harkaway track, 1 out of 10

[thematrix]

Rode the harkaway scout camp track yesterday and would like to here what other riders think of it. Not a fun track and also had an issue with the way it has been built.
Riding in the bush around great tracks is one of the great joys of mtbing and therefore we all need to be a bit conscious of how we look after the places we ride.
I though the harkaway track is not a good advertisement to the sport of mtbing. The track looks like it has been made in a hurry with little planning and also with little or no respect to the bush. Near the start someone has just driven a dingo or small bulldozer through the bush to carve out a track and the track is already suffering from bad erosion.
Also the track has been cut along a creek bed. There is no rock work to hold the soil in place and the next heavy down poor means a lot of damage to the side of the creek.
I am all for making tracks and there are plenty of examples of good ones. if you look up the road to the Beaconsfield, time has been put in to building something that is awesome and sustainable.
Dose anyone know the history of this new harckaway track? Who is responsible for it?
I think the person who made it really has to go back and repair the damage they have caused and either make the track sustainable of replant and repair the damage..

[akashra]

You realize the singletrack was basically made on one weekend, and then raced in the most atrocious conditions many of us have ever raced in the next, completely destroying it in a single weekend, right? It was the only event I've ever turned up to and pulled out of because I just couldn't ride to the conditions (mostly to blame is the fact I had a way overgeared singlespeed in the thick mud).

Don't worry, the Fatties guys will do work on it as is necessary. Part of repairing trails involves time and natural healing.

Correct me if I'm wrong by the way, but I didn't think Harkaway Scout Camp was publicly open land.

[VW NUT]

Do you mean the scout camp in Officer? Or the one Beaconsfeild?

[akashra]

My understanding is he means the scout camp at Harkaway, where round 3 of the FTF Winter Series was held. Beacy (Dallas Brooks) and Officer are different tracks again.

[jempot]

Correct me if I'm wrong by the way, but I didn't think Harkaway Scout Camp was publicly open land.

Can anyone confirm whether public riding is allowed here like Beacy and Officer?

[akashra]

Technically it's not allowed at Beacy. But no-one complains and everyone says "go right ahead".

[jempot]

Technically it's not allowed at Beacy. But no-one complains and everyone says "go right ahead".

So let me rephrase then....
Do people ride at Harkaway like they do at Beacy? and if so, do they park down the bottom clearing near the river crossing? (I went for a drive there the other day to check it out)

I tried emailing the contact on the scouts website to ask if recreational riding was allowed but the email was knocked back because the email no longer exists. You can't say I didn't try.

[Some Guy]

You realize the singletrack was basically made on one weekend, and then raced in the most atrocious conditions many of us have ever raced in the next, completely destroying it in a single weekend, right?

That doesn't really have any bearing on the points raised.