Mt Taranaki Summit Track, New Zealand

Mount Taranaki Summit Track is the most difficult tramp I have ever done. The first time I climbed up was also my first time encountering scree/scoria and I cried. Years later, scoria still scares me, but good to face your fears and it's okay to cry.
With the kids along, we decided to break up the climb over three days. On the first day we walked up the wide, steep path to the Taranaki Alpine Club where we'd booked beds for the night. The next day, we tackled the stairs, the scoria, the boulders, and the icy crater before reaching the plateau where the peak is located. The summit is tapu (sacred) so we stopped short of going right to top. That night we slept in the lodge again to rest our legs before heading back to the car on the last day.
Day 1 - Carpark to lodge - 2 hours
Day 2 - Lodge to the top - 4.5 hours
Day 2 - Top back down to the lodge - 3 hours
Day 3- Lodge to carpark - 1.5 hours
This is an amazing adventure! Totally worth the pain, but only to be attempted with a good base level of fitness and some knowledge of alpine conditions in New Zealand. Our training included tramping on a lot of other mountains and volcanoes with scoria and/or similar elevation gain, including Mount Ruapehu, Pūtauaki/Mount Edgecumbe, and Mount Te Aroha.
The weather on Mount Taranaki is changeable. Go prepared with lots of food, water, warm clothing, and other emergency provisions. Turn back according to the conditions, your group's fitness level, and daylight hours available.
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