I consider myself to be a fairly well prepared mountain hiker. I take all the sensible precautions. Sure I have maybe stretched the safety envelope from time to time but generally speaking I'm careful. So I take waterproof clothing to protect against rain and wind, I always wear sunblock in the summer, I carry sufficient water, pack a first aid kit and always know where I'm going with the use of a compass and a map. There is always a risk that something unexpected could happen but I can hold my head high and say 'well I gave it my best shot'.
But today.... well today I was presented with a risk that I just didn't know how to prepare against. And that was what to do if the volcano we were about to walk across decided to erupt. Yes erupt! Angry cows or belligerent farmers I can deal with but exploding mountains? OMG!
What does one do if presented with an erupting volcano? Well the perceived wisdom on this is.... I kid you not.... to run in the opposite direction as fast as you can. And that's it. I don't think I needed to be told that. It's common sense really. Only an idiot would run towards an erupting volcano, and if they did they wouldn't be an idiot for long. Maybe, in the heat if the moment, some people get confused and run towards the hill spitting out molten rock. Maybe. But I doubt it. You find me, should this occur, knocking down anyone in front of me - women and children included - to get as far away as I can. But as volcanic ash can travel up to 100mph I don't think I would get too far. My 10k time might be impressive to some but it ain't no match for a mountain on fire.
So today's hike, or tramp if you want to use the local vernacular, was the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. That sounds innocuous enough. Nothing to worry about there. What isn't immediately clear is that a bit portion of the 20km walk will be across an active volcano. Let's repeat that. An. Active. Volcano. WTF!
To say that fact helped quicken the progress gives you an idea of just how real the threat was. We walked a little quicker and had less 'take in the view' breaks. The route was actually very busy - obviously plenty of people wanting to go out with a bang around these parts.
It was quite disconcerting walking across a landscape that was venting sulphurous steam. Apparently this is normal. Normal? Where I come from mountains generally don't vent sulphurous gas. They usually leave that to the humans!
Thankfully today was not the day that Mount Ngauruhoe decided to have a geological sneeze. Phew. Well there's always tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment