An early start was required for this ride which starts at the base of Spring Creek Mountain on the Killarney side of the range. From there it was a short push along the bitumen over the QLD/NSW border then a left turn at Woodenbong onto the Mt Lindsay Highway briefly before starting the long climb on the dirt along Acacia Scrub Road and over the Acacia Plateau.
The climb over and along the Acacia Plateau eventually led me to the entrance of Koreelah National Park. From there I followed the rabbit proof fence along the QLD/NSW border with expansive views down onto the Queensland side of the border. Leaving the border fence I cut through Koreelah National Park and exited onto White Swamp Road briefly before I joined the rollercoster ride that is the Head Gate Road.
A long hard ride/push along Head Gate Road with clear views to Wilsons Peak deposited me briefly onto the tarmac of Spring Creek Road. After a few kilometres on the tarmac I took the dirt track right onto the Condamine River Road and its 14 river crossings. Under the cover of darkness and 14 river crossings later I hit the bitumen again for 4-5km ride back to the car.
G'day Philip
ReplyDeleteI was drooling when I saw your track log of this ride and looked at your pics. I'd love to do this soon with a few mates and have heaps of questions.
Were there many places you could stock up on snacks and water?
Is it all rideable? Any places I should avoid?
I noticed when you got to the top of Box Spur you headed down Acacia Plateau Rd to Legume. Did you consider cutting across from the top of Box Spur to Spring Creek Road? There's a farm there, but it looks like there are a few gazetted road reserves heading west from there.
You took about 9 hours all up to do it - were you pushing it? Do you think a few keen XC mtb'ers would do it quicker if they pushed it?
Hope you can help - I must do this ride :)
Neil
Hi Neil,
ReplyDeleteFirst up I must say I enjoy your blog very much, and your track logs have given me many ideas for future rides.
Secondly, this ride was fantastic, certainly one of the better ride I have done in recent times
You could start the ride at Killarney and stock up there, the next spot is just down the road at Woodenbong. After that there is nowhere to buy snacks until you get back to Killarney. I didn't have a problem I think I took 3 litres of water and some snacks for the day and that was enough for me. There are farm houses that you could get water from if necessary.
All of it was ridable, there are a few short tough hills that I briefly hiked a bike, but that was more about my conditioning than the actual hills. The section alongside the border fence can be a bit muddy/sticky after rain because of the soil type. The only navigational difficulty I had was I briefly missed the turnoff from Koreelah National Park down the management trail that led onto White Swamp Road. Other than that, no worries.
That route across to Spring Creek Road is certainly an option, but I know Spring Creek Rd well so I wanted to ride something different and also ride as much dirt as possible. Also I wanted to make it a circuit ride with the end being a ride along the Condamine River Road. Also I wanted a route that felt a bit 'remote'. But your right, there are many options in this area.
I had not ridden for sometime before this ride so I as completely out of condition (and on a heavy touring bike not a mountain bike). I took it very easy and stopped to take many photos. I would have thought that it would not be that hard to cut 2-3 hours from my time without to much trouble.
Hope this helps. Anymore questions feel free to fire them at me, happy to help. Its a beautiful area and I have had the maps out recently trying to plot another ride!