Turns out....

One DOES simply walk into Mordor...

I think my favorite day in New Zealand was also the most brutal. I woke up at 3:30am in Auckland to leave by 4 to drive down to Tongariro National Park and catch an 8am shuttle to the park entrance and embark on a 12.5 miles hike. I listened to Jon Krakauer’s “Into Thin Air” to make sure that I didn’t wimp out. It was hot, brutal, GORGEOUS and exhaustin…