The Mawson Trail: Stone Hut to Melrose

Friday, April 17, 2009

Stone Hut to Melrose

A mere 52km to Melrose. Lunch at the North Star. A quick ride back to Stone Hut along the bitumen. Brrttthp.

Stone Hut to Melrose, return along bitumen road

Ah yeah, so had another Leave-Without-Pay-Day courtesy of the recession, so Graham and I decided to make the most of it and ride another day on the Mawson Trail. We would be up this way anyway for the weekend, hiking 63km along the Heysen Trail.

So the ride to Melrose was pretty cool. The lunch was fantastic. The ride back was maybe a little harder than expected, we though, from the advice we had sought from a keen cyclist, that it would be mostly downhill. It wasn't, well not until after Wirrabara, but it was still a good ride, just 2 hours back to Stone Hut.

These two photos are from Wirrabara Forest. I've heard tales of mud so thick through this forest that one couldn't ride a bike because of the mud that quickly accumulated between the wheel and frame. It seemed to be mostly dirt roads, and perhaps only a few of these seemed to hold the potential for this gripping mud. So easy to say huh?

Next 2 or 3 day ride in late May. Looking forward to it, getting back out with our bob trailers and camping.

Download Google Earth KML file

Download kml file to view in Google Earth or adapt to use as a navigational aid in a GPS unit

Stats	Mawson Trail
	Friday	Friday
	17/04/2009	17/04/2009
	Near Stone Hut to Melrose (Mawson Trail)	Melrose to near Stone Hut (via bitument road)

Distance	52.3km	39.9km
Start Time	8.02am	1.34pm
End Time	12.35pm	3.50pm
Moving Duration	3h33m	1h56m
Stationary Duration	1h02m	10m
Moving Average	14.7km/h	20.6km/h
Overall Average	11.4km/h	18.6km/h
Oodometer	52.3km	92.2km

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About the Mawson Trail

The Mawson Trail traverses some of the most beautiful and spectacular regions of South Australia including the Adelaide Hills, the Barossa Valley, Clare and Gilbert Valleys, the Flinders Ranges and remote rural areas. With almost 900km of little-used country roads, unmade or unused road reserves and forest tracks, the Mawson Trail is Australia's premier off-road cycling trail.

The trail is named after Sir Douglas Mawson, an intrepid and adventurous Australian explorer. As a lecturer in petrology (the study of the origin and structure of rocks) at Adelaide University, Mawson led field trips to the South Australian Outback on numerous occassions in the early 1900s.

The trail was originally developed by the State Government in 1992, starting from the Festival Centre in Adelaide. In 2004 the trail was redeveloped which involved redirection in some areas, including a re-route via the Riesling Trail, the rail trail from Auburn to Clare, and the inclusion of some loop trails in some of the more popular areas. A new logo was developed, representing the ancient land of the Flinders Ranges, Australian fauna and the bike wheel, and the trail re-signposted with bright, informative new signs. The trail officially starts at the eastern end of the River Torrens Linear Park, on Gorge Road at Montacute (approximately 15kms NE of the Adelaide CBD).