Present with myself and the moment

Saturday, November 7th, 2015

Today we hiked the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, and we did it a day ahead of schedule! It was an absolutely beautiful day, barely a cloud in the sky. Which was amazing! Except for the random patches of skin we have burnt to a crisp due to being drastically distracted by the awesomeness that is Mt. Doom, Red Crater, Mt. Tangariro, Emerald Lake, and the entire experience out there as a whole. There were so many people on the "trail" it often felt like we were in line for a Disneyland ride. My glutes and my calves were burnin up the pass. I giggled both times we glisailed down Mt. Tangariro (yes we walked the 50 meters back up and did it a second time). We smiled at every beautiful scene. We swattered flies. We ate lunch while gazing at Mt. Doom. And we chatted about everything from guys we are or used to date, to bowel movements, to career aspirations. It was...a great day!

I sit here now, again in my hostel bed, again, exhausted. This time we got a three share room and although I excited a sweet young female to share, we got a sweet German male, who is all wonderful...except fr the odor. Ugh. Oh well what can you do?

I found two things most interesting today. One was the annoyance and frustration my adventure/travel buddy felt around there being so many people out on the "trail" and being in the way of photos of the beautiful scenary. It bothered her up until maybe the last hour. It never once bothered me. I feel that it brought perspective to my photos. Otherwise, the photos I am taking could be exactly the same as a photo taken the day before, or a year before. People can make the scene more interesting. What's more, if the people are there and in the way, they are part of the experience. And therefore shouldn't they be included I the photos one is trying to use to portray the experience to others?

Secondly, I had quite a lovely moment during and after lunchtime. We hiked to the summit of Mt. Tangariro and found a nice spot to sit and eat our gluten free wraps with cheese/chicken or avo/tuna/cheese, whilst staring at Mt. Doom. In reality it seemed like you could see the entire North Island from that point. There was beautiful views around - 360 degrees. I sat there, swatting flies out of my meal, and enjoying eah bland bite. My head was on a gentle swizzle moving side to side, soaking it all in. After a while, maybe a good 20-30 minutes, Larissa asked how I was doing. "Just wonderful," I replied. "I'm just in my own little world, taking it all in." I had realized in that moment that I was it thinking about anything, for quite some time. Usually, throughout the day, I can get far in my head, particularly when out on the trail. And with my buddy telling me about visiting her parents for Thanksgiving, the new guy she is dating, and such, I can easily fall down a rabbit hole of thoughts. But here, in this day, on this mountain, staring at a volcano 1900m above sea level, with the sun warming (over burning) my skin, and at the same time the wind chilling it, I was content. I was more than content, but I was so perfectly at peace I was just present with myself and the moment. I was not thinking about who I wanted it share it with. I wasn't thinking about the last year's journey to get there and all the ups and downs. I wasn't thinking about my future plans or ideas. I was just there. I just was. I was right where I needed and wanted to be and that's all that mattered. It was incredible!!! I mean seriously, amazing. I wish I could feel like that everyday, at least once a day. Preferably for most of the day. Maybe the yoga and meditation is helping. Maybe it's just the traveling and finally getting back to doing what I started. Maybe it's just being in the mountains and in nature - somewhere beautiful - which usually clears my head. Whatever it was, I want it more. Ahhhh.

Okay, I'm exhausted. Goodnight!

Cheers,
Tired Tash