Ruapehu challenge

[DesmondD]

I just got back from my attempt at walking around Ruapehu in a day . I'll slowly add more pictures but basically the mountain looked like this the day before - and on Friday ....

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrd50001.jpg

It's about 72 km around and wasn't going to let me off easy .
After 50km I drank bad river water at the hut , apart form the fact that I had double blisters under one toenail that lifted it out of its 'mountings' - I'm busy going through the helmetcam pictures now .

[DesmondD]

Thursday night at Whakapapa camp kitchen , I had the laptop going and wanted to see what the gopro (http://www.goprocamera.com/) helmet camera could do in low light [ wb adjusted ] Exif says iso 313 and max aperture 306.88 !?

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge001.jpg

Just before 5 am I walked past the camp shop , the beginning of my adventure . When I plan on waking up early I usually wake up
at 3:00 am and then every half hour from then on so i was up at about 4:20 am .

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge004.jpg

At 7:00 am the sun was starting to makes its presence known .

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge012.jpg

By this stage I had twisted me right ankle [ about 6 :00 am ] . I've learned to roll my ankle all the way when this happens to avoid hurting it but it was quite a distance that my foot slipped and I managed to pull a muscle in my upper thigh at the same time . It hurt[s] every time I lifted my right leg from then on .... after about 3 hours I think my leg gave up sending pain signals to my brain but it did resurface later .

[DesmondD]

I never realized that my camera lens was fogging up , luckily it has a waterproof housing .

The walk to the "New Waihohonu " hut is rated at 5 1/2 hours though these ratings are normally very conservative . I had to go slowly when it was very dark so I was satisfied with 2 3/4 hours .

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge020.jpg

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge026.jpg

I made this my 'breakfast stop' and allowed myself 15 minutes before heading off again at 8:00 am .

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge030.jpg

[DesmondD]

The walk to Rangipo hut is rated at 5 hours according to the sign . I'm not so good on flat ground , mainly hills , so I battled to halve that rating and had to settle for 2 3/4 hours again - along with a 15 minute break .

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge031.jpg

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge050.jpg

[I'll keep it at two images per post now ]

[DesmondD]

You have to cross the Tukino 4X4 track as well ...

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge075.jpg

and this bridge

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge092.jpg




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[DesmondD]

There's my shadow crossing the bridge :)

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge097.jpg

And the Rangipo hut !

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge112.jpg



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[DesmondD]

From Rangipo hut to Mangaeheuhu hut it is rated at 6 hours though on the map it looks shorter than all the other walks . The reason is that there is this huge valley you have to cross

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge125.jpg

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge134.jpg

That's where my advantage comes in , I'm slow on flat terrain but tend to be able to maintain my pace up and down steep hills [ so far ] and I turned that 6 hours into another 2 3/4 hours .



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[DesmondD]

Someone had built a wind shelter at the top of the climb , I needed shelter from the sun because it was an unusually [ for Ruapehu ] clear day !

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge141.jpg


I was going through the only desert area in the country ...

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge157.jpg



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[DesmondD]

I got some temporary relief from a small bit of forest before the hut ....

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge163.jpg

By this time I had done "16 1/2 hours" in 9 hours including rest and I thought I had it " in the bag" since the total walking time is rated at something like 30 hours. I estimated that I could be back at the village before darkness [ 8pm ] . My calculations were wrong and did not include rest times - my mind wasn't too clear .
I aired my feet out and put my socks and boots back on and decided to ignore the fact that my right shoe felt a bit stuffy in the front after that stop .....

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge165.jpg

I headed off confidently .....




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[DesmondD]

In areas where the vegetation is fragile they build platform/tracks to protect it from hikers .

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge168.jpg

I went past the Waitonga falls as well , the sign had stated 3 hours to the road so i was happy , and confident , with 1 1/2 hours .

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge173.jpg


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[DesmondD]

It was a really nice day and I got a few good views of Ruapehu

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge175.jpg

It is amazing how much of a relief it can be to see a road and cars !


http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge176.jpg



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[DesmondD]

This is where the real adventure begins , things had been going too well so far . [ apart from twisting my right ankle 3 times by now , and the muscle tear on my upper thigh ] .

Now you have to walk about 3 km up this steep road heading for the Turoa ski-field .

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge181.jpg

but it was when I started going down this hill that I felt the pain that was building up on my right foot in the front where the sock was bunched up .

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge183.jpg

I knew I was in trouble when a 1 1/2 hour rated walk took my 1 hr 10 minutes - it should have taken 45 minutes .


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[DesmondD]

This area is well worth a day trip though , there's a white band of rock running down the centre of the water ....

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge186.jpg

It might be a bit scary for someone scared of heights because you have to make your way down the ridges and jump across the river in places .

And there's the Mangaturuturu where I was greeted by a sign that stated that it was 8-10 hours to Whakapapa village . It was 17:38 when I took this picture .

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge194.jpg

I had been walking for 12 hours 45 minutes . In the early stages I was cutting the rated times in half and at that rate I should have been able to get back to the village in 4-5 hours but the fact that I was now limping and took almost the rated time to this hut meant that it may well have taken another 10 hours to get back - and I might have run into trouble along the way especially at night .
I decided that it would be wiser to spend the night at the hut . I had packed a light fleece blanket and could tuck my legs into the pack with my track pants and fleece jacket on and be warm enough .

My emergency rations were three cups of cheap two minute noodles which I don't normally eat by the way .


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[DesmondD]

Now let's list my mistakes :
The water tank was empty at this hut and 1.) I was too tired to walk to the fast flowing river to get water . I walked to the 2.) slow moving stream nearby and it was easier just to sit on the bridge and dip my bottle into the still water in the centre .
3.) I was too tired and couldn't be bothered to dig out the water -purifying tablets .
I never had a stove with me which is ok but I lit a fire in the fire-place and put one of the hut pots full of the water on it and 4.) as soon as I saw bubbles decided it was enough to kill any germs and poured it into my three cups of [ 5.) different flavour ] noodles .
At 9:00 pm I went and sat outside to cool down because the other occupants had the fire so hot that I was sweating .
At around 11:00 pm everything was cool enough to fall asleep , I was wrapped in my fleece blanket with all my warm clothing on ..... and I woke up wanting to throw-up .
I spent the rest of the night with a bucket next to me for 'just in case' and realized that this was the end of my attempt to go all the way around the mountain even in two days .
I knew that in the morning I would have to make my way back up the 1 1/2 hour track

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge195.jpg

I thought it might be a 4 hour bout of suffering and sickness , crawling up the hill to get help ....
I won't state that I 'woke up' because I'm not sure that I actually slept but at 7:00 am I got up , packed my things and started walking - I forced down an energy bar to give me something to work on even though the thought of food made me feel sick . That was all I ate in a 24 hour period till tonight .
I also forced some water down [ with purification tablets in it mind you ] because I knew my body needed it and was surprised that it stayed down .

I didn't need to force myself to admire the scenery of the morning - I wasn't that sick ....

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge198.jpg



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[DesmondD]

It had taken me all of 10 minutes to start overheating with all my clothing on . There was frost on the ground but I had to strip down to shorts and a T-shirt [ the same smelly clothes from the day before :eek: ] to keep cool enough to walk comfortably .
I was surprised that I did ok , it took me 1 hour and 20 minutes of the rated 1 1/2 hours but mainly due to the fact that I was going uphill and couldn't slide my feet forward to hurt my toe and ankle . I think my right ankle was protesting about being twisted 3 times the day before , my upper thigh was now really complaining about the torn muscle and I had to help it up with my hand a few times .
There was ice on the ground in places ...

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge203.jpg

This is one of my favourite pictures because even though it is a slight downhill it looks like an uphill .

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge204.jpg

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[DesmondD]

It was a huge feeling of relief to get back to the road again ...

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge206.jpg

Then there was this fear of " What if no cars come past [ 15 km walk into town ] , what if nobody stops to help me ?" .....
It was a very painful walk downhill for about two kilometres before I heard a car coming down the hill - it turned out to be the same car that went up as I emerged from the track . I put my thumb out and it didn't sound like he was slowing so I decided that for the next car I would lie across the road and they would have to stop .
But he did stop and I was shaking and falling over by then when I loaded my pack into his back seat . It wasn't the cold , I had put all my warm gear back on plus my wet-weather gear because of the icy wind and slow pace I was moving at . I think it was some sort of shock my body was going into because I was still like that an hour later .
I had been in this situation before on this road on my first 3 day attempt around the mountain that failed due to a heavy pack and not drinking enough water which caused my knee to ache ... only that time I hadn't gone down to the hut and back up again .

It was such an amazing relief to be back in a vehicle cruising down the road effortlessly ......
he dropped me in the middle of town next to a tour company that organizes transport for the Tongariro crossing . They told me the next trip to the village was late afternoon unless I was prepared to pay $60 for someone to return for a special trip .... I would have paid $500 happily just to get back to a greater sense of security .

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge207.jpg

I had gone into the cafe over the road and looking at all the food made me feel sick so I drank a coke which seems to be good medicine for stomach trouble [ and de-greasing engines ] .
I ate my first meal in 24 hours tonight and all seems to be ok apart form the slight nausea - hopefully I will get some sleep tonight !

[DesmondD]

Basically I told my workmates that I wanted some good old "blood and guts" adventure and I got it - whether it was being caught in a blizzard or simply getting sick from river water after noticing one toenail perched above two blisters that had to be popped independently [ I reckon it will fall off soon ] . I'll be sore for a few days but will look back on this adventure with great fondness in future :)
My father always told me that you forget a holiday when everything goes right but when things go wrong you at least have a story to tell .... well I reckon I have a good story to tell with this one !

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Tongariro/z24hrchalnge111.jpg

I should get some sleep but my other computer is almost finished processing the one video clip I took , and we get an extra hour tonight thanks to changing back from daylight saving .....


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[judybee]

WOW, what an adventure. This is stuff most people won't see in their lifetime.

[DesmondD]

WOW, what an adventure. This is stuff most people won't see in their lifetime.

Or 'won't want to see ' :)
Sunday morning now , I can walk with a slight limp in my right leg , the toenail seems to have pulled back into its original position and may not fall off - Friday night it was sitting on top of the skin including the roots ...
I had a reasonable night's sleep and the nausea is mostly gone :th3:

[I @ M]

The word masochist springs to mind ------ :D

I rather like the massive distortion in some of those shots Desmond, they are entirely in keeping with the terrain and top of the world views.
I would have got as far as the bridge and that would have been the end of me unless someone came by with a helicopter to transport me over the void.

[ricktas]

Wonderful series of documentary photography. It was a pleasure going through the whole series.

[Mary Anne]

Interesting.. Looks like hard work to me.
That would be a place I would not want to go or could not for that matter.
So Thanks for sharing your wonderful series of photo's.

[DesmondD]

The word masochist springs to mind ------ :D
I rather like the massive distortion in some of those shots Desmond, they are entirely in keeping with the terrain and top of the world views.
I would have got as far as the bridge and that would have been the end of me unless someone came by with a helicopter to transport me over the void.

Masochist ??? :D:action:
I met a girl from New York in the last hut , she told me that a few days earlier when she got to that bridge she stood and cried for a while before forcing herself to cross it .
I never really noticed much difference though between that and the 4 other bridges I crossed .



Wonderful series of documentary photography. It was a pleasure going through the whole series.
Thanks , I wish I was feeling lit it was a pleasure today ! limp limp .....


Interesting.. Looks like hard work to me.
That would be a place I would not want to go or could not for that matter.
So Thanks for sharing your wonderful series of photo's.

Wait till winter - I'm going to head back and sleep in a bivy bag on the snow :)

[Ellen]

Thanks so much for sharing! Sounds like you are a sucker for punishment... Interesting photos too!

[DesmondD]

Thanks so much for sharing! Sounds like you are a sucker for punishment... Interesting photos too!

It leaves me with a good story to tell :crzy: :)

[old dog]

thanks Desmond. This was a great read and eye opener as well. Great pics even though they were from your head gear. I`ll get my son to read this...he just got back last night from the Kepler track and loved it. Him and his older brother and myself are doing the Milford track in november.....I`ve gotta get a bit fitter for that.

[DesmondD]

thanks Desmond. This was a great read and eye opener as well. Great pics even though they were from your head gear. I`ll get my son to read this...he just got back last night from the Kepler track and loved it. Him and his older brother and myself are doing the Milford track in november.....I`ve gotta get a bit fitter for that.

The Milford track is very easy - mostly flat walking up a valley until the third day when you climb up the pass , hopefully you get a good view !