Alright so here we go. It's the evening before our planned 6 to 8 hour hike along the Tongariro Crossing and 3 hour detour and summit of Mount Ngauruhoe. I am so nervous... Here are the facts:
-Tongariro National Park was established in 1887 as New Zealand's first national park, consisting of the three peaks: Tongariro, Ngauruhoe, and Ruapehu. "Tonga" means "south wind", and "Riro" means "carried away". The three peaks were a gift from the local Iwi tribe (yes, Iwi, not Kiwi) who saw the act as the only way to preserve this area of spiritual significance.
- The Tongariro area has grown over last 300,000 years. The land mass was formed by many different eruptions from at least six cones all sharing the same alignment. The oldest lava started flowing about 275,000 years ago, near what is now the Tama Lakes on the southern flanks of Mount Ngauruhoe. Even today it is easy to identify the recent lava flows from Mount Ngauruhoe.
-The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is reputedly the best one day hike in New Zealand, seeing hundreds of hikers a day during the summer months. The track crosses some of the most unique landscape in the world: active volcanos, numerous craters, turquoise-colored lakes, steaming vents, hot springs, and a wide range of plant life from sparse moss at high elevation to rain forest at low elevation.
-The Crossing's elevation starts at 1100 meters and you reach the saddle and South Crater at 1700 meters. The Red Crater is the Crossing's highest point at 1900 meters, you descend to the Emerald Lakes at 1700 meters, go back up to the Blue Lake at 1800 meters, and then all the way leisurely down to finish the Crossing at 800 meters.
-Mount Ruapehu at 2797 meters is the highest and most active of the park's volcanos. It had volcanic hiccups of hot mud in 1969 and 1975. In 1988 the volcano spewed hot rocks. These were tame compared to the 1995 eruptions that spurted volcanic rock and cloaked the area in clouds of ash and steam while the mountain continued to groan and rumble for the next six months. The latest eruption was in 2007. Mount Ruapehu is also a popular snow ski destination, imagine skiing on that!
-Mount Tongariro is old but still active at 1967 meters high. Mount Tongariro (as well as Ruapehu) is not a single volcano, but a complex of craters that have been active at different periods. The Red Crater most recently erupted in 1926. Actually, the Red Crater and Mount Ngauruhoe are the most recently formed features on the Crossing.
-Mount Ngauruhoe (pronounced Nair-uh-ho-ee) is known for its cameo as Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. At 2287 meters high, Ngauruhoe is the most active and the youngest of the three volcanos, estimated to have formed in the last 2500 years (the pyramids from Egypt had already been completed for 2000 years!). While Ruapehu and Tongariro have multiple vents, Ngauruhoe is a conical, single-vent volcano with perfectly symmetrical slopes (which is why it was chosen to be Mount Doom in LOTR). The symmetry of Ngauruhoe's cone is due to regular eruptions.
...So why am I so nervous?
Well, the weather on the Crossing can change drastically and suddenly without warning. There are warning signs and pamphlets everywhere reminding hikers to be adequately equipped for any type of weather (blazing sun and severe heat to freezing rain and high winds).
I've heard from my friends on GT's study abroad program that when they did the Crossing, they we're so exhausted during the last 5 kilometers that they wanted to die. Adding the Mount Doom summit to the Crossing itself seems almost idiotic.
Did I mention that there is no trail to the summit? No markers, no foot path, nothing. I've been going over and over in my head what the locals and what Callum have repeatedly told us is the best route to go. I've studied pictures of the mountain side, but they all say that you'll understand once you see the volcano up close. Goodie!
Even better, Mount Doom's most recent eruption was in 1975. It has been quiet for 35 years now, which is the longest break in activity in its recorded history. The steam seeping through the rocks at the outer crest suggest that it's single vent has become blocked. Who knows what's going to happen when it finally builds up enough energy to burst through...
Even so, Kearse and I are planning to do both the Tongariro Crossing and the Mount Doom summit. I'm feeling apprehensive, anxious, nervous. Worried mostly about the weather, the climb up the volcano, and the run down. The trail is not marked. You climb rocks on the way up, and run down the scree on the way down. The scree (also spelled scoria) is a mix of volcanic ash, sand, dirt, rocks, and boulders that makes Mt. Doom look like a giant sand dune. Three steps up leads to two steps sliding back down, so we have to find the rockiest place to climb up instead of climbing up in the scree. Then we run down the scree, which is apparently easier than trying to walk down because the mountain side is so steep.
I know I've got good equipment, so few worries there (though I wish I had a pair of loose hiking pants to protect my lower legs, especially when going through the scree). I used to be worried just about the Crossing, but now that we have discovered we can summit Mt. Doom, all my thoughts and worries have shifted to that portion of our "hike". I hate using the word worry because it's not quite that extreme, I guess I'm just anxious. I need to get on the trail and see it up close, then I'll be okay. It's that fear-of-the-unknown that's getting to me.
The shuttle leaves at 5:45 in the morning, and I hope I can get packed and get some good sleep tonight. I'm praying for good weather and clear visibility on the Crossing tomorrow. There have been angry clouds swirling around Mt. Doom this evening. I hope we'll even be able to see the summit on our crossing! Another thing, calling it the crossing, I feel like I'm taking this spiritual journey, crossing over into a new phase of life, you know? Like how the male aborigines prepare and devote their whole lives to study, and then they climb to the top of Uluru and, if they survive, they become a man. Now I'm not aiming to become a man, but you get the idea right? I feel like tonight is the eve of something extraordinary and scary and brilliant all at the same time. I hope we survive.
No comments:
Post a Comment