7 June 2011 Ride Warks Road

Maps: Cotter Dam and Tidbinbilla 1:25000

Getting There

This 'walk' was organised and led by me as an irregular CBC Tuesday walk:

Tuesday 7 June - Ride Warks Road - H. Warks Road is pronounced Walks, so it's only appropriate that we do a ride. The bottom end leaves the Brindabella Road just before the Thompsons Corner bridge over Condor Creek. It rises beside Lees Creek and Blundells Creek, up the Bulls Head Range to Warks Camp and ends in the Bendora arboretum. Around 50km (return) and 1750m climb (and fall), but we'll go till we want to turn around. Maps: Cotter Dam and Tidbinbilla. Leader: John Evans - jevans@pcug.org.au, (h) 6288 7235. Transport: ~$7 per person.

4 of us gathered at my place and we drove in 3 cars via Uriarra Crossing, Brindabella Rd, Warks Rd to the intersection with Yellow Rabbit Rd.

Further Information

If you don't have a mountain bike and want to come, hire from from CBH - Capital Bicycle Hire 02 6259 5335, Peter on 0412 547 387.

On 21 May 11 I drove in along Warks Rd to the intersection with Yellow Rabbit Rd, 4.8km. There's a locked gate 20m further on.

At Lees Creek Nursery, look for remains of irrigation just E of sign and toilet site; look for remains of pump in creek to N:

Lees Creek camp was the location from which the workers were temporarily based – it had a toilet and was set around a nursery where the pine seedlings were raised for use in the forest. You would still be able to see remnants of the irrigation pipes just to the east of the toilet ruins and sign. A very large pump was located on the creek due north of the nursery site and water was pumped up to the nursery – there may be still some signs of its location as it did have a substantial cement landing and base. The camp and nursery are the one and the same and yes I did have the sign erected on that site. (From Neil Cooper Manager Fire, Forest and Roads ACT Parks and Conservation Service, 3/6/11)

Look for Howells weir, didn't find it on 21 May 11. This time, bash up from where Howells Creek joins Lees Creek.

Photographs

You can also access all photographs here.

Walk

Track maps: thumbnails are active - click for a larger picture
Track overview	Track 1	Track 2	Track 3

Unfortunately one of us had an immediate equipment failure, so he drove home to pick up his road bike and enjoy another ride.

The 3 of us pulled on layers of clothes, beanies (and bike hats), gloves and anything else warm. It was quite cool (like bitterly cold) at times during the day. We peddled up to the Lees Creek Camp site and had a look to the E - no irrigation pipes in view. (A similar search on the way back didn't reveal any irrigation pipes, but a second lot of bricks and fencing site a little to the E.) I didn't test my friends' patience by asking them to bash N down to the creek. Another time.

Plenty of traffic about during the day, as they are doing up Warks Road. A huge roller, a couple of trucks dumping rock base in along the road passed us. Easy riding, especially after I found the little chain ring at the front (grin). We continued on, past the possible Howells weir site where I decided not to stop and look, to the intersection with Blundells Creek Rd (6.2km).

From here, it was a 300m climb over 8.4km to Warks Camp, at the intersection with the Bendora Dam Road. Moderate puffing (for me), but I was tailing my companions - John, a super fit bike rider and Roger, lean and mean just back from 2 months on the Bibbleman Track in WA. So here's another Tuesday activity (along with kayaking and cascade swimming) that I'm under the pump.

From Warks Camp at 1100m, Warks Road drops down through Aerodrome Corner at Gravel Rd and down to cross the 2 arms of Bushrangers Creek at 950m. Then back up to 1020m at the intersection of Warks Rd and Bendora Break. We stopped at 11am, just a couple of hundred metres short of the intersection, for 10 mins of morning tea. The leg from Warks Camp to Bendora Break was 5km in 37mins riding time.

At the Break (W-E named Bendora Break on the 1st edn 1:25000 Tidbinbilla topo map; W named Warks Rd and E unnamed on the 2nd edn 1:25000 Tidbinbilla topo map), we dropped our bikes and walked up through Bendora Arboretum to Bendora Hut, arriving at 12 noon. Ice on the puddles in the arboretum. A 15min lunch.

You can guess the rest - we rode back to the cars, stopping for 5mins to look at Lees Creek weir, arriving at 3.05pm. So the trip up was 3hrs 25mins and the trip back 2hrs 45mins of riding (+ walking) time.

Many thanks John I'O and Roger E. We 'carpe diem'-ed.

Distance: 43.6km Climb: 1050m. Time: 8.25am (the 2nd start) - 3.05pm (6hrs 40mins), with 40mins of stops.
Grading: BA (Butt ache) - M

KMZ file for Google Earth/Maps: Ride Warks Road

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This page last updated 26Aug22