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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