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Trailflix: Narrowneck - Trail Review |
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This is a Blue Mountains ride along Glenraphael Drive, starting from Cliff Drive, Katoomba. The whole ride is firetrail and it must be the most picturesque ride in the Blue Mountains.
As soon as you hit Glenraphael Dr it's a loose, fast downhill run for about a kilometer until you hit the first little parking area. A tour company was doing some abseiling (I think) with a group of tourists while we went past. The way down to this point has some nice turns but the washboard rutts and loose surface make it interesting.
Keep going along and you'll pass a section that is again used for parking. There is a large board with a map of the area here and also the Golden Stairs walking track splits off here. Just after this is a nice, steep hill. It's steep enough that the NPWS has decided to concrete it to make things easier for the service and fire fighting vehicles. From here the track goes up and down a little until you reach a gate at about the 3km mark.
Just past the gate is a friendly little sign saying it's a shared trail and cyclists should give way to walkers. It's good to know we're allowed on the track! There's a bit of downhill straight after the gate and more up and down for the next 3 or so kilometers.
At around 6kms is a pretty steep downhill bit that has a sharp left hand bend near the top. From this bend you get some fantastic views of the surrounding area, including looking out to Lake Burrogorang and Warragamba Dam. The way down after the bend is significantly steeper than before the bend, has a few waterbars to jump off and may be a little bit rutted after some rain. At the bottom you pass under/next to a large rock just before a right hand bend and then begin the climb up the other side. The trail surface for the climb seemed a bit looser than the descent so you have to choose a good line to maintain traction getting up.
From the top of the climb you view an awesome scene into the Megalong Valley between two points of Narrowneck. Zig-zagging slightly between two large rocks, the firetrail from here to the end is generally much more pleasant. It is flatter and easier to maintain speed. Towards the end the track gets a bit rocky but it's not as hard as it looks.
At the end of the firetrail is a great viewing spot for nearly 360º views. There is also a walking trail off to the right when you arrive but it is clearly signposted as a walking trail, so best not to ride it. The end isn't a bad spot to have something to eat and then turn around and ride back. I found the ride back easier overall, although getting up to the left hand turn (now a right hand turn going back) was a challenge. I've never been so far forward on the seat, but i made i up!
Once at the gate it's a good idea to listen out for cars coming along and if you parked along Cliff Dr you finish with about 1km of climbing.
Overall it was a good track. There are some narrow sections where the cliffs drop away from the edge of the track but the views are amazing pretty much all the way along. Some bits look a bit daunting when you are at a high point, you look out to see the track in the distance knowing that you are going to be descending and then climbing back up. But it was all a bit of fun and setting yourself the challenge of riding up every hill is cool too. :D It would be a good trail to get a fit partner interested in mountainbiking, but some of the climbs are pretty big and some of the descents may be a bit tricky for a beginner.
Technical Rating: 2/5
Fun Rating: 3/5
Grant Byrne |
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