Mt. Ngaurahoe and Mt. Tongariro which made the total distance about 30 kilometers (~19 miles) with the side summit trips. It was a great workout and took me about 5 hours running (not including the mandatory photo breaks...) with a total altitude gain of 1,516m (4974 feet) / descent of 1,876m (6,154 feet) - no wonder my quads were killing me by the end!
The hike begins in meadows with views of the nearby snow-capped volcano and winter ski resort Mt. Ruapehu. Several volcanic hazard/warning signs dot the trail, and sulfur smells and hot steam rising from the ground are reminders of the risks (last eruption was in 2012).
My favorite part was the summit of Mt. Ngaurahoe (apparently Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies). This climb resembled ascending a skyscraper of stairs that are made of sand, with no real trail, and the only rocks to grab on to were covered in a layer of ice (freezing rain?) As I neared the summit, rocks turned to a maroon/red color, and the wind blew fiercely. I chatted with a guy from Canada who snapped my picture as I looked into the giant volcanic crater. We had breathtaking panoramic views - the ominous crater and Mar-like volcanic terrain, surreal blue lakes, mountains on both sides, and distant New Zealand farm country. The descent was similar to flying down the scree fields of Mt. Marathon (Alaska) - fast and fun.
The nearby summit of Mt. Tongariro was a lot less strenuous and not quite as impressive, but worth the detour to have the reverse panorama for photos.
The hike also included passing by several lakes (I have not edited any pictures- they are really that blue!) I met a lot of interesting people along the route, but I have to admit the only down side was that it was annoying to continually pass people on the trail and to field their commentary and questions about why I was running it. While the trail was crowded, especially given the late morning start, this trip was hands down one of the most amazing things I've ever done!
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