Marin Mount Vision Tour of Dartmoor

[hawkhill97]

From here I could see another, very inviting looking tor in the distance. The name should have given it away, but "Higher Tor" took most of what remaining strength I had in my legs to reach!



Can you spot the Marin hiding below?

 

[hawkhill97]

From here, I was rewarded with another nice fast descent - this one not as rough or technical as that near Steeperton Tor earlier, but still fast and exhilarating, with one particularly memorable sweeping left handing over loose rock that I came into waaaay too fast

From here I wound my way along a series of access tracks, reaching New Bridge for another tea break.

 

[hawkhill97]

My legs were getting seriously tired by now! Fortunately it was time to head directly towards the planned camping spot for the night at Lints Tor. This required another good stiff climb - which I'm not ashamed to say I ended up walking the steeper sections of. The track ended at Dinger Tor, and it was going to be hike-a-bike over rough terrain from here on in.

 

[hawkhill97]

I could see Lints Tor in the distance, so set off on tired legs to push the Marin to the finish line.



Had a few more bogs to traverse here, but getting closer...



Until, with considerable relief, I was there.

 

[hawkhill97]

After climbing the Tor, which clearly had to be done, I found a perfect spot to spend the night just behind the Tor.



All that remained was to pitch camp, and pop on a nice warm jacket, as it was getting distinctly chilly by now.



Rummaging through my bag produced some more goodies - lentil curry with cheese on toast for dinner - which at this point tasted like the food of the gods!

 

[hawkhill97]

Had a lovely evening, with a beautiful golden sunset and some light rain pattering on the tarp. Getting started the following morning took a bit of doing, but after the push back up to Dinger Tor, I barely had to turn a pedal, just enjoyed a nice speedy coast back to the camp at Okehampton.

If I lived closer it's definitely a route I'd do again (and again) - and the Marin would probably be my first choice of bike to ride it!

Cheers for reading if you got this far!

 

[nic0]

beautiful bike, beautiful landscape, beautiful pictures...
thanks for sharing

 

[hawkhill97]

Cheers!

 

[Hezza]

Very envious right now.

 

[Rotorhead]

Great trip: thanks for sharing. That’s some tough terrain. When it comes to climbing, that’s when retro bikes make more sense I think. I assume you were carrying your gear in a backpack - what did you use?