Murchison to Fork Hut (Old Ghost Road)

February 16, 2025

Old Ghost Road - A ride to blow your mind!

This morning I woke at 6 and had a bit less to do. I still had to take down my tent but I could use the kitchen which was nice. I had yogurt and granola as a change and coffee. I chatted with a few other campers, borrowed my neighbour’s floor pump and hit the road by 7:30. It was nice and quiet rolling through town and the road was quiet as well.

Made it to Lyell where the trail starts in about 1.5-2 hours.

It was a beautiful ride from Murchison to Lyell. The surface was great and the hills while many were not that difficult. I think I had about 450 m and 35 km when I arrived at the start of the trail. I’m still losing air in the rear and so I topped it up and met a few riders just about to start. I got a surprised look that I was going to do the trail with a fully loaded gravel bike. Warranted.

We took turns take photos of one another and the sand fleas were horrific so we all wanted to move as soon as possible. The trail starts easy with gradual climbs and very lush vegetation. It seemed like around every corner there was another stream running from higher above and an abundance of water fill opportunities. I tailed the first group for a while. The one guy pulled over to top up his air and his friend Kate kept riding. Then she stops and asks me to scratch her back to kill a bug. It was quite comical.

They rode away a bit because I stopped for so many photos. And then I caught up to 3 guys and stopped a few times to talk with them. The one guy is coming to Vancouver to ride so I filled him in on some local’s knowledge.

It was very steady climbing for the first 20 km, then it levelled off, and then it was much steeper but still rideable and in the forest so very comfortable temperatures. Eventually we got to a hut at 30 km which was essentially at the top of the highest elevation (1350 m). The views were spectacular! And the hut was fairly luxurious as well as huts go with burners, many bunks and a fantastic view.

Stunning section along the crest. Still not quite the top.

The 3 guys stopped long before this hut so I didn’t see them again but I kept pace with the other 2 riders. We started down but it was no longer rideable for me. It was really loose gravel and difficult switchbacks so I just walked which was doable. The. We hit the most incredible stretch of scenery I’ve ever experienced riding. It was sort of hard to believe. We were right on the side of the mountain. Fortunately for most of it there was a protective wire but not everywhere.

I don’t generally ride where there’s exposure (areas where if you make a mistake it is death or serious injury) and today I walked that entire stretch. It was great though. Just like hiking because moss of it was flat or very little incline.

One for Bill. Walking your bike I saw a lot more. Cool vegetation.

That section was unreal and I really enjoyed the walking pace because I was always looking around. The one guy rode a lot of it. He commented that he was a climber in a previous life so the exposure doesn’t bother him. To each their own. After the flat part we started descending but the switchbacks were unprotected and exposed. I found a few to be utterly terrifying. For my friends at home they were like the tightest switchback but rock with loose stuff leading in and out and sharp fall offs. To me it makes no sense to take any of those risks.

Note: This is no way criticism. This trail is an engineering marvel. Absolutely bonkers.

The walking lasted a good stretch for me. Kate was walking a lot of it with me. They both had mountain bikes but I would still be walking with an empty mountain bike.

We finished that epic scenic part and then the riding returned to the forest and nice downhill. They were far ahead of me by this point and I just rode past the hut where they were staying as I wanted to get to 50 km at least into the trail. I looked at the elevation profile and saw there was one more climbing stretch so I stopped by a rock and had dinner. By this point it was just before 6 pm.

I finished dinner and started climbing again through this boulder field. It was beautiful in its own way and a fairly good climb of about 250 m through many switchbacks. Once I crested the riding was really good. It was all windy through the forest on singletrack dirt, not gravel. I made really good time and came to another hut. I rode in a bit and discovered it was across a creek so I decided to keep riding because I knew it was downhill or flat.

I continued enjoying great riding until I was at then next hut at about 64 km where I stopped for the night.

What a day! This is certainly the most scenic ride I’ve ever done. I still enjoyed the actual riding of the Timber trail more but this is an epic ride.

Highlights:

-meeting lots of riders along the route

-incredible scenery

-great weather and temperatures at maybe 25 in the open sections

Distance: 90 km and 1905 m elevation gain

Today's ride: 90 km (56 miles)
Total: 1,871 km (1,162 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	14
Comment on this entry	Comment	2

Bruce RichardsI understand how you feel about OGR (I've ridden it three times). Huge credit to those that had the vision to build it. Not surprised about the parts you walked. Walked a few of those tight switchbacks myself. Did you not take a long flight of stairs? Curious, because I know they were building a new track around them. The downhill runs through forest are special. Great effort to come from Murchison and still get to Mokihinui Forks Hut. You have probably worked out that the only way to avoid sandflies is to keep riding.
Reply to this comment
2 weeks ago

Andrew RichardTo Bruce RichardsHi Bruce! Yes, the stairs are gone and there’s a series of gravel switchbacks right after that 2nd luxurious hut. The gravel bike loaded just doesn’t handle the same as a MTB and it was tough and just did not make any sense to ride. I enjoyed the walking because it was mostly gentle. I could have finished it in one day but would need to start at 6:30/7. I stopped around 8 and 20 km short.
Reply to this comment
2 weeks ago