The Hunt 1000 is a bike-packing, self-supported event which travels from Canberra to Melbourne across the Australian Alpines. Spanning 1000 km and 26,000 vertical meters (85,300 ft) there are few towns on route and most days are spent in the wilderness far from any civilization. This event tests your bike, gear, fitness, and underlying level of grit. Taking anywhere from 7 to 10+ days, the Hunt 1000 will leave you with amazing memories, broken bikes, broken gear, heeps of like-minded friends, and an experience you will never forget.
Weather conditions played a heavy roll this year. Due to exceptionally muddy trail conditions leading out of Canberra and a blizzard in the Kosciuzko National Park on Friday, the Grand Depart was postponed to Sunday. Riders on the 10 day schedule who left two days earlier were caught in the blizzard and needed Ranger assistance to get out safely. Luckily all rider were okay. This did not deter many from still rolling out on the planned date of Saturday morning. Everyone played it smart and made it thru the semi-dry muddy trails with many reaching Long Plain Hut just before dusk and more rain.
A broken derailleur shortly into the second day put an end to my ride. It never occurred to me to bring one. After 30 minutes of 5 of us trying to macgyver a way to make it work, the only solution was to hike back to Mt. Selwyn and get a ride to the closet town and head home. At Mt. Selwyn the videographers, Matt and Rob, found me with my broken bike and broken spirit. They surprising offered to do a bike swap. I could not say no to the opportunity to carry on with a new set of wings for a second chance. We transferred all my gear and I was off with a new brigade of mates who stopped for lunch. Together we set out towards the beautiful JuJungal Wilderness where we stayed the night in O'Keefe Hut.
Day 2: The Jujungal Wilderness was laced with icy river crossings with some just above waste height. These tested your upper body strength to carry your bike above your head and ability to balance against the current while navigate the rocky floors of the river. We also pushed our bikes up nearly vertical jeep roads which certainly challenged our overall fitness and prepared us for the days to come.
Day 3: Snowy landscapes covered the grounds as we accented to the highest point in Australia: Mt Kosciuszko. The views were absolutely spectacular and priceless and the short hike to the top was totally worth it. Soon after we ran down and played in the snow, hopped on our bikes and we reached the ski town of Thredbo: the first town on the map. We were all 110% ready for the pub.
We had one causality who's brakes failed on a water bar descent sending him over the bars. With a mild blow to the head and scraps from head to toe, he walked out cleared by paramedics and with a positive attitude. A clear reminder to listen to your bike, make sure to ride with your mates, or your ride could be over in a flash.
Day 3: Snowy landscapes covered the grounds as we accented to the highest point in Australia: Mt Kosciuszko. The views were absolutely spectacular and priceless and the short hike to the top was totally worth it. Soon after we ran down and played in the snow, hopped on our bikes and we reached the ski town of Thredbo: the first town on the map. We were all 110% ready for the pub.
We had one causality who's brakes failed on a water bar descent sending him over the bars. With a mild blow to the head and scraps from head to toe, he walked out cleared by paramedics and with a positive attitude. A clear reminder to listen to your bike, make sure to ride with your mates, or your ride could be over in a flash.
Muddy single track with rocks was a fabulous start to Day 4 which lead to-- you guessed it!--many more miles of climbing and descending. We danced down the descent like it was no ones business. We railed every corner and hit loaner rocks which kicked out our back ends. It was a party for sure and kept you 100% focused on the moment.
With a storm rolling in, many descended into dusk towards the town of Omeo (which made you think of Oreos the whole time) while a couple of us chose to say in a Moscow Villa Hut. We only had traps not designed to keep out the wind and rain. Lying at night, curled up in a sleeping bag, listening to the sounds of the rain thru the night in a tiny hut was peaceful. After four days on the bike I had long left the stresses of school, finals, and Sydney in a land far, far away.
The next morning we descended a misty, fern surrounded, soggy, and muddy path to Omeo signifying the start of the longest day of the venture: Day 5. We stopped at a shop and restocked our frame bag pantries with muesli, peanut butter, and what else besides chocolate. To my surprise, the lady even sold socks! Side note: I managed to loose a sock in Thredbo and became the one sock bandit for a day. $6.00 for a fresh pair of woolies and I had toasty toes once again!
We found the crew down the street at the bakery where Andrew managed to bleed his broken hydro brake (in the rain) with gadgets and baby oil he found around town. Pretty impressive!
With a storm rolling in, many descended into dusk towards the town of Omeo (which made you think of Oreos the whole time) while a couple of us chose to say in a Moscow Villa Hut. We only had traps not designed to keep out the wind and rain. Lying at night, curled up in a sleeping bag, listening to the sounds of the rain thru the night in a tiny hut was peaceful. After four days on the bike I had long left the stresses of school, finals, and Sydney in a land far, far away.
The next morning we descended a misty, fern surrounded, soggy, and muddy path to Omeo signifying the start of the longest day of the venture: Day 5. We stopped at a shop and restocked our frame bag pantries with muesli, peanut butter, and what else besides chocolate. To my surprise, the lady even sold socks! Side note: I managed to loose a sock in Thredbo and became the one sock bandit for a day. $6.00 for a fresh pair of woolies and I had toasty toes once again!
We found the crew down the street at the bakery where Andrew managed to bleed his broken hydro brake (in the rain) with gadgets and baby oil he found around town. Pretty impressive!
It was a long, cold, and misty road climb to the top of Mt. Hotham. We even got Magpie swooped along the way. We agreed to rejoin at the mountain pub. When I walked in the guys said "you looked bushed, mate! Can we make you an expresso?!" I couldn't say no. After regathering and refueling ourselves, we departed into the wild winds which swept away the clouds to spectacular views. Every effort thus far has been paid in stunning wilderness landscapes.
The rocky descent from Mt. Hotham demanded your commitment, DH skills, and free-ride endurance to sustain the nearly vertical descents which took far over an hour. Day 5 ended with smokin' brakes, smokin' forearms, and a peaceful campsite next to the river.... All topped off with a campfire where I roasted my ski gloves dry for the next snowy advent or, if you were a clever one, a delicious peanut butter stuffed and chocolate topped roasted banana... mmm, mmm good!
The rocky descent from Mt. Hotham demanded your commitment, DH skills, and free-ride endurance to sustain the nearly vertical descents which took far over an hour. Day 5 ended with smokin' brakes, smokin' forearms, and a peaceful campsite next to the river.... All topped off with a campfire where I roasted my ski gloves dry for the next snowy advent or, if you were a clever one, a delicious peanut butter stuffed and chocolate topped roasted banana... mmm, mmm good!
Day 6, 6 AM started with the sounds of birds and bugs cheeping away at sunrise. Sleeping past 6 AM was utter blasphemy. Go go gadget insta-coffee and we were off. The first three hours of Day 6 was hike-a-bike and rocky fire road climbs. I whipped around a corner on the start of a descent and who did I find but Olly, Chris, and Todd drinkin' from the creek. I felt like Simba whippin' around a corner to find Timon and Pumbaa chillin' at the watering hole. I and a few others managed to catch the crew after my derailleur hanger heartbreak. It was quite the reunion to see them again!
Rolling into Mt. Buller at the end of day 6 we were all famished. I particularly crawled to the shop wishing I had Dan's sneaky 24 front ring. My peanut butter jar was empty, my chocolate was long gone, and my instant coffee was nearly out of stock. We all raided the shop and had copious amounts of pizza and beer next door to celebrate making it this far. A bit of some sweet, sweet, single track at Mt. Buller was a fine dessert to the end the day on the ride back down to the Hut.
A magical descent kicked off day 7 followed with yet even more climbing. The kilometers were coming easier, our overall elevation was dropping, and temperatures were rising. With heat, comes snakes! We saw two Brown snakes and a Stephan's Banded Snake on the open road. Luckily they slithered away as we passed by on the climb or frantically flailed as we nearly ran them over on the descent. Either way, we steered as clear as we could of our slithering friends.
I had not removed my pink fluffy jacket due to laziness however, as temperature rose popular demand requested it's removal. It quickly became my magical pink fluffy cape and the standing good joke for the rest of the trip. Coming into Jamieson we rode stellar uncleared, log ornamented, single track along the edge of a cliff. This reminding me of the Portal trail in Moab: don't look down or lose your balance!
I had not removed my pink fluffy jacket due to laziness however, as temperature rose popular demand requested it's removal. It quickly became my magical pink fluffy cape and the standing good joke for the rest of the trip. Coming into Jamieson we rode stellar uncleared, log ornamented, single track along the edge of a cliff. This reminding me of the Portal trail in Moab: don't look down or lose your balance!
Being nutrition savvy was a must on this ride. Rolling into Jamieson at the end of day seven after managing the Miranda trail, the party train was famished yet again. We met up with Dan the Man (Hunt!) and his sidekick, Gypse, and had a fabulous feast at the local pub. Our Omafiet amigo, Chris, had rich and tasty lamb and turned up under the weather the next morning.
Days eight and nine into Melbourne became Tour de Bakeries as they became as frequent as the last relentless long climbs and descents. With Gypse and Dan, it was now 100% party-train with the crew now at 8. At the end of day 8 we rented a caravan in Marysville where we enjoyed beers by the river, chips, dips and the fearless parrots and cockatoos in search of a handout. Luckily we did not camp that night. A wild and windy thunderstorm blew thru in the night shaking the caravan and dropping branches on the roof. Lighting struck with thunder shuttering the whole house just milliseconds later. Having never experienced this weather in California, I totally hopped out of my bunk and curled up on the ground next to Olly's bed. You'd think I was no different than a fearful boarder collie in the night. Luckily it died down, the caravan didn't collapse, and I was able to return to my bunk without anyone noticing my lack of thunderstorm experience. ;D
After our AM bakery start, we smashed a huge muddy climb in the rain which rewarded us with nothing more than spectacular rainbows. We further railed down a muddy descents reaching ridiculous speeds on our approach to Melbourne.
With our second bakery stop of the day in Healville-- halfway thru day 9-- Olly and Todd found The Hunt 1000 coins on the ground right outside. One of these coins was worth a loaf of bread from a local baker making loafs specially for riders of the Hunt. This added a cool perk to the ride and reason to keep your eyes pealed to the grounds instead of towards the eucalyptus trees in attempts to spot a koala bear. :D
With our second bakery stop of the day in Healville-- halfway thru day 9-- Olly and Todd found The Hunt 1000 coins on the ground right outside. One of these coins was worth a loaf of bread from a local baker making loafs specially for riders of the Hunt. This added a cool perk to the ride and reason to keep your eyes pealed to the grounds instead of towards the eucalyptus trees in attempts to spot a koala bear. :D
At the top of what a seemed to be endless road climb, we could see the skyline and knew reaching the city was no longer just a thought but becoming a reality. As we descended into Melbourne with 20 kilometers to go we were greeted by the local shredders for a beer and a proper group ride in. We rolled into the finishing line at the park and I couldn't think of anything more important than to shotgun a beer in celebration of finishing one of the most epic mountain biking experiences of my life. A couple brews later, we rolled over to Commuter Cycles where the after-party Shenanigans began.
Total distances:
Photo credit: Oliver Cashman, Andrew Cooke, Dan Hunt, me.
Huge THANKS to Chris and Olly (Oliver Cashman) of Omafiet Dutch Bikes for sponsorship, Matt for letting me borrow his bike (technically this is "supported" but this isn't a race so it doesn't matter anyway, mate), all the mates on the trails for making every climb and descent a blast, Commuter Cycles for hosting the after-party, Dan Hunt for creating this experience, my partner Dylan and his family for supporting my endless drive to ride bikes, Revolution Bicycles for creating a monster years ago, and Kona Bicycles because your bicycles last forever but your derailleur hangers do not.
HUGE congrats to everyone who came out to this event for it was not an easy task!
- Day 1: Escape from Canberra. 84 miles, 10,000 ft climb.
- Day 2: JuJungal National Park of icy river crossings. 60 miles, 6,600 ft climb.
- Day 3: Climb to Mt. Kosciuszko and descent to Thredbo. 47 miles, 5,200 ft climb.
- Day 4: Thredbo to almost Omeo. 76 miles, 9,500 ft climb.
- Day 5: Climb Mt. Hotham and descent to the river campsite. 100 miles, 11,325 ft climb.
- Day 6: Lake Cobbler to Mt. Buller. 50 miles, 8,500 ft climb.
- Day 7: Mt. Buller to Jamieson. Began Le Tour de Bakeries. 72 miles, 9,350 ft climb.
- Day 8: Jamieson to Marysville. 65 miles, 8,327 ft climb.
- Day 9: Marysville to Melbourne. 75 miles, 8,080 ft climb.
Photo credit: Oliver Cashman, Andrew Cooke, Dan Hunt, me.
Huge THANKS to Chris and Olly (Oliver Cashman) of Omafiet Dutch Bikes for sponsorship, Matt for letting me borrow his bike (technically this is "supported" but this isn't a race so it doesn't matter anyway, mate), all the mates on the trails for making every climb and descent a blast, Commuter Cycles for hosting the after-party, Dan Hunt for creating this experience, my partner Dylan and his family for supporting my endless drive to ride bikes, Revolution Bicycles for creating a monster years ago, and Kona Bicycles because your bicycles last forever but your derailleur hangers do not.
HUGE congrats to everyone who came out to this event for it was not an easy task!
If you are looking for a challenge and an amazing way to check out the pristine high country of Australia, The Hunt 1000 is the event for you. Just remember: be ready for a challenging good time, be fit for anything, be able to ride anything, be prepared for all weather and terrain, be prepared for any kind of bike failure (including a derailleur hanger!) and be ready to have a good time with your mates. Just do not underestimate the difficulty of this event. This is not a grand-fondo or a supported MTB stage race. It's you, the wilderness, and your mates to support each other on a party train across the alps.
Thanks for reading!
Cheers!
Thanks for reading!
Cheers!
Feeling a little swiss cheesy for poor entertaining poetry?
Day two we woke and off we went,
Climbing the road to a nice long descent,
What did I hear but a clunky derailleur?
"Hay mate, can you fix this, righty-tighty and adjust this failure?"
A minor fix and I pedaled for a moment then a sound,
Oh my gosh! My derailleur’s on the ground!
The hanger had broke,
And there we all stood,
"Single speed mate?” That's all we could,
Come up with but the chain links didn't match,
I guess it's game over, I'll just hike back,
I stood there sad, without expectations,
I knew something would break,
This bike is older than ages.
So off I went,
Guess it wasn't meant to be,
But that's alright,
They all have each-other for fun company.
Back at the ski resort, I received a phone call,
"Your tracker stopped moving?! Is anything wrong at all?"
"My derailleur sheared off, and I should have known,
It's the thing I didn't bring, and our apoxy didn't hold."
20 mins later the film crew showed up,
And saw my despair, I couldn't hide bad luck.
Matt said, “well hay mate, I have a bike right here,
I was going to ride it but I’m videoing this year,
So if you'd like, you can rail it on,
we'll just swap your bags and you'll be long gone."
I stood that a moment and thought in my head,
"This mate doesn’t know me, I'll destroy his bike in one shred,"
And so I said "I might break it just so you know,
But if you're okay with that I will give it a go,
As long as the brake pads and tires are brand new,
Those thunderburts are amazing but don't last longer than a shrew,"
He said "ya, mate, you'll be all good,
Lets swap your stuff and send you off as you should,
This crew right here is having their lunch,
you can join them, they're quite the fun bunch."
20 mins later and off we went,
This bike was a rocket, my gosh it shreds!
I pedaled and pedaled and pedaled some more,
And stopped for some water at a creek shore,
I caught some fellows on my new set of wings,
"Where did you come from? We thought you were ending?!"
"Nah mate, this bike shreds muddy and rocky descents,
Matt from the film crew let me borrow it he said,
I'm glad I caught you all I've been flying alone,
I'm aiming for the Hut, this dusk is getting quite cold!"
At the end of the day the river crossings begin,
Icy cold water, we carried our bikes on our heads,
We arrived to the hut in the now high Alpines,
I smashed a burrito I passed out like a light.
Day two we woke and off we went,
Climbing the road to a nice long descent,
What did I hear but a clunky derailleur?
"Hay mate, can you fix this, righty-tighty and adjust this failure?"
A minor fix and I pedaled for a moment then a sound,
Oh my gosh! My derailleur’s on the ground!
The hanger had broke,
And there we all stood,
"Single speed mate?” That's all we could,
Come up with but the chain links didn't match,
I guess it's game over, I'll just hike back,
I stood there sad, without expectations,
I knew something would break,
This bike is older than ages.
So off I went,
Guess it wasn't meant to be,
But that's alright,
They all have each-other for fun company.
Back at the ski resort, I received a phone call,
"Your tracker stopped moving?! Is anything wrong at all?"
"My derailleur sheared off, and I should have known,
It's the thing I didn't bring, and our apoxy didn't hold."
20 mins later the film crew showed up,
And saw my despair, I couldn't hide bad luck.
Matt said, “well hay mate, I have a bike right here,
I was going to ride it but I’m videoing this year,
So if you'd like, you can rail it on,
we'll just swap your bags and you'll be long gone."
I stood that a moment and thought in my head,
"This mate doesn’t know me, I'll destroy his bike in one shred,"
And so I said "I might break it just so you know,
But if you're okay with that I will give it a go,
As long as the brake pads and tires are brand new,
Those thunderburts are amazing but don't last longer than a shrew,"
He said "ya, mate, you'll be all good,
Lets swap your stuff and send you off as you should,
This crew right here is having their lunch,
you can join them, they're quite the fun bunch."
20 mins later and off we went,
This bike was a rocket, my gosh it shreds!
I pedaled and pedaled and pedaled some more,
And stopped for some water at a creek shore,
I caught some fellows on my new set of wings,
"Where did you come from? We thought you were ending?!"
"Nah mate, this bike shreds muddy and rocky descents,
Matt from the film crew let me borrow it he said,
I'm glad I caught you all I've been flying alone,
I'm aiming for the Hut, this dusk is getting quite cold!"
At the end of the day the river crossings begin,
Icy cold water, we carried our bikes on our heads,
We arrived to the hut in the now high Alpines,
I smashed a burrito I passed out like a light.