Front country - easily accessible
Out and Back
Mountainous
Open farmlands
Open tussock/grasslands
Open ridges/tops
Farm Road / 4WD Track
Moderate Single Track
Untracked / Route only
Average Uphill Gradient: +11.2%
Average Downhill Gradient: -11.6%
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10:00
Slow
7:00
Moderate
5:00
Fast
From Lake Heron carpark, I took a bike to Double Hut following the well marked trail. It is probably not much faster than running (return journey was easier though).
From Double Hut, follow south branch of Swin river until you get to the bottom of obvious west ridge of Taylor. This is moderate river bed / boulder hopping but mostly runnable terrain.
About 100m or so up the true left branch, gain the west ridge of Taylor and follow path of least resistance to summit, marked by an occasional cairn. Enjoy the view, then retrace steps.
This trail includes the peak Mount Taylor.
Scenic Mt.Taylor provides an awesome summit panorama being the highest point east of Lake Heron. A fun ascent of its long west ridge. Historic Double Hut.
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Lots of parking
71 km
66 minutes
Unknown
No
Moderate.
Non-existent.
Thermal leggings, Long-sleeved thermal top, Seam-sealed waterproof jacket, Gloves, Beanie/thermal headwear, Personal Locator Beacon (PLB), First aid kit, Cellphone, Map, Headtorch and spare batteries, Crampons / microspikes (for winter conditions)
No water once on ridge unless there is snow around. Plenty before this.
Mt. Taylor usually has snow on it during winter months or after snow event. So need to be prepared to travel on snow / frozen snow if this is the case.
as above
Fastest Known Times (FKTs)
You and Mt. Taylor Dual
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Good day out - nice scenery, especially if there's still a few patches of snow around. The route is fairly obvious and easy to follow. If you are tempted to descend a different ridge suss it out from below (to avoid matagouri and/or steep eroded/loose slopes) .
February 6, 2020
These overlap with this trail to some degree. You may wish to combine them but please note that to qualify for FKTs on these runs you should record a separate activity for each.