This ride takes you up to the top of the Old Man Range where you enter a world that doesn't seem to belong on this planet. The terrain gets flatter and rounded rather than jagged. Scattered around are other-worldy rock outcrops called tors, including the Obelisk right at the summit. On a fine day it's a magical place but in bad weather it's hell.
There are two routes up to and back from the Obelisk. Both vary from well formed gravel roads to very rough four wheel drive tracks...
*** THE EASIER ROUTE ---
Start at Symes Road (12km south of Alexandra) and go down Prospect Hill Track then Fraser Dam Road. For this route you could ride from Alexandra or you could organise a shuttle to eliminate the highway and road riding...
*** THE HARDER ROUTE ---
Start and end at the corner of Fraser Dam Road and Omeo Creek Road. You ride up Fraser Dam Road for 2.4km where a DOC sign points you up onto Prospect Hill Track which becomes the Obelisk Range Track. From the Obelisk a DOC sign gets you started down to the Omeo Gully Track. This route climbs steeply and only the very strong and fit will be able to ride all the way. The descent is even steeper and it's rough. Navigation is tricky on this route - you need a topo map or an app like Back Country Navigator. There are GPS traces of both routes on singletracks.
Whichever route you take you are going to climb and then descend an ear popping 1500 metres (5000 feet). It's a challenging undertaking.
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