Two Sticks / Franklin circuit

The excitement from the last 2-day ride had hung in the air like a wet fog so it wasn’t too long before a date was set for another tour. The crew would be largely the same this time round, but the gear would not. Monty had recently bought a Salsa Vaya expressly for this kind of ride, and Waz (subbing in for the O/S Regina) was bringing his B.O.B trailer.

The route chosen was the Franklin - Cotter Hut circuit, overnighting at Pryors Hut, which is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. On paper it’s a pretty straight forward loop of approximately 200km, but it has a fair bit of up and down. While not offering any route variations for the middle (‘illegal’) bit between Pryors Hut and Orroral Valley, there are quite a few options both before and after that section so we could wing it a bit if need be.

Day 1: 106km / 2165vm

After riding to Narrabundah to collect Steve, Monty and Rob (morning escort #1), we rode out to Stromlo to meet the others: Knobs, Waz and Marty (morning escort #2). The variety of setups was pretty evident. I was at the lightweight end of the scale with my CX bike, 2 frame bags and a 10L backpack (which I eventually want to whittle down to a Hydrapack). Waz was at the other end of the scale, the kitchen sink end. He had his hardtail 29er towing a B.O.B trailer absolutely brimming with gear. He has a huge motor though, so after marvelling/laughing at the trailer for a while, we headed off. Perhaps in hindsight, we should have taken in to account the quantity of gear being carried and played it safe, taking the shortest, easiest route. Instead we stuck with the plan and struck off down to the Cotter, headed for Two Sticks Road.

Two Sticks Rd, from its start at Mountain Creek Rd to its end at Piccadilly Circus, gains about 650vm over it’s 30km length at a pretty steady grade. The road was scenic and quiet, and was a mix of smooth dirt and rough & rocky fire trail. Monty had already offloaded 2 of his panniers to the machine that was the B.O.B-toting Waz, but he was still struggling with the climbing. We arrived at the picnic area at the base of Coree for a late lunch at 2pm, and it was here that we realised that at the pace we were riding we’d struggle to get to Pryors Hut before dark. There were no shortcuts from here though - only the last bit of Two Sticks to Piccadilly Circus, and then the long grind up the ridgeline on Brindabella Road.

Knobs and I pulled in to Mt Franklin Shelter on sunset for water; Steve went ahead to get the fire going in the hut; Monty kept rolling through to maintain his momentum up the hill; and Waz pulled in momentarily for some dinner water. The hut ended up being a few km’s further than we all were expecting – 5 km’s past the locked gate at Mt Ginini on a rocky track – so we got there a while after dark. Soup was fired up and the eat-fest began in front of the warm fire. The hut has an annex and two rooms, and as we had it all to ourselves, we could close off the back room as our bike store and roll out our mats in front of the fire in the front room.

Day 2: 76km /860vm

There were a few weary bodies come morning. Monty had developed a sore knee from the previous day and a few of the others voiced interest in cutting the short. We decided to try Stockyard Spur: a direct route from the hut down to the dam wall at Corin Dam. I know Jono had ridden (well, walked) up the spur many years previous. Knobs had walked it also, but entries in the Pryors Hut log book confirming it’s condition really sealed the deal.

Although not on our map, Knobs led us to the start of the spur’s fire trail and we took off down it. After a quick chat with some walkers half way down we soon ran out of fire trail and got on to the steeper walking track section, which is currently pretty overgrown. We had to hike a few sections, but being down hill (my Garmin claims up to 40% down!) it was pretty easy hiking. Popping out of the scrub at the bottom we’d made the dam:  we were on the tar and home and hosed (mentally, at least).

We had a nice lazy lunch in the sun at the top of Corin. It was here that Monty had earlier arranged a rescue from Lauren, so his and Steve’s ride ended here (well, at the bottom of the hill in the end). Waz also managed to fit his B.O.B trailer in the car, so after lunch he, Knobs and started the ride back to town. We waved off Knobs just after Point Hut Xing and then the two of us TT’d it back Northside, swapping turns along the Parkway (not the best way to end the ride, but it sure was the quickest).

All in all: an awesome ride. The hut was a standout. It meant we could sleep warm, travel light and overnight in a truly beautiful area. I’ll be back soon.