courtesy of gav
After a glorious few days in Raglan I made my way to Turangi for the Tongarrio crossing – a difficult 19.4km hike. The crossing alone takes about seven hours of steady walking and requires a good level of fitness. I decided I would also conquer the side hike of Mount Ngauruhoe (Mount Doom featured in Lord of the Rings).
Wikipedia; “Mt Ngauruhoe can be climbed as a side trip from the main crossing, however this is not recommended for any but the fittest and most experienced of climbers. It takes three to four hours for an average walker, extending the entire trip to an 11–12 hour tramp.”
I considered the crossing to be more of a physical challenge, I wasn’t doing it to take pretty pictures or make friends on route.
On the evening I stocked up on carbs and had 3 huge bowls of pasta. By my bunk I had a red bull for my morning kick and in my pack for the hike I had 2litres of water, dark chocolate and a tub of pasta.
It was an early pick up at 06.00 and bloody freezing, but not a cloud in the sky. In my eyes I looked the part in my military jumper and cargo shorts and was mentally and physically prepared for the challenge. On the bus a German guy made a comment on how I was stupid wearing shorts – he picked the wrong guy to annoy, I’m not a morning person.
On route the driver noted if anyone planned on doing the Mount Doom side hike, I raised my hand, along with Ze German guy – we looked at each other and held eye contact for a few seconds. It was on, we both knew it, who was going to make the finish first.
The driver dropped us off at the start and before we even came to a stop Ze German was off. I did some lunges and various other stretches and decided I’d run the first section, mainly to get warm. I soon passed Ze German, and yes the tale of the hair & tortoise did pass my mind.
Being out in the Tongarrio wilderness at dawn was a priveledge – It was nice to be alone and the scenery around me was breathtaking. After 4km’s of running I reached the man made stairs, thousands of them! I slowed the pace and trudged on, not a soul in sight. It wasn’t long before the sun was fully up and I reached the foot of Mt. Doom.
Going up mount doom was really tough it wasn’t a hike but a climb, the gradient was steep – I’d say a double black diamond in skiing terms. The hardest part was trying to climb up the silt, every couple steps up I’d slip back a step.
After a determined climb I reached the summit, and it was well worth the effort. One of the best single moments I’ve had since my travels. I’d conquered the Mountain and the views were amazing.
Please excuse my bad language on the ‘you’ve been framed video’.
The descent was much easier and by going down the silt fields you could virtually slide to the bottom within 20mintues. On my slide down I crossed paths with what looked to be two Olympic athletes dressed head to toe in lycra, they were going a similar pace and hot on my tale. Once at the bottom I continued running. I made it to 10km before the two olympians passed me and I managed to keep them in my sights till 15km – at 15km I decided enough was enough, afterall 15km is a world record for my longest running distance so I decided to stop in case I was to keel over and die. I didn’t want to die wearing shit clothes and more importantly I didn’t want be beaten by Ze German guy who had pissed me off.
Mount Doom
I caught up with a couple chicks from the bus who opted out of Mt. Doom, I stuck with them and we kept a steady pace. The scenery along the crossing was spectacular.
Finally we made it to the end! And after a 30 minutes collapsed on the grass the bus turned up, shortly after Ze German appeared looking like death – Ze German was puzzled and seemed devastated seeing me sat on the bus cool as a cucumber. Winner.
Start time – 06.40. Finish time – 14.00. Total time – 7hrs20, which I imagine is close to the world record time.
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Fantastic pics Son! Looks well worth the strain and effort you put in – pleased to hear you will be in the next Olympics – though not sure what category it comes under!
Back from hols will Skpye this w/end – hope your new travels are just as good.
LOL Mum X