Paul Petch

Mountain biking at Scotts Saddle – Mount Hut

Getting Ready

Spencer has been wanting to cross this trail off his list for sometime now and with such great weather of late we decided to give it a go. Scotts Saddle is in fact classed as a walking track, but after some research we discovered that it is shared for both activities and a regular shuttle for local guys even drops off people for this and the other downhill tracks in this region. Here it is via Google Maps. ( The track is marked with two waypoints – 1st by the side of the ski access road, and the 2nd at the bottom of the trail at Awa Awa Rata Reserve).

Friday night was a bit of a hassle really, as I noticed that the front brake on the Wolf was rubbing and no matter what I did it just would not stop. I also had to change the front derailleur from the stock Deore as the knuckle had become very loose and could not be tuned out from rubbing on the chain in certain gear ratios.

Up early yesterday, I was seen with coffee in hand swapping the front XT brake from the single speed to the Wolf as a bleed was in order to fix it up….which will have to wait. With the ceremonial padding of the bikes and in particular the stanchions of our forks and the aircon cranking…. Spence and I headed to pickup Ben. With a temperature of 30+ forecast we left my place at 9ish with the heat already showing its face in the high 20′s. As usual, we were running late and Ben was all ready and waiting as we rocked up.

Climbing

On arriving at the carpark we checked sag and slapped on the sun block before heading off into the heat. The climb up was on a loose and rocky surfaced 4WD track and within 10 minutes we were in the granny and grinding upwards. Even with the PIKES set to 110mm the front was very light so this gives you an idea of the gradient…..with 30degs and a full pack of 6+KG it hurt alot.

During the climb we passed a couple of guys who were from Wellington on a South Island riding “tour”….and they were lost….and had spent most of the day on the DH tracks rather than Scotts Saddle. After some bike talk Spence handed over our map (from Google maps) and we headed off.

Meanwhile, Ben on his carbon dream machine had taken off like a rocket which left Spence and I with the grind….and it kept going and going and going….until Spence had to stop and eat. Seeing as I hate warming down (as it takes me 30 mins to warm up!) I kept on trucking and got to where we needed to be to see Ben checking and clearing a run out at the bottom of a deep chute onto the 4WD track. I could hardly climb up the slope and here was Ben planning to ride down in on 2.1″ XC tyres……….I called him a crazy bastard… and got out the camera :)

Spence by this stage was pushing up the track and had just come around the final bend. Once he joined us, Ben got ready to ride the drop in… and after a few test runs to the edge and the deepest and scariest heavy breathing (that Spence and I laughed at) that we had ever heard….Ben dropped off the edge and rode it like a pro. A 10+ foot near vertical drop in on loose and razor sharp rocks. I was impressed….. and a tad disturbed at the same time :/An invite was offered for Spence and I to give it a go….. and I declined instantly :D

We headed upwards and across the track signposted as “Scotts Saddle Walk” and decided to stop for some lunch at a primo spot overlooking the Canterbury Plains to one side and the Mount Hut ski field and mountains to the other. Heading to this stop and showing off for the camera I nearly went straight over an edge climbing up the first section…..and the expression caught on camera says it all… lol. After a good feed and putting on our knee pads we were ready to roll. The two guys from Wellington then passed us and said hello….which was cool as they had found their way!

The Trail

The trail from this point was brilliant and my latest bike part a Gravity Dropper post was awesome on this changing terrain. Traversing scree off camber and then into steep, loose rock and narrow single track through scrub atop mountains was a total buzz!!! It then got rutted with larger wooden drop offs and was quite slippery. Ben was riding everything at this point as I carried my bike down some drop offs that were just to large to even consider riding. Spence followed with his characteristic method of hit it with speed and huck off it…. lol. Spence rode down most drop offs like a pro and was doing great on most sections…..with some great line choices too. At this point I wished that I had flats while hovering un-clipped on then on the back of my feet. It was a nasty technical trail and had just started!!

As we hit the forest it was clear that Bens trial bike skills were being used to the max as he swung around the switchbacks on his front wheel and then proceeded to drop off 3 foot ledges onto another 3 foot ledge which often had no clear run out. It was amazing to watch…. as I bounced over and down stuff un clipped in fear of catastrophic failure while muttering something about flat pedals……pretty much like this lol.

Dropping 2+ feet over man made steps (walking track remember) at points that have wet wooden edges onto muddy ruts and then wet roots…. is what my nightmares are made of. Where the drop offs had multiple obstacles or more drop offs… I tended to push the bike down or sit on the bike with both feet on the ground as I nervously pushed the bike over the edges. What really made it tricky for me is my fear of wet roots and muddy trails after riding dry and dusty for a few months…..and this track was wet and greasy even after a few months of dry weather.

At about half way we met back up with the two guys from Wellington who looked as freaked out as us….lol. One guy in particular was on a hard tail and I can only imagine what that was like heading down this track. As we hit the last quarter of the track I started to dial in… and was riding far more of the rooty stuff with out consequence….. and just as I got into it…we were at the end. Ben rated it as one his most favorite tracks….Spence was unsure that the climb was worth the 15 mins of decent and I had enjoyed the climb, views and first open trail more than the forest descent. At the carpark the Welly guys were also unsure about this track too after hearing that it was one of NZ’s best……..hmmmmmm :)

On the way home we stopped in at the Rakaia Gorge for a dip in the river…… which was a fantastic way to clean up and cool down after such a hot ride. If you have not visited this Gorge, I highly recommend it….. it is fantastic. In fact, there is a mind blowing tramp here my Wife and I discovered a few years ago when we were visiting this region.

What ever our feelings, it was a great adventure and so nice to get out of the city, my comfort zone and to explore new locations with some great mates. If you are up for an epic climb and a very technical descent Scotts Saddle is for you.

:D

Related posts:

1. A sunny afternoon of Mountain Biking in the Port Hills
2. Mountain biking at Hamner Springs
3. Mcleans Island mountain biking
4. Mountain biking at the Wharfedale Track
5. Mountain Biking at Woodend & the You Yangs….

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 1st, 2009 at 9:34 am and is filed under Bike Rides and tagged with adventure, ben, epic trails, marin, mount hut, scotts saddle, spencer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.