Leatham Fatbike overnighter

Back to the bike trip. Due to issues with carrying gear on my bike I downsized my plans to a cheeky overnighter heading up the Leatham Valley in Marlborough to tick off a few more huts. I'd been up to Top Leatham and Bottom Gordon Huts on my Molesworth Loop a few years ago, but there were a handful of other 4WD accessible huts closer to the highway. My Subaru Outback doesn't have the clearance for true 4WDing but the fat bike should bridge the divide.

Day 1 Wednesday

After a wonderful hot shower, a big meal at the pub, half a pint of beer and a good sleep, I left Murchison at 10:30 am and headed north. I grabbed an overpriced sandwich at St Arnaud for lunch and drove down the Wairau Valley, turning up the Leatham Road. 

It was a good dirt road the whole way to a sign telling you that further travel should be with a four wheel drive. I probably could have taken the Subaru a bit further along but the whole purpose of this trip was cycling, so I parked off the road, packed the bike, and set off.

This was my first trip bike packing with the fat bike so getting the storage sorted is a work in progress. Having lifted the seat post an inch I now had just enough clearance for the saddle bag, but only if I'm careful to cinch it up as tight as possible. I've ordered a rear rack, because just having the saddle bag is too limiting.

On the front bar I have a roll bag in which all my sleeping gear plus most of my food is stored, but packing this so I have enough clearance is also a challenge. It wasn't long before I had to readjust the straps to stop it touching the front tyre.

The geometry of the fat bike means there little space for a frame bag, though I could get one custom made. My water bottles take up that space.

I wasn't travelling with a tent on this trip as I was pretty certain there would be no people in the valley mid week, though a vehicle did pass me whilst I was getting ready but I soon rode past it parked near the start of the Wye Creek route.

Over the roll bag I have a small handlebar bag, in which I can store electronics and other sundry gear. I also attached one feed bag for snacks, and wore a bumbag with personal items. With only enough food for an overnight trip it's enough storage space.

The first thing I noticed was how much more comfortable the ride was on my backside by having raised the seat. Obviously the previous owner had shorter legs than me. That's a win win!

The track was in very good condition, and aside from the river crossings would have been doable in my Subaru. In fact at these levels my car would have made it across most of them. Boulder Creek maybe not. 

I cycled across most of the small creek crossings, but I walked the bigger ones, including Boulder Creek.

A track heads off up the creek to 2 other huts, but that's for tomorrow. I was heading up the Leatham, first to Caves Hut, which required a long slog uphill past Caves Bluff. I walked that section, my fitness is yet to catch up to my ambition.

After the Bluff the track swooped down hill to an airstrip and Caves Hut sitting bathed in the sun. It looked very inviting, but I had another hut to visit a further 7 km upstream. I took a photo and kept going.

The track continued along the true right for another 6 km before heading across a number of braids on the Leatham to the other side. The first couple were fine, but the third one was a bit of a struggle getting the bike across the current and the fourth crossing was the deepest and fastest flowing of all of them.

I decided the risk of being washed over was too high, so I left the bike there and walked the 5-600m to Barber's Hut. It's another beauty, but was in the shade, and my bike wasn't with me, so I wrote in the book and retraced my steps back to the river crossing. It was the sort of crossing I'd normally feel absolutely fine with if tramping, using my poles for support. The middle section was above my knees and easily could throw you off balance, but it was only 50 cm wide at that depth so with careful foot placement you were out of the danger zone pretty quickly. Carrying the bike through this section, however, was beyond me...

I picked up the bike, got it over the next braid and then the rest I cycled through.

The ride back to Caves Hut was a gentle downhill most of the way, only taking me half an hour. The fat bike literally eats rocks for breakfast so what would have required a lot more care on my gravel bike, the big tyres just roll on over with little fuss at all. It's such a fun bike to ride!

The sun had left the valley by now but the hut was still warm inside, so I unpacked the bike and made myself at home. There was firewood ready to go, but I couldn't find either an axe or a saw to replace it. Never mind, most visitors have vehicles and maybe they have axes or chainsaws.

I got the fire going and put all my wet gear up on the rack to dry. It's a little potbelly stove and once I managed to get small enough logs into it and close the door, the heat really racked up. Not a lot of small enough logs though…

As usual, it's dark well before 6, so it was an early dinner and off to bed.

Distance 22.36km, just under 3 hours

Day 2 Thursday

I woke up to a very cold hut and a thick frost outside. With no wood small enough, as there was no axe, I couldn't even light the fire. It was pretty brutal.

The sun didn't reach the hut until 9:30. It was hard to get ready as my fingers wouldn't work they were so cold. I at last managed to do up all the straps and head off just before 10.

I noticed that some of the cable ties holding my brake and gear cables together had snapped, perhaps due to pressure from the handle bar roll. I'll have to remedy that, but for the time being just had to make sure the cables didn't catch on anything. I re-secured them with a spare strap, but I may need to change out the cables to different lengths to accommodate the bar roll.

The ride back to Boulder Stream required climbing up to the Bluff. I pedalled a fair way before giving up and walking. With time my bike fitness will improve, I just need to be more persistent.

It took a little over half an hour back to Boulder Stream where I turned up the track to Boulder Forks. This track wasn't in quite as good condition as the main track and was a lot more muddy. It had quite a few uphill sections so I did a fair amount of hike a bike but soon enough I arrived at the Forks.

There was a river crossing, quite shallow, and then more uphill to the huts, so I decided to leave the bike at the river and walk up to the huts sans bike.

There's an old hut, no longer used, with a dirt floor and open fireplace, which I suspect hasn't been removed because Ed Hillary once stayed there and wrote on the wall.

The new hut is pretty ugly, but looks comfortable enough.

There were two 4WDs parked by the huts, but no sign of their owners.

I signed the hut book and walked back to my bike. It was lunchtime and a weak sun was shining so I had a hot cup of tea with my cheese, salami and crackers. Then it was back down the track to the Leatham.

As expected the return down stream took considerably shorter and I was soon back on the main track and just had to cross Boulder Creek and cycle the final few kilometres back to the car.

The whole route could certainly be done in a day, but a night in a hut, and 2 half days was definitely more achievable for me.

After washing down the bike and luggage, and changing clothes, I returned to civilisation.

Distance 18.6 km, 3 hours 15 minutes