Nicols & Ben Rudd

Daniel's in the lead this week and, as always, he's got a great route planned. Meeting at the entrance to Nicols Creek on Leith Valley Road, the route gently climbs switchbacks of the MTB tracks, eventually reaching the Moon track to take us to the intersection with Swampy Ridge. We'll keep going straight ahead from here for a nice descent down McQuilkans. From the bottom of the hill we'll head back up the Jim Freeman track, through OTMC's Ben Rudd property and past the (hopefully flowering) Bruce Campbell Rhododendron Dell. From the top of the hill, it's a quick trot along to the Pineapple Track, then down the side track to Nicols and back to the start. All up, it should be around 14 km and 780 m of vert. The weather forecast is for a southwesterly change Thursday evening, so it would be a good idea to pack an extra layer or two. Head torches probably won't be required, but it's a good idea to have one (which charged batteries) tucked away just in case. Have fun out there!