Tongariro Alpine Crossing

I wanted to hike Tongariro Alpine Crossing because it’s often called one of the best one-day hikes in the world. Tongariro National Park was also filmed as Mordor for many of the scenes from Lord of the Rings. As stated at http://www.tongarirocrossing.org.nz/national-park/the-lord-of-the-rings, “To really immerse yourself in Mordor and feel the eerie barren landscape, trek the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.” Sounds good. This is a profile of the hike, looks pretty easy, no problem.

I have to say I’m not sure what rating system these people are using if this is the best hike. All I could see was rain and fog.

View from the top. The wind was blowing at 60-70 km per hour, but it did not succeed in blowing me over the side, although it tried pretty hard a few times.

The fog lifted for about 30 seconds so I took a photo of some volcano pools.

Near the end of the hike the weather improved dramatically and there were a few minutes for photos before the fog returned. Note that I am wearing two jackets, gloves, and a hat. In the summer.