Lovely tree ferns in a creek near geocache GC164YV Fern Wark
Tuesday 13 September: More Brindabella geocaching ride/walk – L/M,ptX. 6 little rides + walks.
W1 – Park at Reids Pinch and ride Blundells Creek Rd and Warks Rd for the final GZ of GC2KEKR Weird Weir III – Blundells and GC42HV6 Weird Weir XIV – Howells. Around 11km and 240m climb. W2 – Park at top of Old Mills Rd and ride down it to final GZ of GC3TE5M Weird Weir VIII – Ferny Weir. Around 6km and 50m climb. W3 – Park on Mt Franklin Rd just south of Piccadilly Circus and walk to GC6CKZ2 Annihilated Arebortum. Around 300m. W4 – Park at start of Bulls Head comms tower track. Ride to Bulls Head for GC69VDM Bulls Babbler. Return and walk to GC6A5R1 Bulls Border. Around 2km ride + 0.5km walk and 60m climb. W5 – Park at Bulls Head picnic area. Ride the Mt Franklin Rd and very short walks for GC2K7TC Take the Bull by the Head and GC3XWJK Norky’s 2000th. Around 2km ride + 0.5km walk and 40m climb. W6 – Drive down Bendora Rd to Warks Camp. Ride Walks Rd to GC164YV Fern Wark. Around 1km ride. Up the sleeve are: Drive Curries Rd and ride Pabral Rd for GC5KRHP Blundell’s Bundle II and GC5KRH8 Pinus Ponderosa; on the way back down Brindabella Rd do GC2J04P Biker does a Tank Slapper, GC2J55N Biker ….. O Oh!, GC49YFK Brindabella Beauty and GC3TZBT Weird Weir IX – Marshalls.
2 of us met.
Summary
Distance: 27.6km ride and walk | Climb: 600m | Time: 8.20am – 3.20pm (7hrs), including 10 mins of breaks, plus driving between starts | Grading: L/M,ptX; M(11)
Photographs
Photographs are available, where you can start a large sized slideshow.
Waypoint and Track Files
Download the .gpx file. (Right click, Save Link As…, Save – if you want to use it.)
To use in Google Earth, do File, Open… and select Gps or All files as the File Type.
Track Notes
Walk 1 – We threw the bikes on the back of my car and drove via the Cotter and Brindabella Rd to park at Reids Pinch. Virtually no need to pedal as we coasted down Blundells Creek Rd and turned north into Walks Rd. A log of the final GZ of GC2KEKR Weird Weir III – Blundells. We’d collected the data for this multi on 25 Jun 16 (and consulted with the cache owner!). Of course the published waypoints and tracks have been doctored so as to not reveal and final GZs of multis. The lovely ride continued alongside the full and fast flowing Blundells Creek. We cycled past Blundells Weir and on to stop near Howells Weir. This is a blackberry infested location and the trick is to approach via the disused fire trail just to the south-west. However, an even greater trick today was to get across Blundells Creek. The longer legged party member managed a long jump; the shorter legged party member got one wet foot and leg. It was nice to revisit Howells Weir and we logged GC42HV6 Weird Weir XIV – Howells. The return trip up the hill was a bit slower. 11.9km.
Walk 2 – Next we drove up Brindabella Rd a bit to the junction with Old Mill Rd. It’s had a haircut, so has lost some of its softness. But bushfire season is a-comin’, so necessary. Again, we’d previously collected the data for the final GZ, but were not going to double back for it on 25 Jun 16. A log of the final GZ of GC3TE5M Weird Weir VIII – Ferny Weir. A bit more difficult to ride this road, as the haircut had left debris all over the road. A little more walking/pushing on this walk. 6.1km.
Walk 3 – The cloud was down as we drove through Piccadilly Circus and we couldn’t see much at all. I stopped a bit short of the planned spot, but this enabled us to walk a bit more of the Piccadilly arboretum site, burnt out in 2003. The misty atmosphere, tree stumps and piles of logs reminded me of a graveyard. A bit of a sad place. A log of GC6CKZ2 Annihilated Areboretum. A shorter exit. 1.2km walk.
Walk 4 – The routine of load up the bikes, drive – this time south along the Mt Franklin Rd to the junction with the gated off vehicle track into the Bulls Head communication tower – unload the bikes. This road has had a haircut too. We first rode to Bulls Head, logged GC69VDM Bulls Babbler, touched the Bulls Head trig because it’s one of the ACT’s Percys, rode back to the border and pushed our bikes up through SH1363 to find and log GC6A5R1 Bulls Border. Border marker Y51 was nearby. 2.8km
Walk 5 – Loaded up again, we drove to the Bulls Head picnic area. Our geocaching rides knock the stuffing out of us and today was no exception, so we fell out of the car for a 10 minute lunch and adjustment of plans. A quick walk to the plaqued tree behind us, then down to the dump. All of 400m.
Walk 6 – The change of plans was to drive, instead of ride. So we drove along the Mt Franklin Rd a bit and walked up to log GC2K7TC Take the Bull by the Head. 200m walk – getting shorter!
Walk 7 – Another short drive, then a short walk up along the border to log GC3XWJK Norky’s 2000th. 300m walk.
Walk 8 – Next it was a slow drive down Bendora Rd to Warks Camp, passing the beautiful mossy green boulder with tree ferns thriving at its base on one of the corners. Appropriately, we decided to walk Walks Rd. Magnificent tree ferns in the unnamed drainage line (the trip report theme photo, above), quite a raging torrent today. Found and logged GC164YV Fern Wark. 1.1km walk.
Walk 9 – It was time to drive back down the hill. Just before the sealed road began, we turned left into Curries Rd and drove down to the intersection with Pabral Rd. I was hoping to drive it, but gated off. So a numb-bum little ride to the Blundells farm arboretum site. Another decimated in 2003; an area I’ve walked past many times, but never entered before. We walked in and logged GC5KRH8 Pinus Ponderosa, then back down across the road and down to Condor Creek for GC5KRHP Blundell’s Bundle II. If you’re going, use our exit route – in was bushbashing, out was a cleared route/pad! 2.2km.
Walks 10 and 11 – Back on the sealed Brindabella Rd, I thought Roger could nab the next caches for me, but I actually got out and walked the few metres to each. On the side of the road we logged GC2J04P Biker does a Tank Slapper and GC2J55N Biker ….. O Oh!.
Walk 12 – A short distance on, another park. We walked the fire trail to find and log GC49YFK Brindabella Beauty. Thanks Cankid, I’ve never been up here. 800m walk.
Walk 13 – A park on the next corner and walk down the creek to Marshalls Weir and log GC3TZBT Weird Weir IX – Marshalls. 300m walk.
That was it. 100% finds. Exhausted. Thanks Roger.
Track Maps
Party
2 riders/walkers – Roger E (Marmaduke Rothschild), me (JohnnyBoyACT).
Next Tuesday Walk
Tuesday 20 September: Tidbinbilla Traverse, Snowy Corner to Fishing Gap – M/R. A scenic ridge walk, some of it on pad or cut track, taped route most of the way. If we have enough vehicles, we may organise a shuffle between Mountain Creek and Fishing Gap car parks. If not, we’ll park at the Ashbrook Fire Trail track head, and follow the fire trail to Mountain Creek car park, then follow the Lyrebird Trail a short distance, then the pad to the top on the range at Snowy Corner. Then it’s off-track (although a taped route has been established) south along the range, into a deep saddle, then onto the twin peaks of Mt Domain. The descent from Mt Domain follows a taped route and developing pad, before we join the track cut by the Green Army, which eases the final descent into Fishing Gap. A stroll on the fire trail will round off the day. Despite pads and well-trodden routes, it will be a long day over rough terrain. Around 9+km and 800m climb. Map: Tidbinbilla. Leader: Trevor L. Book: until 5pm Monday September 19th. Transport: ∼$8.