Nelson - 49er
I’ll keep this short as I only sampled the trails in this region over one session…
49er is a smaller region of trails 15 mins out of Nelson with a flavour all its own. In fact, one of the things that blows me away about Nelson trails is the variety. There are 4 or 5 distinct trail networks all within 15-20 mins of this small town and each networks has a unique vibe.
Mountain Station is steep and deep freeride in feel with technical, hand cut trails that head straight down and include lots of timber features.
Morning Mountain has more flow and jump trails with the odd bit of tech here and there.
North Shore is apparently a massive huck-fest (still have to get out that way to see for myself).
And 49er has more of an old-school, all-mountain adventure vibe to it. The day I went there, it was misty and I was pretty much riding in a cloud. The mist and the old growth pine had a ‘Mandy’ vibe to it (if you are a horror fan and have not watched Mandy yet, stop right now and go watch it).
I was the only person riding out there and my ‘bear alert’ algorithm was pinging like never before. I ramped up my HPM (holler per minute) ratio to new heights and started a long but easy climb up a fire service road. I got to the top of the trails after 30 mins or so and sampled the OG trail out here called 49er.
I’ve said it before but the soil out here is all-time awesome. Springy, rich loam that is silent under your tyres and gives grip for days. Unfortunately wet pine roots aren’t as grippy
First corner I came to, I turned across a pine root, washed the front and sloooooowly hit the deck as my tyre got pushed off-line, hit the loam, dug in but couldn’t hold me and slowly dug in further as the soil lowered me into its embrace.
Lesson learnt, I charged on and tried to keep upright over the wet roots.
The trail undulated through old growth pines. It was pretty magic being out there in the mist and silence with not a soul to be seen - except squirrels and chipmunks every now and then.
49er has lots of old wooden skinnies and bridges. Some are still ok but others have rotted and some have been rebuilt. Given the dampness, I avoided most. Eventually the things start to get steeper and there are some proper tech sections of very narrow, steep and twisty trail but nothing extreme. After a while it opens up into another trail that is more pedally but fast and follows along the side of the service road to finish with a bit of a fun and fast blast.
I rode back up and did it all again - this time taking the Hotwheels trail top to bottom. It was similar in starting with undulating sections through pines before getting steep and technical. This trail lacked the timber features of 49er and spent time in a recently logged area of the mountain that kinda detracted from the magical feeling of the other trails.
Glad I went out and sampled it but with so many other amazing trails to session, I can’t see me getting back there in the near future. Heading to Rossland tomorrow and will try and get to the North Shore area of Nelson next week.