Trail Map (Tracks.org.nz)

This is a new trail that as trail builders, Zane and I were keen to check out. You have a pretty healthy slog up a forestry road to get to the Glider launch, not granny gear, but still steeper than the pack tracks like the Wakamarina. 

We followed the instructions as per the tracks.org.nz description from the Glider take off. It appears that this is the long cut. For the record, if you get up to the toliet and the seat, then back track to the turn off you just passed and follow that. Our route along a fire break was “undulating”, read into that what you will. 

The trail itself is rocky single track. Be prepared for plenty of switch backs. The bulk of this trail is built on the side of a steep hill (I guess they all are in Nelson), and there is some pretty impressive retaining in place just to get a switch back in places. Some of these are pretty tight, combined with the wet conditions and drop off the side of the track, they did my head in. It may be a different story in the dry. 

Half the track is hand built  and the other by digger. You can really feel the difference. The hand built section makes more use of the natural terrain. It is probably more technical, but it has more humps and rollers. Some of the digger sections were very straight and fast, which means a lot of speed coming into those switch backs. 

It has no doubt been a mighty effort to get this trail in, and hats off to the trail builders for what they have done so far. With a bit of tuning on some of the switch backs, I think this will live up to it’s “must do” billing. I’d really like to have a run down in the dry and see how much of a difference that makes. Something for the next summer.

No pics this time due to the weather.