All I can say is there really is nothing disappointing about Mt Disappointment!
We all met at 9am at the clearing at the western end of Dry Creek Rd to air down and have a quick chat about the route ahead. There was myself in the trusty FJ, Corey, Bobby and Tony each in GU Patrols, Kyle in the TJ Jeep, Richard and Steve in 105 Cruisers and Nick in his extremely capable Triton.
With the light drizzle of the morning clearing we wasted no time and headed off down Dry Creek and made our way towards the first llittle track of the day, Clarkes/Quinceys Break. The light rain had done nothing to the surface so despite being fairly steep in a couple of spots it was very easy. We headed from there across to the Ladder (The Bump on google) which has changed quite a lot in the past 12 months. The big holes at the start had a bit of water in them but still a fairly firm base and no challenge for any of us. On towards the climb and the start of it now has a nicely formed ledge to ride on the left vs last year when there was little choice but to cope with the big lean of the rock slab. Also, the big wheel lift section has gone and overall is easier than it was at this section. Just up from there it gets a bit tougher as the track has been chopped up and chewed out leaving some sizeable ledges and rocky ruts that require careful line selection. Everyone sailed up pretty smoothly, very impressed with Kyle cruising up with open diffs and his first drive offroad in nearly a year.
From the top of the Ladder we headed across through Andersons and up through Western Break to Quarry, where we hung a left. A fun bit of rutted track and a couple of bog holes then another left off the map heading towards the area called Grassy hills. Climbing up onto the ridge we stopped for a bite to eat and watched a few guys on bikes attempting a very steep climb out of the valley up to the opposite ridge. Quite entertaining as one guy dropped his bike a couple of times before finally flipping it, his mate coming down to ride it up for him.
We then made the steep climb down the spur negotiating the ruts and steps on the way, taking a left through a break in the fenceline and heading over to some more unmarked tracks. Both of these climbs are quite challenging with ruts, jagged rocks and loose broken rock and dust making up the surface, and early on into the first climb saw Kyle drop into a rut and put him on a nasty angle. Tony hooked him up and pulled him out of the rut where he continued driving to the top. The next climb (where Thurstain broke his tailshaft earlier this year) was very similar though more rocky so everyone had plenty of grip despite the steepness. This brought us back up to the ridge where we had stopped earlier and once again we continued down the spur to the bottom where the track meets the western end of Quarry.
We followed Quarry around a little bit until we reached the infamous Triton Hill - so named because of the wrecked Triton at the bottom of the precarious climb. After discussing the line to take for those who hadn't done it before I scooted up quickly and jumped out to spot for Kyle up next. Meanwhile Corey had snapped a belt so was taking advantage of the pause in progress to swap in another.
Kyle started up the same line I took but slightly misjudged it and -combined with some bouncing - ended up in a bad position right on the edge of the track. With some careful spotting he reversed back down and took a second run with a different approach, starting in the centre instead of hugging the right. This, along with some great controlled driving - saw him make it up past the blind crest onto the slightly flatter section, and almost made it over the next big step up but sadly diffed out. Still, top drive.
Steve and Richard made it up no worries, nicely driven. Nick drove straight up the guts - because "what line?". Bobby came next and made it up the climb no problems but came unstuck on the blind turn around the rock on the crest. Going a little too wide then trying to turn late ended up with him waving a big hello with his front right wheel several feet in the air and on a really sketchy angle across the fall line. Instant stop and winch to safety. Corey rounded it up effortlessly, straight up the centre as well because anything else is too easy for him.
What I love about this track is it's the gift that keeps on giving. Once you're past that first climb it continues, following the spur straight up out of the valley. Very rocky and steep. About halfway up it splits into 2 lines, one of which nearly put Kyle upside down with another huge wheel lift, but everyone made it to the top safely.
At this point Nick, Steve and Richard decided to say farewell due to other commitments, so we parted ways and continued on along Main Mountain Rd for a bit to a sneaky little loop that we'd found a while ago. Steep, loose and rutted coming down to a dry creek, and as you approach the creek around the last bend you see the climb - like a cliff - ahead of you. Very steep, rock slab and loose rock straight up. It's a "just gonna send it" track. I poured in the berries and scooted up, Kyle was next and was nailing it until just at the end of the really steep section where he caught a snag on his rear diff. After a few attempts of getting around and over it I went back to my car and started reversing down to snatch him up, only to see the "little jeep that could" coming up the track behind me. Kyle "just sent it" for the win. Top work. Bobby, Tony and Corey all made it up with big smiles.
From there we followed a little side track that runs beside Main Mountain for a while, onto Nylander Spur, up Quarry (both with some good technical sections) and finally back onto Main Mountain where we aired up.
I had an absolute blast of a day. These are my perfect tracks, challenging but not too hard that I'm scared.
Big thanks to everyone who came along, hope you enjoyed the day as much as I did.
Apologies for no photos from me, was too busy driving and having fun to take any! If anyone has any feel free to pop them up.
Cheers!