Apr 6, 2024
For a long time, mountains have been my refuge and place of reflection to help me through whatever I am going through. Because of that, living in Auckland, New Zealand has been extremely difficult for me. Unfortunately, all those images the world sees the broadcast of New Zealand's beauty come from one strip of sparsely inhabited land. So spending excessive time there is only possible if you are a farmer or a traveler.
This weekend, I finally hit my breaking point; no matter what, I would see a mountain. Not climb one, see one. Since the only way to do that on the North Island is to head 4-7 hours south of Auckland, we started on Saturday morning to find ourselves a hut to stay in for the evening. Our original plan was to go to Taranaki and stay in Syme Hut. However, after nearly 5 hours of driving, it was clear we would not arrive until well after sunset, and so we ended up cutting back over to Mount Ruapehu. Along the way, Trailcutter found a small hut with a short trail that wee cold walk in 1-2 hours, Blyth Hut.
Blyth hut is only a short walk from the road (~3.8 km), giving us plenty of time to meander our way up to it. For the first 1-2 km, I could feel myself warming up on the inside, ironically because the forest we were tramping through had a nice chill and felt damp, just like back home. It's not humid, but that lovely little cold wetness in the air that accompanies most walks in the woods in the Pacific Northwest during early fall. Every breath felt like heaven.
By the time we reached Waitonga Falls Waitonga Falls, I could feel the tightness in my chest getting lighter. Sitting next to that nice cool creek with the electric green forest and the sound of rushing water finally lifted my head out of the anxiety fog my brain had been stuck in for what felt like an eternity.
Leaving the falls, the last 1-2 km of the walk to Blyth Hut begins to rise up the side of Mount Ruapehu into a more Alpine environment. There are a few creek crossings to navigate, but with no problematic areas, this was the perfect hike to let my mind get lost in something other than worry for the day.
Blyth hut is extensive, with around 18 bunks, so despite several large groups of people when we arrived, finding ourselves a space posed no challenges. Bluthe hut also has a wood stove for heat, adding excellent comfort to being out in the wild.
Since we arrived early in the evening, we took a quick hike up the trail past the hut to a small plateau with a view of Mount Ruapehu for some eye candy and a few photos.
The best part of this track was the view at night. The sky was crystal clear, hundreds of stars were visible, and the Milky Way was brilliant. The small dots of rural towns below the mountain added to the scenery. Though we were not climbing it, the tiny speckles felt like the distant towns you can see in the early morning light while scaling prominent peaks in the Pacific Northwest.
I was so overjoyed at the scenery that I sat outside wrapped in warm clothing, sipping tea for nearly two hours, watching the night sky.
Apr 7, 2024
The hike back out on day two was an easy tramp back to the car. We planned on going back to the Whakapapa Village for a trail run before driving home. But, as we are both still recovering from COVID, we changed our minds and decided to take an easy walk to the Silica Rapids before grabbing some food and heading back to Auckland.
07:05 | 
17:24
TEMP: 48 ℉
WIND: 3 mph
RAIN: 0 mm
SNOW: 0 mm
