Adventure Magazine

Exhausting and thrilling track across the alpine tops

The engineering. It has to be seen to be believed.

Riding the trail is exciting enough, but it is difficult to

comprehend how they were constructed in the first

place. Not enough can be said about the countless

hours and dogged determination it has taken

designing, let alone building these enthralling tracks

and bridges.

Phil Rossiter, one of the original “band of four”

designers is acknowledged as an enthusiastic

mountain biker, and his influence in design is

obvious. Although there were times when I forced

myself to “look at the track, not at the drop” to

paraphrase an old skiing saying, I never felt unsafe.

A series of solid wire “rails” are there to protect the

weary. This trail is set in a wilderness environment,

demanding to be treated with caution and respect.

Jeff below Ghost Lake Hut. - Image by Rachael Melville

An after-dinner discussion amongst a group of

passionate trampers and mountain bikers at Stern

hut drifted to a comparison of the OGR to the more

established walks - Milford, Hollyford, Routeburn,

Kepler to name a few. OGR was winner by a clear

majority.

Late on the last day, shortly after a bush shower, I

was sipping coffee on the deck at the Rough and

Tumble Lodge, surrounded by two groups of riders

enjoying the satisfaction of completing the ride,

cleaning their bikes, ordering drinks, loudly reliving

moments on the trail. Like them, I vowed to be back

again.

The author travelled courtesy of Old Ghost Road and

Development West Coast. I choose to use Jetboil,

Macpac, Backcountry Cuisine and Keen products

Spine-tingling drops over the Mokihinui River

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