North Face/ Smokin/ JFK Blog

On Sunday we went out to tinker on JFK, armed with special sticky gravel supplies by the WCC Parks and Gardens, to armour this swoopy flowy track.

The idea was to look for any areas that might suffer from wear or water in the future, and fix them before these problems appear.

We started on the very first corner- the left hand switchback right by the road. 

Weeds and grass were cleared and this special mix was packed into the top of the berm to resist erosion, and to keep the vegetation at bay.

The gravel and rocks that were rolling about the inside of the turn were also removed, so the track is smooth, wide and grippy :-)

Examining the rollers and high and low bits further along showed that the drainage is working well- with no sign of impending ruts or softening of the hard clay surface. So we moved on until we met the left hand sweeping bend around the ridge. The blind thrilling one with the decent drop over the edge!

This is not a corner a person would want to fall off, as they would auger through the stunted gorse and hit the track way below. Not nice.

So we decided to both armour the outer edge and also bank the corner more.

The embankment has previously been cut back so there is plenty of elbow room, and the new work really is a thing of beauty. The guys did a superb job!

Here is a pic of the berm:

 

And it being tsensibly ridden:

From there we wandered towards the humungous switchback checking the drainage etc and found there was nothing needed, which was great. The track is doing well!

Not wanting to put a hard cement-like surface on the big bowled switchback, we reinforced the top of the exit berm to keep it nice and solid.

Here the stuff is being packed down from the lower end of the berm up the hill :

The sticky gravel may not look like much, however it is a special formulation which is almost like wet cement full of sharp stones. When it dries out it is pale grey:

And here testing the new edge. Solid as !

Once that was done, time was spent weeding around the natives which had been recently planted, and cleaning the track and generally poking about.

There are still a few things that we can do for this awesome track, however it is awesome anyway !!

Huge thanks to Gordon, Rob, Arthur, Adam, and Gareth. :D

Without them, this would not have happened !

Cheers,

Makara Peak Tracks

*next weekend dig: North Face !!

What started out as a bit of an idea to remove some puddles rapidly developed into some major construction today, with most of the usual suspects turning up.

Cheers to Martin, Colin, Rob and Jono for their efforts on a Sunday that was just excellent for actually riding !

We started in the third switchback, removing the hole full of water and a rut in the clay, then we realigned the two sweeping corners before it.  This adds more of a swing into the corner which is more fun, and helps with tackling the switchback itself.



Then for added thrills the small jump after the Grassy Knoll was enlarged.
With multiple test runs it was gradually reshaped until it was just right.



This thing can now be used to leap, career or crash into a newly created wall ride on the left hand side, which then sweeps back into the hill to a re-shaped switchback.

This is now a nicer shape, and it is a lot easier to enter the corner wide and stay there until the exit. Nice. :-)

A few soggy bits between there and the rise were cured, and then the  gang wandered up the hill " for a bit of a look".

No more puddle:



This looking resulted in the area between two ferns being cleared a little and widened a lot.



The resulting drainage laid the beginnings of a new roller/ jump, (artfully hidden by the shadow in the above photo) and the track beyond attacked to create a wall ride. It looks like this:




To work best this will need to be cut back further, but that is a job for another day.
There was a BBQ to attend!

The next corner, the thrilling blind right hand bermed thing, will need the berm to start earlier once that wall ride is there, but once again this is a job for another day etc.





So thats about it. 18 dig hours and the track is a lot nicer, with more potential to come.

JFK really is a track of some awesomeness, if I do say so myself!

Cheers

Rob

Makara Peak Tracks !!!

Today we were on North Face, high above the City Of Wellington, improving drainage, doing some widening and smoothing, removing the odd rut and braking bump.. and what would a North Face work party be without building up a few berms ??

A peek at the map below will show the areas in red where we have recently been working.. Although I may have missed some of the mid week pixie work:

 

 

Spring has sprung which means lots of vegetation growth, such as the native cabbage trees and pungas (good) and grass (bad).

Parts of this track are already starting to look like avenues through the greenery, which is fantastic given that building of North Face itself started exactly two years ago this weekend.

There is still plenty to do to make this track both more fun for all and tougher. It may get over 40 000 riders per year, which is very awesome and a warm fuzzy feeling for those who have created and pampered this epic track, and the others below.

Thanks again to the Wellington City Council for trusting us to build it!

On the near horizon will be work on the Summit tracks above, more news on that soon.

Huge thanks for today's efforts go to Gordon, who’s beastly 4wd has been a very able worker and tool transporter, along with Colin, Luke, Jono, Lewis, Pete and Rob.

What a team :-)

Cheers,

Rob

Makara Peak Tracks !!

Hello all.
This Sunday we have scheduled another North face TLC session.

This track gets massive use, and it is not very old, so it is still packing down.
This can reveal nasty rocks, puddles and other nasties.

We will be up there from just after 10 on Sunday ,getting this track closer to being able to handle the winter ahead.

If you have been tempted to have a shot at some track work, please stop by and introduce yourself :-)
And if you are riding, please be preapred to hop of your bike to safely get around the work.

cheers :-)

Rob

Makara Peak Tracks

The top half of North Face is now dryer wider and smoother :-)

North Face hosts a massive amount of traffic, and the surface does pack down exposing pointy rocks, creating puddles and grass grows in the sun narrowing the riding line.

We tackled about 700m of the track today, just past switchback number 4, and many puddles came to a violent end.

Parts of the track that were getting worn due to riders avoiding those pointy rocks were fixed. Off camber rocks were punished with picks. Gravel was smashed into muddy bits.

Smooth wide barely noticeable drains were dug. Grass was terminated with prejudice, and a few spots that were getting damaged by skidding were made wide, smooth and lovely.

The track into the “roller coaster” area in particular is now quite different and less intimidating to ride. Or faster, depending.

Cheers to Gordon, Lewis, Colin, Rob and Jono for another successful day. They worked on tracks, ate sandwiches and biscuits, drank Coke and L&P and stood about in the sun when it arrived. And spent some time on the vital track testing procedures.

We will be back in 2 weeks to do more of the same, more news on which day shortly.

Meanwhile the Summit Tracks Project looms, and Smokin could do with a bit of work....

Busy times, however the tracks are generally excellent.

Cheers,

Rob

Makara Peak Tracks.

The job today is to get rid of the puddles on North Face.
Sun and wind may have dried them out, (or not ) but we will find the evidence, and eradicate them.

We will be working down from the top end, with most work needed in the nmiddle part of the track.

If you are riding down North Face please be prepared to STOP and WALK near volunteer track workers and their tools and wheelbarrows.

Please say hello, and if you have a little time, perhaps jump in and have a go !

The weather should be excellent, and the views amazing. Bring your bike :-)



Cheers,

Rob

Makara Peak Tracks

Well it rained a bit and it was 6 degrees. There was the occasional breeze causing sudden and formidable refrigeration.

We got soaked.

However 4 hours spent on the trails by Martin, Jono, Luke, Colin, Gordon and Rob resulted in things getting done :-)

All the damp bits of JFK to just beyond the first ridge were plied with sticky gravel, Lewis’ leap was enlarged a little and the roller after turned into a perfect sine wave of geometric beauty.

Well it felt good pushing the wheelbarrow.

A break-away faction started working on the last section of North Face, so now the berm on the last ridge is bigger, there are alternate lines on a small dip for those who like to detach themselves from the planet, and a roller has sprung up on the last few metres, where it is also wider.

Discussion centered on the varying sensations of numbness, clinging wet clothes, uncontrollable vibrating, the huge wind chill caused by the slightest breeze, and the sheer joy of a moments warmth when the sun accidentally appeared.

Not a bad day really, and the new work should dry out tomorrow and Tuesday.

Cheers,

Rob

Makara Peak Tracks!

On Sunday we will be applying some special sticky gravel to the top part of JFK.

This will start at 10am summer time (which is 9am normal time), and the track might be totally blocked occasionally, especially around the blind corners !

Please take it easy if you are out riding, and expect to stop and walk at any time :-). Also leave lots of room around the riders who are working as volinteers on this track for you .

Cheers

Rob

Makara Peak Tracks.

Under blue skies a bunch of keen volunteers spread some special sticky gravel on parts of JFK.

This stuff looks a lot like wet cement and small stones, and once dry pretty much behaves like dry cement and small stones :-)   It seems heavier than both..

It is just the thing to place on a track where it might get soggy, to toughen up an edge, or to apply where the clay surface is under pressure from enthusiastic riding.  And, to shape berms…

A Power Barrow was delivered by Steve and Paulo, Park Rangers from the WCC:  and the special gravel was also supplied and delivered by the WCC. Many thanks !

The petrol Power Barrow and human powered wheelbarrows were used to transport the heavy stuff to where it was needed, and fortunately most of that was close to the road.

Cheers to Colin, Gordon, Ian, Luke, Lewis, Kit and Zu for helping out with this. Your work will keep JFK alive and well for years to come!

In these photos you can see it as dark brown wet patches, however it does dry to a pale grey:

Here what looks like brown goo will actually harden and ensure that the rolling dip does not get boggy..

And in the photo above, you can see more of the same, and the lovely swervy curvy nature of this track is pretty clear to see !

In this photo ^^ we placed quite a lot of the special mix on an area which tended to stay very damp and boggy. By creating an almost un noticable drain point, the rest of the corner could be insloped (by hacking through rocks etc) so that fewer riders will be sailing over the side here (and damaging the edge as they go).

The second hip jump was widened and made a whole lot more solid- this section of the track is an amazing 3D rolling sculpture. Few people will be standing there to notice, however the riding is excellent.

And here the the downhill section from there. The Aqua objects are plant protectors, Karl & co have been up in the last week placing these on the new small trees that need it.

This pic ^^ is not of the Grassy Knoll, but the bermed corner near the end of JFK that steers the track back into the forest, and away from the old possum bait line walking track (which was boggy, and well...boring).

And here the track swings around almost 180 degrees through the trees. The track was simply cleared gorse, and the loamy soil that had been packed down by riders. Today the sticky gravel was packed onto the surface, drainage installed and the track widened with a nice solid outer edge.

The dreaded dappled light.

The last few metres of JFK. Clever draining and armoring was done here to contain the large amount of water that cascades off the embankment above. Being out in the breeze the newly applied sticky stuff had dried nicely. In the distance, Gordon and Colin pack up just above the entrance to Smokin.

We pretty much used up our sticky gravel pile at the bottom today, and we have armored the track (where needed) from just below the ridge corner to the road.

Next time we will starting from the top. There is quite a bit of work needed on the two switchbacks under the trees to keep them from becoming gooey slime with use in the rain.

And also today 32 Northern Rata (part of a donation from Project Crimson) were planted along the bottom of North Face and top of JFK with many thanks to Kit, Zu (please correct my spelling!) Luke, Danielle and Karl.

This takes the numbers planted in the area to over 360 over the last two week ends :-).

Please look on our website or Facebook to see the upcoming track loving sessions at Makara Peak – the spring/summer schedule will arrive in the next few weeks.

Cheers,

Rob

Makara Peak Tracks !

Hello all,
tomorrow morining we will be starting from the bottom end of JFK.

Our mission is to apply the special "cake mix" sticky grabel to the soggier parts of this track.

Once that is done (or we run out of gravel) we will migrate up to the top, to do the same there.

If it is a little damp in the mrning this will actually make things easier.

This surfacing will hopefully keep JFK nice and solid, in spite of what the coming winters may throw at it!

See you there from 10.. as susal lunch tools gloves are provided.

Bring your bike and some boots!

Cheers

Makara Peak Tracks