Porters Pass alternative 4wd track?
Porters Pass alternative 4wd track?
has anyone been through porters pass lately and seen the track that goes from the top of the pass and heads down the valley and pops out on the road before the river? did a bit of investigating and is marked by white posts all the way down. just wondering if anyone has actually been down it at all?
was parked up on the knoll above that a month or so back, bro was encouraging me to go down but i wasn't game cause i didn't know where it went and wasn't sure i'd get back up.
The main Porters road is steep and that track drops way faster so I'm not sure what it would be like trying to maintain the momentum getting up for the length of the hill, plus going down might be more thrilling.
My grandfather went down there (think he was in a landy) many years ago, there was no track then and he had no intention of off roading till he hit ice or shingle or something, didn't stay on the wheels the whole way down either
The main Porters road is steep and that track drops way faster so I'm not sure what it would be like trying to maintain the momentum getting up for the length of the hill, plus going down might be more thrilling.
My grandfather went down there (think he was in a landy) many years ago, there was no track then and he had no intention of off roading till he hit ice or shingle or something, didn't stay on the wheels the whole way down either
-
IcedJohnno
- Trailer Trash
- Posts: 821
- Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2005 12:00 pm
- Location: Christchurch nr the hills
Yeah been up that. Back when I had a littlebighorn 2.2 non turbo; 1999 I think.
The track was put in by the fibreoptic cable laying "dozer that laid the main West Coast fibre link. You really don't want to damage that cos for my ski club to just tee into it is going to cost 100K!!!!!
No we can't afford that. The white markers denote where the cable is.
I drove up it about 1 year after they laid the fibre up there. Went up with an LD28 powered LWB Landy. I would suggest that driving up is safer, there are some big drop offs in places and probably now some slips too, was a couple of small ones then. Definitely not maintained. The entrance is about 150 m past the big tree where the old workman's cottage is. That is about 1km below the bottom hairpin bend at the bottom of the pass.
I am pretty sure that officially Doc wont like people driving there. It is on land that is part of the Torlesse/Lake Lyndon Doc Park. If you must do it, the unofficial word from someone I know well who runs that area for Doc is, don't be seen, don't leave tracks and we will all be able to play for a longer number of years. Finite period, I suspect yes. Yeah as long as the land/tracks don't get Fcuked Up, he's on our side but do beware cos some tracks on Doc estate are on there way to looking like Worsley's and if they even get 1/8th of the way there, all that Doc land will get shut out to us.
Yes it is bloody steep up the top, almost more than the bittle higlorn could muster, and at this time of year will cut up easily and then erode with the Autumn rains yet to come. Do it next summer and with a small group please.
Rant and preaching now over
Know of a few other tracks like that in and around that area too, it is all my stomping ground. Perhaps we could have a wee expedition me thinks as summer comes. Got somewhere we could stay the night too. Might even get the benefit of Mr Doc's knowledge as well.
Cheers John
The track was put in by the fibreoptic cable laying "dozer that laid the main West Coast fibre link. You really don't want to damage that cos for my ski club to just tee into it is going to cost 100K!!!!!
No we can't afford that. The white markers denote where the cable is.
I drove up it about 1 year after they laid the fibre up there. Went up with an LD28 powered LWB Landy. I would suggest that driving up is safer, there are some big drop offs in places and probably now some slips too, was a couple of small ones then. Definitely not maintained. The entrance is about 150 m past the big tree where the old workman's cottage is. That is about 1km below the bottom hairpin bend at the bottom of the pass.
I am pretty sure that officially Doc wont like people driving there. It is on land that is part of the Torlesse/Lake Lyndon Doc Park. If you must do it, the unofficial word from someone I know well who runs that area for Doc is, don't be seen, don't leave tracks and we will all be able to play for a longer number of years. Finite period, I suspect yes. Yeah as long as the land/tracks don't get Fcuked Up, he's on our side but do beware cos some tracks on Doc estate are on there way to looking like Worsley's and if they even get 1/8th of the way there, all that Doc land will get shut out to us.
Yes it is bloody steep up the top, almost more than the bittle higlorn could muster, and at this time of year will cut up easily and then erode with the Autumn rains yet to come. Do it next summer and with a small group please.
Rant and preaching now over
Know of a few other tracks like that in and around that area too, it is all my stomping ground. Perhaps we could have a wee expedition me thinks as summer comes. Got somewhere we could stay the night too. Might even get the benefit of Mr Doc's knowledge as well.
Cheers John
thanks for all that info john. much apprechiated. from the few minutes that i spent investigation the track it appeared to me that it has been well used. there is at least two tracks veering off of the main one to different ridges etc and the top part of the track look quite rutted.
yes i thought going up hill would be safer as coming down hill and not being able to get back up could cause alot of head aches. i had a look on one of my maps here and it shows another 4wd track starting at the bottom of this one but heading north up the creek 3/4 of the way up to a hut. dont know how accurate this is but i deffinatly think its worth an investigation.
yes i thought going up hill would be safer as coming down hill and not being able to get back up could cause alot of head aches. i had a look on one of my maps here and it shows another 4wd track starting at the bottom of this one but heading north up the creek 3/4 of the way up to a hut. dont know how accurate this is but i deffinatly think its worth an investigation.
4wdnuts wrote:i had a look on one of my maps here and it shows another 4wd track starting at the bottom of this one but heading north up the creek 3/4 of the way up to a hut. dont know how accurate this is but i deffinatly think its worth an investigation.
Shows a track on my map too. That creek is called the Kowai River and the track stops just short of Foggy Stream.
Ok people, move along. Nothing to see here. Thank you, move along.
Ph 0212078472
Ph 0212078472
IcedJohnno wrote:I am pretty sure that officially Doc wont like people driving there. It is on land that is part of the Torlesse/Lake Lyndon Doc Park. If you must do it, the unofficial word from someone I know well who runs that area for Doc is, don't be seen, don't leave tracks and we will all be able to play for a longer number of years.
Under the circumstance of what you report here and the current issues confronting us in the ORE I feel it would be unwise to go here without propper permission first.
Ok people, move along. Nothing to see here. Thank you, move along.
Ph 0212078472
Ph 0212078472
Hi
The parcel of land that you refer to is private land.
It is not a public road nor is it public land administered by DOC.
Another one of the many issues that we currently have in Canterbury is the entire Porters Pass and Lyndon Road. Guys even though a track may look well used it does not reflect that it is for public use, so I for one am pleased to see that you have checked before using this track.
The only public places where you can drive in there is the legal Highway 73, and Lyndon Road.
If you see other tracks then don’t be tempted to follow them as they are not legal places that you can drive!
I am in contact (well they contact me) with the majority of land owners in that area and they used to be 4WD friendly, but they are now turning sour on 4WD people because they stray off the legal roads tresspass, create damage, and it is becoming an issue there, so lets not add to that situation.
When snow hits the area it becomes even more of an issue as the snow fall attracts a lot of people in 4WD vehicles who stray off the roads, climb hills etc and just cause havoc in the area. It is becoming an issue so please do not let anyone from this forum add to the problem that we have in that patch.
Thanks
Paul
The parcel of land that you refer to is private land.
It is not a public road nor is it public land administered by DOC.
Another one of the many issues that we currently have in Canterbury is the entire Porters Pass and Lyndon Road. Guys even though a track may look well used it does not reflect that it is for public use, so I for one am pleased to see that you have checked before using this track.
The only public places where you can drive in there is the legal Highway 73, and Lyndon Road.
If you see other tracks then don’t be tempted to follow them as they are not legal places that you can drive!
I am in contact (well they contact me) with the majority of land owners in that area and they used to be 4WD friendly, but they are now turning sour on 4WD people because they stray off the legal roads tresspass, create damage, and it is becoming an issue there, so lets not add to that situation.
When snow hits the area it becomes even more of an issue as the snow fall attracts a lot of people in 4WD vehicles who stray off the roads, climb hills etc and just cause havoc in the area. It is becoming an issue so please do not let anyone from this forum add to the problem that we have in that patch.
Thanks
Paul
