Tongariro Crossing: a hiker's perspective

Since Valena already put up a blog about how she liked the crossing, I figured I should mention my side of view since I tend to find some enjoyment from hiking. Now the hike was 19.4 km and we were told that it should take about 6-7 hrs to walk it. We were warned of the weather conditions such as wind and rain that we could get greeted with, and it seemed like all the Stray bus drivers wanted everyone to be extra prepared. Quite honestly, they built it up to be a lot more difficult than it actually was. We started the hike at about 8:10 and I got to the bottom around 2:30, which included hanging out at the top of the stairs for about an hour with everyone, trying to decide if I had time to make it to the summit without missing the last bus, and taking a long lunch break. The first hour of the hike was an easy, very gradual increase in elevation and then we got to what they called 'the devil's stairs." This name was very appropriate as the stairs just kept on coming, they were never-ending. You come up to a corner of the mountain, half expecting that you were at the end, but instead were greeted with another few stories of stairs. And the worst part of it all was being stuck behind the slow people who stop every couple of steps and pretend to not know that you are right behind them, just waiting for a chance to pass. The stairs probably was the most difficult part of the hike, but once we got to the top we got a great view of the valley. At the top of the stairs there are a couple of decisions that one could make depending on the time and how fast of a hiker one was. You could go left and continue to the end of the hike, which they say would take another 5 hours, or else continue up to the summit in 3 hours. We got to the top and in order to make our last bus we would have to make it to the summit and back in less than 2.5 hrs. Of course I wanted to do the summit, but for some reason I chose not to, which ended up being one of my biggest regrets of my whole trip. We hung around these area for about an hour as Mark and Andrew decided to do the summit. Then we kept on with the hike, quickly realizing that the climb wasn't over, and being faced with the strong winds at the top of another hill. This hike was a lot different than any of the hikes I've done at home in Canada. Instead of being in the forest surrounded by trees, or on mountains with views of greenery, this walk was full of volcanic rocks, and a lot of dirt. Don't get me wrong, the views were still amazing and enjoyable, just a lot different than anything I've experienced before. The best part of the whole hike definitely was when the emerald lakes came into view. These lakes were are gorgeous, rich turquoise color that really made the whole trek worth it. The lakes had a sulphur smell to them, and were full of hot spring water, but unfortunately we weren't allowed to touch it. To get down to the emerald lakes we had to carefully walk down the mountain of soft dirt, while Tom tried to capture anyone who tumbled on video. At the bottom we all emptied out our shoes and then decided to make it to the last large emerald lake to have lunch. We were a little surprised to run into snow when we made it to the lake. It was a little bizarre to see a large pile of snow with everything surrounding it being so brown and dry. It was a perfect spot for some pictures and our tasty lunches of tuna, trail mix and granola bars, which brought back memories of the West Coast Trail for me. The rest of the walk was pretty much easy going after this, except for when we were on one side of the cliff and the wind hit us full blast. We all had to stop to pull out our windbreakers and try to cover ourselves as much as we could. i think that I had goosebumps on my legs for at least a half hour after that. Once we got past the hurricane winds, the trail was downhill, first following the side of the cliff, once again giving a view of the valley, trees and houses, and then a boardwalk into the forest. In the forest there was a couple of creeks and waterfalls to stop and check out, but before you knew it, the hike was done. I can see why it was voted one the world's best day hikes as it has a lot to offer. The only recommendation that I would have is to leave early enough in the morning if you want to reach the summit and make it down in time to catch your bus. From the pictures that I have seen from the summit, it is well worth it and should not be missed.
Oh, and thanks to Andrew for the pictures he shared of the crossing.

Jod