Moreton Island fatbiking and fatpack - day 1

A mate (Wayne) and I planned a fatbiking trip to Moreton Island over Friday and Saturday, bikepack for the night...somewhere. Wayne had just picked up his new Moonlander and was keen for a trip, it was a fat virgin bikepacking trip for him.

Regular readers of this blog will recall the weeklong trip here, as well as day trips here with video.

We caught the Micat over, no issue fitting us on the barge, even with it at capacity with vehicles.



Was a bluebird day, the bay was a millpond.

It was officially 'Steve Irwin Day', I don't know if Wayne knew this, but he dressed the part. :)

Along the way north I paused a few times to check out the official campsites, with million dollar views west over the bay. I could never grow tired of that sparkling, emerald green ocean.

Apart from the odd vehicle, we had the beach to ourselves.

Heading north we kept passing a group of people we spoke to on the ferry. Wayne noted in their vehicle there were 5 blokes, a few cartons, but only 1 fishing rod. They had air conditioning, but I reckon we had the best view.

Our loose plan for today was to head north, then east, south, west, south again, and lastly east for about 10 metres. The only two reference points that mattered today were tide and sunset; as we meandered along the deserted west beach we both felt it - that melting away of everyday stresses - replaced by a relaxed and uncluttered state of mind. 

We stopped at Bulwer for a quick supply stop. Salt and vinegar chips for the sunset swim and entrée. The store is pretty well stocked and provides hot and cold meals - I've had the big brekky on previous trips and can vouch for the satiety afterwards.

We found a short segment of singletrack back to the beach, I spotted 2 Bush Stone Curlews parked up for the day, with one on the ground just out of frame. Traditional stories of the Curlew tell of them keeping bad spirits away, and bringing good luck and health.

 From here we rounded Comboyuro point and over Heath Island - which is an ever changing series of dunes and tidal/fresh water runoff lagoons, and past the towering Yellow Patch. I spotted many pairs of pied oyster catchers, sea eagles, terns and heard the trill call of whistling kites.

We made our way to North point, overlooking Honeymoon Bay. Time for a bit of smoko.

On bikepacking trips, food is fuel...but food for the mind, the body, or both? This was a laid back trip, so my food profile reflected this with time allocated to prepare, cook and enjoy... pfft yeah right. I'm a real Gordon Ramsay. So, I present couscous with noodle sachet and a piece of fruit cake. For the gear junkies - I'm using a Kovea Titanium stove and a 600mL Gram Counter ti pot set that allows the larger 230g gas canister, stove, cup and condiments baggy to nest neatly.

We watched the storms brewing over the mainland for a while - the cumulo-nimbus rising into giant anvils in the sky - we then headed along an inland track to the lighthouse. These tracks are a real mixture of textures - sometimes bottomless hot sand, sometimes bound together with woodchip, or firm due to sandstone base.

We headed up to the lighthouse, I portaged the bike up the stairs for this shot. I hope you appreciate it. A loaded Moonlander is not light...

 With the wind at our backs, it was a cruisy trip south to our next destination - Blue Lagoon.

A great location to refill the water bottles, a quick wash and just soak up the atmosphere. Blue Lagoon is a freshwater window lake - meaning the water table is exposed at land surface.The birdlife here is something to appreciate - with an abundance of fresh water, the plants are varied, providing for a broad ecosystem to flourish.

Middle Rd was our next obstacle - this road crosses the island in an east/west direction. Normally this is unrideable on the ascent, but the combination of recent rains and firm packed sand (the rangers regularly grade the trail to keep it trafficable for vehicles - this also aerates the sand, dries it out and removes organic matter that helps bind it together - and makes it a lot harder to ride on) made it fully rideable - first time ever for me as I've always had to walk the ascent.

The fast descent winds through cuttings of coloured sands and thickets of scented eucalypt - your senses are assaulted from many angles.

Back on the west coast, the extent of the storms on the mainland were revealed. We would be in for a good light show tonight.

We bivvied a few km south of Tangalooma at one of the bush camps. A quick rinse off in the water at sunset was a great time to reflect on the days' journey, and talk bloke stuff.

In the words of Bill Merchant 'never go to bed depleted'. Today wasn't a big day on the bike, but it was nice to have the time to create a wide range of food to enjoy - which you ordinarily don't have time for on ultra-rides. Dinner: bacon carbonara macaroni with lemongrass tuna; chicken noodle soup with with pre-made vegemite sandwich; salt and vinegar chips; muesli bar and fruitcake slab; and the pet monkey slipped in a Bounty bar for dessert - she says they're her favourite!

I had a bandicoot visit during dinner, and this big guy watched over my bike and gear as I slept.

Kiwi brevet prep - Stinson Park to Running Creek and Mt Gipps

The Christmas Creek region is an area at the base of  Lamington NP, close to the QLD/NSW border track and the Lions Rd. Some beautiful and challenging country.

Wifey, the pet monkey and I did a dayride out from Stinson Park many years ago, we explored several roads including Gap Creek Road. Back then we limited our exploration depth with the pet monkey on board - no HAB (hike-a-bike) or 10 hour epics. The area intrigued me, and I always wanted to return to pick up where I'd left off.

Many years had gone by, recently my mate Dave attempted a through ride that went through this area, subsequently this area appeared back on my radar. Dave was halted by a segment of the range... my challenge was to find a suitable route over the range and add a HAB segment to future bikepacking trips through this area. I found the route tough going but doable - it won't be for everyone. Read on...

Just a perfect day. Lou Reed, RIP.

 

Off the bitumen and onto the dirt of Gap Creek Rd. Only a short segment of dirt, then the climb begins.

 

A stunning backdrop of Lamington NP.

 

 

The bike I used is my Salsa Fargo ti. This is the bike I'm taking with me for the Kiwi Brevet 2014, so was a good day to test quite a few things for hill climbing and HAB - of which I know there'll be plenty of both on the Kiwi.

 

 

The track climbs straight up along the ridge.

 

 Taking a break from the climbing, looking behind revealed framed glimpses of the valley.

Back to the ascent. The most efficient way to HAB  was to shoulder the bike - this removed significant stress from the Achilles tendons, allowed better foot placement, less heel slip in the boot (less blistering), aided balance and engaged larger muscle groups better to propel forward. A thick pad of neoprene or EVA foam works well as a shoulder pad, drivetrain facing out, one hand under the downtube.

I cached the bike on the hillside, then continued to summit.

 The summit revealed an amazing vista. While there I looked for my target destination in the Running Creek valley - a small farm track that headed west to Mt Gipps locale. Along with a compass, I find a good pair of binoculars are handy for picking out routes and spotting birds. Through my Nikons I spotted the lesser forested ridgeline that I would descend into Mordor Running Creek valley.

 

 I got to my planned descent ridgeline. High alert for snakes.

 

 Descend for about 40-50 mins (walking, not riding) the lantana was getting a bit thicker, but still manage to pick a line through the swath.

 

After a while though, it became a wall of lantana. I could hear the creek running in the distance, but the treeline gave nothing away as to how far it was. This section I estimated at about 50m - my conviction pushed me forward, as such my technique was simple - stow all items on the bike that could get torn off, then throw the bike onto the lantana to create a path, stomp to the bike, lift bike off said lantana, swear at wait-a-while and barbed wire vine, repeat throwing process.

 

 

 

The barbed wire vine catches and shreds flesh, stretchy fabrics and handlebar tape. Will pack my heavy pants next time. The numerous march flies attacked any part of exposed flesh.

 

I'm not Danny Macaskill, so the drop into the creek had to be walked, not ridden.

 

 Rockhopping down the creek was taxing work with the bike, I ran out of rocks to hop, deep pools with large fish swam the depths. A quick deviation to follow a break in the scrub, led me to a peaceful grove - reminded me of Marshall Canyon in California... only thing missing was the chipmunk.

 To get back on target it was back into the scrub. More lantana shortly after. Snakes and bitey things were always on my mind, but my fuzzy animal logic told me to act like a big, mostly dumb, noisy animal. I'm a good method actor :)

  

At the creek again, plenty of rock options and about a km or so of hopping to get onto the farm track.

Rough farm track was pockmarked by cattle hooves.

After a lot of paddock bashing, I was on the gravel of Mt Gipps Rd/Chinghee Creek Rd and very happy with my objectives met.

Postscript from the day after:

My knees and bike were lacerated by the lantana, barbed wire vine and wait-a-while. No ticks.

 

 Looks like a cat scratching pole.

 

 ...and I broke a zip tie :) . Build 'em tough, ride 'em in the rough...

 

I look forward to getting back there again. I felt this ride delivered exactly what I wanted - offtrack excursion, serious HAB, navigation exercise, adventure, no safety net and back at half past. The next segment will be to complete the final step from Mt Gipps out to Running Creek Rd and the Lions Rd. The shortest route appears to be following the creek line as it zig-zags down the valley. Looks like a walk in the park.

...any takers for my next trip?