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Fittingly, my final tramp in New Zealand was a solo hike, though not entirely alone. On the First Day, I shared the trail with the droves of people who do a day-hike of the Tongariro Crossing. Once I got away from the crowd, only DA-Karen and Jimbo kept me company as I completed the Tongariro Northern Circuit.
DA-Karen (my imaginary motivator)...
"What'd you mean 'But there's snow on top of Mt. Ngauruhoe'? This from the guy who talked me into the polar plunge? Get your butt up that mountain before I drag you up by that Bruce Lee 'Fro."
Jimbo (my imaginary optimist)...
"Seriously Tim, you should get a haircut. So hey, if you bag Ngauruhoe real quick, there'd still be time for the side trips to the Blue Lake and up Mt. Tongariro before we hike to Oterere and camp tonight. And listen to this... if you get up early, you could easily hike the 26km out to Whakapapa by lunch time. Seriously. No problem."
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This hike was insane... call me a broken record, but I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS!
Mt. Ngauruhoe (2291m)...
Mt. Ruapehu (2797m) from the summit of Ngauruhoe. Upper and Lower Tama Lakes in foreground.
Contrast of snow on the crater to desert 2000m below.
Slightly crooked self-timed mug shot atop Mt. Ngauruhoe.
Crazy colors of the aptly named Red Crater.
Tramper descending to Emerald Lakes.
The beautiful Blue Lake.
The dawn breaks on Mt. Ngauruhoe (right) and Mt. Ruapehu.
Crossing New Zealand's only desert... again Ngauruhoe looms as ever.
Me trying to be artsy.
The plains approaching Mt. Ruapehu
2 comments:
I'm sorry you had such an aweful time in NZ. Such boring, un-scenic hikes and all...I sure hope that SE Asia picks up the slack for you...
Oh, come on Jay... I'm sure Seattle is awesome right now. Folk-life festival is in a couple of weeks right? And I saw that the M's are having another outstanding season. Can't wait to see you bud. I owe you an email.
-Timmy
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