mangatepopo: feb 17 - 22
i'm sure this is getting boring, but i had another FANTASTIC week. the best yet, hands down. in short, i can summarize to two reasons: the people i meet and the exploring i get to do...
exhibit 1: people
1a: saturday evening, i was rushing back to the hut for evening radio call after a long day out when i spotted a guy heading up the trail (towards the mountains and the top of the crossing) with only a daypack. so i stopped him to find out what his plans were and make sure he wasn't a walking disaster. quite the opposite, he was just out to enjoy the last couple hours of daylight. we chatted for a bit and i left him to it. a few hours later, just as the sun was setting, i heard someone on the front porch of the hut and poked my head out of the quarters. "hey. just who i was looking for... when do you leave nz?" "umm... the end of april" "from auckland?" "yeah..." "just what i thought" and then he proceeded to give me his contact details and insist that i get in touch with him so that i could stay at his home in auckland and he would give me a ride to the airport in the morning. so this guy just walked off the main track to the hut to find me, who he had met for no more than 10 min., and would now be walking back to his car in the dark. unbelievable.
1b: i climbed up the backside of the south crater rim and popped over onto the summit of tongariro, where i found one other person, a very friendly, spunky older woman. i took a summit photo for her and had a polite little chat... i was in a hurry but she was heading down as well so we set off on the track together, still chatting... about halfway down i learned that she has thru-hiked the appalachian trail (92) and the pacific crest trail (96), and she is nearly done with a section hike of the continental divide trail! we had LOADS to talk about but not nearly enough distance until we reached the junction and needed to proceed in opposite directions. so i said goodbye with a "see you on the trail in montana, curly!"
exhibit 2: exploring
4 days of off-track exploring - climbing peaks, walking along ridgetops, following river valleys... 2 mountain summits (including mt ruapehu, the highest peak on the north island), the bottom of a dormant volcanic crater, hissing sulfur vents, the emerald lakes, a shower in a waterfall...
i could ramble forever about all the details... but it wouldn't mean much. suffice it to say that i saw something new every day, found my own way off the paths and away from anyone else, and returned to the hut beat every night. where i visited with great people, watched the sun set, and crashed so i could do it all over again the next day...
exhibit 1: people
1a: saturday evening, i was rushing back to the hut for evening radio call after a long day out when i spotted a guy heading up the trail (towards the mountains and the top of the crossing) with only a daypack. so i stopped him to find out what his plans were and make sure he wasn't a walking disaster. quite the opposite, he was just out to enjoy the last couple hours of daylight. we chatted for a bit and i left him to it. a few hours later, just as the sun was setting, i heard someone on the front porch of the hut and poked my head out of the quarters. "hey. just who i was looking for... when do you leave nz?" "umm... the end of april" "from auckland?" "yeah..." "just what i thought" and then he proceeded to give me his contact details and insist that i get in touch with him so that i could stay at his home in auckland and he would give me a ride to the airport in the morning. so this guy just walked off the main track to the hut to find me, who he had met for no more than 10 min., and would now be walking back to his car in the dark. unbelievable.
1b: i climbed up the backside of the south crater rim and popped over onto the summit of tongariro, where i found one other person, a very friendly, spunky older woman. i took a summit photo for her and had a polite little chat... i was in a hurry but she was heading down as well so we set off on the track together, still chatting... about halfway down i learned that she has thru-hiked the appalachian trail (92) and the pacific crest trail (96), and she is nearly done with a section hike of the continental divide trail! we had LOADS to talk about but not nearly enough distance until we reached the junction and needed to proceed in opposite directions. so i said goodbye with a "see you on the trail in montana, curly!"
exhibit 2: exploring
4 days of off-track exploring - climbing peaks, walking along ridgetops, following river valleys... 2 mountain summits (including mt ruapehu, the highest peak on the north island), the bottom of a dormant volcanic crater, hissing sulfur vents, the emerald lakes, a shower in a waterfall...
i could ramble forever about all the details... but it wouldn't mean much. suffice it to say that i saw something new every day, found my own way off the paths and away from anyone else, and returned to the hut beat every night. where i visited with great people, watched the sun set, and crashed so i could do it all over again the next day...
posted by bethany @ 1:57 PM
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