McCrain's
in Middle Earth
A travel dialogue of our adventures
in New Zealand
In February 2004, Jim and Kathy McCrain began a five month oddessy in New Zealand. Kathy was transferred to Auckland for a temporary work assignment, and Jim followed her for moral support. (Isn't he just the greatest husband?) What follows is Jim's account of this adventure.
Mountain Climbing Time Again!
July 8, 2004
I
like climbing mountains. Anyone who knows me, knows this fact.
Put a little snow on the mountains, and I want to climb them even more!
One of my main climbing goals while on New Zealand's North Island has
been to do the classic Tongariro Crossing.
This track is rated as the best single-day track in all of New Zealand.
Of course, that usually means during nice, pleasant, good-weather. I
would not get a chance to do the crossing in ideal weather since we
got here at the change of the seasons. So I waited until I got a weather
forecast that promised
"decent" weather for a few days. A five-hour drive from Auckland
found me at the base of the Tongariro Crossing on a Wednesday evening.
a short 30 minute walk and I was at the Mangitipopo Hut, where I would
spend the night. Thank goodness for the NZ back-country
hut system! The weather turned sour (as expected) and
the night was spent listening to howling winds and the blasting of a
torrent of freezing rain. "Oh boy!" I thought. "This
is going to be a GREAT trip!"
When
the sun came out the next morning, I couldn't believe my eyes!
Absolutely crystal-clear skies, with not a cloud in site. There before
me was not only Mt. Tongariro, but also Mt. Ruepehu (in the near distance)
and the entirety of Mt. Ngauruhoe. Ngauruhoe is a perfectly shaped volcanic
cone. It has the picture-perfect volcano look. One look at this mountain,
and I knew that I would not be doing the 
Crossing,
but would instead spend my time climbing this magnificent peak. I
spent two hours breaking trail through the snow to get to the base of
Ngauruhoe, and then another two hours to reach the summit.
The trail was pretty easy until those last two hours, when the snow
turned to a pretty solid ice. The slope of Ngauruhoe is very steep,
and I had to use crampons (shoe spikes) and an ice-axe for safety. It
became bitterly cold towards the top, as a light breeze started to blow.
I was happy to have that breeze, though, as it blew the 
steam
coming out of the volcanic crater away from my face! It
is a very strange feeling to be climbing an active volcano!
Of course, after climbing for so long, breaking trail all the way, imagine
my dismay when I looked down and saw four more people climbing the mountain,
but using MY trail! They made it up to the top in a LOT less time than
it took ME to climb it! Oh well, the first one up generally has to work
a little harder.
Once I got back down to
the hut, I was treated to the site of Mt. Taranaki in the distance.
Taranaki is about 200 kilometers from Ngauruhoe, but it
looked 
close
enough to reach out and touch. It was an extremely tiring,
and yet rewarding day of climbing. I was blessed with fantastic weather,
and even better views. It was definitely worth the wait. I just wish
that Kathy could have shared this climb with me.
And for those of you who have seen "The Lord of the Rings" movies, you will recognize both Mt. Ngauruhoe and Mt. Taranaki. Both of these mountains were used to represent Mt. Doom! So, I can actually say that I have been to the land of Mordor! (It's not so bad in winter!)
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