SUNSCREEN!! We actually are applying sunscreen this morning. The day dawned at least partly sunny and the forecast was for no rain for at least most of the day. As it turned out, it was correct! We had one small shower late in the day, but that was it.
Not having to pack up a tent makes it easier and faster to get ready to ride. There was some bike upkeep to do and then there was breakfast to attend to.
Breakfast is included with glamping at Camp Epic, and our new friends also shared their bounty. While comparatively expensive at NZ$200 for the night (about US$120), Camp Epic was pretty great.
Today’s ride was pretty ambitious at 42 miles and a projected elevation gain of 3,800 feet by our mapping tool GaiaGPS. Luckily, the actual elevation gain was much less at 2,475 feet. Not sure why the actual elevation gain is often different that the GPX track, but we put a critical eye to the maps and elevation profiles each day to assess what we think the actual elevation gain is likely to be.
Soon after departing Camp Epic, leaving Steven with his hurt foot waiting for the shuttle, Chris slipped in some mud at the side of the trail and tumbled over the side and down the steep bank, caught by mercifully soft rotting branches and ferns. We used a couple of straps to pull her bike back up to the path and off we went. It was another example of looking much worse than it ended up. Got to keep an eye on that girl!
This section of the Timber Trail is initially on a hiking type trail, with all the ups and downs. But about half of the trail is on an old tramway that was built a long time ago to extract timber, hence the name of this trail.
The weather was glorious, and it was nice to stop along the way and snack and admire the longer views that were obscured by cloud and rain the previous day.
Once on the tramway, it was pretty easy pedaling, with some water, mud and rock to navigate, but the grade was consistent. There were again some long suspension bridges but all of the modern type that we could simple ride over. There was one interesting section of the tramway called the Ongarue Spiral which is a loop where the tram could change elevation quickly by doing a loop. We rode the loop, including the unlit tunnel that ran under the upper track.
The 2nd part of the Timber Track is about 44km from Camp Epic, and then we wanted to ride to Taumarunui for the night. It was kind of sad to finish the Timber Trail, as it is just so fun to ride, not withstanding the tumble that Chris took. Highly recommended to come visit this and ride it.
From the end of the Timber Track, we re-entered the grazing landscape of sheep and green grass, taking the old river road into Taumarunui.
There was a golf tournament on in Taumarunui, so lodging was tight but we got a room in a motel that even has a kitchen and then went out for Indian food. That hit the spot.
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