Through the 1970's-2000's the OTMC Marathon has held legendary status for those wanting to test their fitness over the 60+km course through the Silver Peaks. Nowadays part of the original course is not so easy to access as it goes through pine plantation and at nearly 40km long the half marathon is still a considerable challenge. It was heartening to have eight people arrive for the 6am start of the Pineapple Track for what was sure to be a long and tiring day.
The Pineapple Track climbs a steep 480m to the top of Flagstaff starting with native bush and eventually onto the tussock tops. Starting in the dark through the bush and coming out into the tussock gave us a chance for a short stop to take in the sunrise and the beautiful coloured sky promising a warm day ahead.
We didn't have time to linger for too long because we still had a long way to go. Up the hill we went enjoying the sunrise and the wonderful cloud formations as we continued on to the top of Flagstaff. It was here that we stopped for a breather and drink at the top by the plane table. A fitting place to stop with the plane table highlighting features on the city skyline, and was installed in 1973 by the OTMC after it's 50th anniversary and here we were, about to celebrate the 100th anniversary.
By now the sun was up and with the first uphill section completed we were able to relax a little and regain our breath as we started downhill to the Bull Ring. We regrouped at the Bull Ring before tackling the 6km road walk of Whare Flat Road to Silver Stream which saw us drop 400m in height, effectively losing all the height we had gained.
The road walk wasn't as bad as I had feared with the time passing quickly as we all took the opportunity to chat on this downhill section. Being still early there was very little traffic on the gravel road and we were able to stop at the ford where one of our OTMC members, Trevor Mason, drowned while completing the OTMC marathon 15 years ago. Unlike 15 years ago when the weather was atrocious and the river was rushing over the ford, today there was no water and we were able to cross with dry feet. A complete contrast to 15 years ago.
Once at the bottom of the hill we climbed over the stile and walked alongside Silver Stream through the bush to the weir. We crossed the weir before taking the track towards the Powder Hill turn off which is where the fun really began as the climb of 480m up Powder Hill is particularly steep and gnarly until the ridge is gained and the gradient eases off slightly. Even though the upper part of the ridge is not as steep as lower down it continues to climb and fall as the track goes over a number of false summits before reaching the junction with Long Ridge. All the height we had gained climbing up Flagstaff, then losing as we headed downhill to Silver Stream, was gained again on Powder Ridge. Stopping for another breather in the shade of the bush at the junction of Long Ridge we contemplated that we were half way through our journey and thankfully most of the climbing was behind us. The walk along Long Ridge is very pleasant as it follows the contour and is open grassy tops giving plenty of opportunity to take in the expansive views of the Silver Peaks and particularly our destination for lunch, Pulpit Rock.
The final push to Pulpit Rock involves a 120m climb which took us to a great place to sit and admire the views while having a well deserved lunch. Despite there still being quite a distance to go, psychologically reaching Pulpit Rock was a big milestone in our journey as we could see our next obstacle, Swampy Summit which was the highest point of the half marathon and then not far behind, in the distance is Flagstaff and the end of our journey. Knowing we still had a few hours of walking ahead of us, lunch was eaten reasonably quickly and we were off again.
We dropped 120m down the ridge to Green Hut Site where we grabbed a few minutes for a drink and although feeling a little weary by now our spirits were high. Green Hut Site is the site of the club's first hut built in 1933, 10 years after the club had started. After a short break, we were off again, through the bush along Green Ridge. At least this part of the track follows the contour so we were able to stretch our legs and make good time along the track. Often the Green Ridge track can be muddy but with all the good weather of summer the track is very dry and hard underfoot.
A stop at the turnoff to Swampy Summit was compulsory as we met up with our support person Jade who had walked in to meet us with a supply of water and lollies. Gratefully we helped to relieve her of most of the weight in her pack as the water was greedily shared amongst us and the lollies were quickly devoured. The next section of the journey involved another 300m climb up to Swampy Summit. Previous trips along this part of the track had involved ankle deep mud but again with a dry summer the track was dry with only the occasional muddy section that was easily avoided. This made for reasonably quick walking until the terrain steepens as we approached the top of Swampy Summit.
Taking shelter behind a building to avoid the wind, we regrouped for a final drink and snack stop. It was a good feeling to know that most/all of the climbing was behind us and there only remained a few more kilometres between us and the finish. Shouldering our bags for one last time we trudged along the gravel road along the top of Swampy before taking the Swampy Summit track to Flagstaff. Deceptively there are a couple of small ups and downs on the track which taxed tired legs. Finally we reached the Flagstaff turn off and it was all down hill for the last few kilometres, dropping 400m to where we had started 11 hours and nearly 40km (with 1600m of climbing) earlier.
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