North Face/ Smokin/ JFK Blog

It was fine and sunny today, this really was news!

North Face had the muddy bits drained and armoured from the bottom end upwards today. (translation: smashing rocks into the surface to create a solid riding surface).

So if you find yourself rumbling over a rocky bit- that section of the track used to be slimy mud or a rut, but no more!

Part of the track that sidles the rock face is now about 50% wider and switchback 14 has had a major facelift.

We did say we would make North Face more fun wherever possible, so who are we do just leave an awkward corner alone?

This is the last switchback on North Face, a right hander that used to drop almost 2 metres and then squeeze through some trees, to exit over (or around) a rock feature poking out of the ground.

The entry to the corner was lowered about half a metre, so the gradient on the way in is much more friendly, and the middle and exit of the corner now boast a reasonably handy berm. People rode this with many and various lines, and it seems to be nice and stable.

Made of heaps of rock and minimal dirt in the Smokin tradition, this should stay very solid. Some other riders absolutely blasted through, looking very flash indeed.

Only three people crashed.

The rock on the exit of the corner was claiming chain rings (and probably riders) so this feature was converted into a roller. Nothing more rocks and dirt could not fix.

This part of the trail should now be a lot more flowy, have far fewer skidding ruts forming over time, be nicer to ride slowly or quickly, and just be more fun to ride!

Here is a pic of the armouring along the last 70m of the track. Observe the darker areas and rocks. Astonishing.

By the afternoon this was dry as.

And here are some pics of the remade switchback #14.

The entry bit:

The next turning bit:

The bit after that:

And then the exit:

Here is a pic of the roller where the jagged rock used to be. It has a long gentle down slope so people will not get accidental airtime.

Heaps of drainage and armouring work was done elsewhere, and now this mega track is coming through it's first winter at last.

Many thanks to the 8 people who gave up an excellent riding day to make the North Face trail just that bit better !

The recent rock armouring and gravelling of the top 200m of North Face has transformed the track surface!

We now have a nice hard track that will pack down even more over time. Next week the PD people will be back for a day to do some more. The WCC "cake mix" is really good stuff indeed.

Today we raised the middle of a sharp rocky corner (to remove the sudden cold bath effect) and rebuilt some solid berms on it as well.
We created a couple of drainage points before the corner, by making a long gradual wave. Rocks and a little dirt, and packing down, packing down, and some more packing.

Puddles and bits with a narrow riding line were armoured down the hill from there, (more rock crushing and packing..) and then we spent some time on the steep track just before the right hander into the Roller Coaster.

A couple of drain points were made, and another roller. This one is not such a long smooth wave but more in keeping with the undulations nearby. A corner was armored, and the right hander into the Roller Coaster was benched on the inside to provide a sight-line to an otherwise blind corner.
The edge as also built up a little: Hopefully not so many people will be falling off and scaring the Manuka on the exit now :-)

Cheers to Jono, Bryan, Rob and Matt for working in the spooky fog today, it was also nice to see quite a few riders on the trail after lunchtime.

Next week, we will be up there on Saturday, working from the bottom up..removing puddles, improving drainage, and making the track more fun to ride whenever we can :D

Four people, possessed by the Makara Peak bonkers bug finished piloting JFK this morning and then set themselves onto Smokin to check out the drainage.

The location of a switchback was decided upon by the location of native trees, the phases of the moon and a great deal of random debate. Once sorted we were able to link this with some trail blazing uphill from the grassy knoll, and it should all work out well.

The grassy knoll has a lot of open space, all 23 metres of it, so we will need to mark out the swerves with pegs as it is far too big to judge by eye. From there the track zooms down to a ridge and does an almost 180 degree turn. More umming and arrrrring about the run down hill, and whether we need a bit of a gradient change here or there etc, so there is still the chance that we change the trail below the grassy knoll to the ridge!

We want this trail to be at least as good to ride as North Face and Smokin, and to ensure it drains well and does not get rutted.

All done by lunchtime, and after a fierce blast from the wind while soaked, we vibrated our way under the trees in Smokin to have a bite and ponder how this trail was managing through winter.

We had not been back since build day and there were a few bits that needed draining, a few cambers were fixed, and some slimy bits filled with compacted rock. Fortunately rock is in abundance within that valley.

Here is what the lower part of North Face, JFK and Smokin will look like.

This map shows about 1250m of track in red: the group of North Face tracks from the summit will total just over 3000m

So JFK is polited and Smokin is pretty much patched up to be AOK all winter. A win!

Today started with an ominous weather forecast, however this did not dim the enthusiasm enough to stop a bunch of people heading up to the top end of North Face.

Thanks to Bryan, Jono, Ian, Rob and Don!!

The recent gravelling has sealed the first 150m or so of the trail, and this will only improve as it packs down and one day dries out. In that magical point in space and time not called Winter.

We used rocks to widen bits of the trail, harden some edges and fill in some puddles. By using rocks I mean to say that rocks were prized from nearby ground and then hammered into the surface, using subtle techniques with sledgehammers.

A few barberry were demolished, because they were, some gravel redistributed, drains made more drainey. All normal winter stuff on a new track!.

A few hardy people rode by in the morning accusing us of madness. Hello Mr Pot, meet Mr Kettle :-)

The weather got wetter and dramatically windier, ( to a point where it was not too hard to be blown over the side) and the riders no longer wandered by, and fog closed in. This did not stop a few of the gang attacking the “sharp ridge” corner again. Give some people sharp tools and a rock face and they become possessed. Even when numb with cold, and soaking wet.

This is the very rocky almost switchback, which is now wider than ever, and there is now a large pile of rocks on the outside edge will become a berm. The middle of the corner will be raised (using rocks from above) to help the corner drain before and after, rather than in the middle. Meanwhile it may puddle, but it is sold rock and so should not get muddy. All this is pretty obvious as you approach the corner.

Meanwhile the corner is quite rocky so please take care!

Lower down, the track is getting a few braking bumps before the right-hander into the roller coaster, and thinking was done on how to avoid this occurring in future, but that is a job for another (not so wet) day.

Next week the WCC will be out there with more gravel, so once again the track may be closed or impassable until that work is done.

Please be nice to our new gravel and enjoy your ride!!

Cheers,

Rob

Makara Peak Tracks!!

There is gravelling work taking place on the upper few hundred metres of North Face this week.

There may be machinery such as bobcats about- not to mention people, tools and wheelbarrows, so please be very vigilant.

If you intend to ride this trail be prepared to stop at any time. You may even be advised that the trail is closed at that time.

If you have any specific questions on site, please ask to speak to the Ranger Joby Mills, or Don Macleod (from the Makara Peak Supporters).

This work is a big job, however it will provide a fantastic foundation for the track for years to come. Please be considerate and polite to all those working on it  :)

Cheers,

Rob

Makara Peak Supporters.

In less than ten weeks the Makara Peak Supporters will begin constructing JFK: the third section of the North face Project.

We will be scheduling dig times just like the initial building of North Face, which saw so many people enjoy getting involved and seeing a trail arise from the gorse, rocks and barberry!  JFK however has very few rocks, except for the smaller useful kind, which we will use to build handy things like track edges, and bermed switchbacks.

We will be working one day per weekend, alternating between Saturdays and Sundays, and also every Tuesday night.

The weekend digs will begin at 10am, and the Tuesday nights start at 5 and run to a little before dark. People are of course welcome to help out for a short while or all day, and any assistance is very much appreciated. There is something special about riding a trail that you have helped to create!

A treat for the Tuesday nighters is the now famous pizza delivered on-site!

These nights attracted around 20 people and a great social atmosphere during the construction of North Face and Smokin. Old and young, experienced track builders and novices all jumped in to make great some single track.

With many keen hands this track will be ridable well before Christmas, making the total length of North Face, JFK and Smokin about 2,650 metres. Which will be awesome.

Here is a side view of how JFK will fit onto the end of North Face:

Why not make a note in your diaries that October is JFK month and get involved  !!

A smashing success !

Today we were beavering away on North Face, further armoring it against the evils of endless water.

Many thanks to Hugh, Don, Jono, Ian and Rob !

I do apologise for not posting notice of this dig on the web, I can only blame me, as I did not do it ....

Anyhow heaps of the track was armored, including nearly all of the rollers after the second switchback. Epic drainage and under-track pipage was devised to cure a particularly soggy area. Don’s next project will be the new Hoover Dam.

And further down, gigatonnes of rock was chipped from the sharp ridge corner, and smashed into about 50m of trail. This has armored the surface, guarded against ruts, and made that corner much wider with far better site lines. A win win kind of thing.

Over the next few weeks the WCC will be delivering some special gravel to the summit, and will be spreading this on the track where it needs it. This is a very good thing, and once done a slimy surface along the top 200m should be a rarity.

Hopefully next winter we can sit at home drinking Milo pondering riding in the rain, rather than being out on the track fixing slime. This will be an all weather track, and I am looking forward to it.

Next Sunday is a big event for the North Face: the very first planting work party!

If you have helped to create this trail (or have not yet made it up the hill to help out) you might like to come along and plant some natives: this will be a whole lot easier that ripping stumps out of the ground, or crushing rocks..

Cheers,

Rob

Makara Peak Tracks!

Today we completed a rework of what turned out to be 72m of North Face, starting after the rocky area just past the cabbage tree by the Manuka forest area.

Much of the track under the trees had been drained and armored last weekend, so the surface was dry and hard enough to raise it here, lower it and move it over there and widen it in most places. We were continuing on from where we left off last Monday where a swoop down a hill was widened and small berm made, and a rocky drain created.

Plenty of rocks were rolled down from the hill above the track, and they were used (with tonnes of compacted quality dirt) to both widen much of this area and to produce a nice strong edge. The track was swung further around the trees, and made more curvy.

The track now also rises and falls more to assist with drainage and add to the thrill and happiness factor.

The aim of all of this was to make the trail wider and way solid, while bending more naturally around the trees leaving plenty of elbow room. You may not realize it, but there are now rocks the size of Mars under the side of this trail.

This was all important to do, as much of this area will be graveled shortly, so we did need to have the track in pretty much its final shape before then. The edge of the trail in particular is now far more solid as it has a well-packed foundation made of rocks. Plus, it is now more fun to ride for the quiet and extreeem riders alike.

Jono, as test rider, blasted down the section at increasing speeds: this part of the trail can be ridden at uber velocities by people with the will and the ability J.  More sedate riders can just enjoy the experience..

Cheers to Jono and Rob who will be very stiff and sore puppies tomorrow after a tough day!

Some pictures for your examination:

That ought to about do it...

Cheers,

Rob

Makara Peak Tracks !!

Icy sunshine started the day where we had a plan to introduce a small curve where the track was straight and downhill, (to better swing around a small tree), with the aid of a berm- and to make the short uphill flow much more betterer. What could possibly go wrong?

A pixie:

Such a change from the many days spent fighting mud!

An attempt to oil my chain before leaving home failed, as the oil (left outside) had fruz into a blue waxy immovable object. Out on the higher reaches of North face however it was pretty warm in the sun, and we set about making a small berm (really a rock armored edge) and packed it down, and packed it down some more. Then we packed it down again. And did it again.

We then built a rocky area at the bottom of the downslope which should drain well, then moved along.

and then:

Ruts were removed between the Manukas, and a little further along plans were hatched to dig the existing track down, and to swerve it more naturally around the trees.

Non rutness:

Worried about creating more dirt than we could use today, rocks were found and hammered into the surface of the corner on the sharp ridge which was close by. Dirt was added. And packed down, then some more packing etc.You get the idea. Then we packed it some more.

A decent drain was also dug to avoid the sudden cold bath effect, then we headed back to the swervery.

Hopefully this will provide a margin for error on the exit this corner which is located on impressively steep terrain. Or, allow you to ride it with more speed: your pick!

Back to the trees and the bank was dug and we started to shape the turn, however we will be back later in the week to finish this off.

It is a mess at the moment  :(  We started to dig the upper bank on the right hand side...

The plan is to lower and widen the track to the left, (using tonnes of rocks harvested from just beyond the ridge) distancing it from a tree, then have it gently rise to cross over the existing mess into a nice gentle left hander which then runs to the sharp ridge. Various rocks were hammered flat (sledge hammers are fun things) into the corner to help avoid ruts and other evilness.

Not quite as rough and rocky:

Many thanks to Jono and Rob, and also Jonty and Martin (Happy birthday Martin!!) who interrupted their ride to help out.

Quite a few riders were tackling the trail today, which is what it is for !!

Cheers,

Rob

Makara Peak Tracks.

 

Today in fine cold weather Jono, Don, Bryan, Rob and Hugh continued armoring the top 200m of North Face against the winter. The rest of the track is in basically very good condition.

Heaps of rocks were crushed and driven into the surface, creating a very ridable track and also a great foundation for the future. One day the surface will pack down hard, and any water will just wash off it, possibly with the help of a special gravel surface. Meanwhile we keep working away to make this bit as civilized as we can.

While slippery, the top part of the track can certainly be ridden (it does have a solid base) although it takes a certain sense of humour and the ability to keep a little momentum. Tires with lots of tall widely spaced knobs may also help...

Once the evils of winter have passed we will be able to get back to the Perfection Process, as there is plenty to tinker with over Spring time. And JFK awaits in October!

Conversation covered a wide range of topics probably best not repeated here, except for the bizarre and pathetic struggles of cleaning a filthy body while paralyzed with exhaustion. I solved this issue this evening by immersing myself into a hot bath for a considerable length of time!

We packed up at about 4:30, and it was a searing 4 degrees C on the way down the hill! Brrr.

Hopefully the forecasted fine weather this coming week will allow the wetter bits to dry out: and we may have track pixies out and about before next weekend, so beware the wheelbarrow!

Cheers,

Rob

Makara Peak Tracks!