Tales from the Top: Tongariro Alpine Crossing, New Zealand
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing doesn’t really have a summit, and it feels less like a hike and more like accidentally wandering onto another planet. I’ve done it twice, and I remember the Emerald Lakes: impossibly bright pools of green-blue water glowing against the barren volcanic terrain. I remember the ruthless New Zealand sun beating down on our backs as my boyfriend and I trudged across black lava fields, loose scree slopes, and the knee-busting alpine scrub trail toward the end. I remember all of that, but I also remember all the characters I met along the way.
In my experience, hikers can be unusually friendly. I think it’s because everyone is bonding over mutual knee pain and collective suffering lol.
The first time I did the Crossing, my boyfriend and I met these two young German guys on the trail asking us for water. I genuinely don’t know how they survived. They had met in a hostel, decided to do the hike on a whim, and brought a litre of water to last them the entire day. Not a litre each. One litre total. As if that wasn’t unhinged enough, these two lunatics also climbed Mt. Ngauruhoe, which isn’t part of the marked trail. The mountain doesn’t have a proper path, and they later told us they basically descended by throwing themselves down the scree slopes. Thank god both of them wore underwear, because the seats of their pants were completely shredded from the friction.
Along the way, my boyfriend and I had also been chatting on and off with this lovely older couple. At the end of the trail, we realised our shuttle bus had left without us, which is a terrible feeling after 19 kilometres. The older couple offered to drive us back to our lodge even though it was 30 kilometres out of their way. During the drive, we learned they were newly retired, had just completed a cross-country motorcycle trip with their son, and were slowly working through a giant post-retirement adventure bucket list.
The second time I did the Crossing, I went with a big group of friends. At the start of the hike, my boyfriend and I promised each other that we’d cross the finish line together. Somewhere between the never-ending zigzag descent into the forest and my rapidly deteriorating will to live, my boyfriend forgot our romantic pact and disappeared ahead with the others. I wasn’t angry, but I was mentally drafting a strongly worded relationship review. It must have shown on my face because this kind Japanese man essentially adopted me for the final stretch, walking beside me and offering gentle encouragement every so often. “We’re almost there.” “You can do this.” To this day, I still think about that random Japanese uncle every time I’m mildly inconvenienced on a walk. Funny how these things work out.