Limited time and no desire to spend hours in the car again meant a willingness to keep an open mind. Though this one had been on my list for years I haven't had much luck lately picking obscure hikes so I was hesitant about striking out again. I wasn't disappointed, in fact IMHO this is the best hike (if like me you consider road walks 'hikes') in the Marckworth Forest. Manning called this little range the Tomtit Alps in Footsore 2 which was the source for my going here.

To be fair while the right side of the road is deep moss covered forest with tumbled down boulders and little seeps and creeklettes the left side is logging devastation. The one redeeming value is the first looks at Mt. Pilchuck and Three Fingers. Once you reach the 1.5 mile mark though the scenery changes after the road crosses a large creek where a logging spur goes left to a landing. I followed the spur to the end and climbed the slash pile to see the view but I wouldn't say it was worth it.

Back at the road I continued up now climbing a little more steeply through nicely recovering forest.  Here the road is bordered by a tall cliff face on the left and a forested ravine on the right. I'd heard there was rock hounding here and judging by the little mole holes under tree stumps there's probably crystals. But I digress. At the two mile mark the road makes a hairpin turn right and a steep spur goes left climbing the rocky ridge which has been clear cut. Here you'll find great views not only of Pilchuck and Three Fingers, but Blue Mountain, Stickney, Tomtit Lake, and 'Hatfields Daughter'. I could also just make out the Canadian Range. This isn't the Tomtit Vista:Low that Manning described which is another mile but satisfaction enough.

If you're a stickler for making the official spot go the extra mile. The forest looks beautiful further on so if you have the time it might be worth it though how much better view is debatable. I covered 4.25 miles with 620 feet of gain. Take Cedar Ponds Road all the way to the lake and find the DNR gate about half way along the lake. There's parking for two cars.

I call this hike Stossel Thumb which is a name I just made up based on the appearance of this hill on the topo map.  We’d seen the blocked road (see picture below) on our last trip to the Marckworth Forest, and after looking at the map and Google Earth I decided it was worth a try.  Unfortunately, the images on Earth must be a few years old and taken right after a clearcut because the young trees are now 7 or 8 feet tall.

Not disappointing though.  The road is wide and easy to travel almost all the way up through nice second growth forest.  There’s some huge stumps speaking to what once was.  Right before the second creek the road reaches a Y (go right) and passing a minor spur right reach a second one right that has a somewhat easy path through alder and goes all the way to the base of the hill.  

Ascending this spur there was one clear view about half way along near a survey marker, then at the base of the hill I beat a path to the right through slash, alders, and blackberries to two stumps that I used to get a view of snow covered peaks.  I think you could climb the small ridge to the left and possibly get more views but the kids balked at waiting for me after already killing time while I chased my first view.  Glad to have them along even when it means less distance.  The road/trailhead is on Stossel Creek Road a long mile past Swan’s Mill Pond Road.  1.2 miles roundtrip and 320 ft. gain.

No matter where you enter, Marckworth forest is a remote slice of former clearcut logging road maze, and cell phone receptionless bit of washington lowland heaven. The gates, all a dozen miles apart, transformed a former shooting and party pit into a quiet second growth of hemlock and sword ferns. 

No target shooting or motorized vehicles allowed. Wear hunter's orange and be aware of hunting in season. Bring a map (or several) and be prepared to mark some unmapped road intersections.

No, we didn't go to Drunken Charlies Lake, this was just the closest description to where we ended up.  I intended to take the family to Swans Mill Pond but too many unmasked hikers put the wife's kibosh on that adventure. Instead we went a bit further down the road and had lunch at Stossel Creek Pond; then walked the road a ways that takes you to Drunken Charlies.  Any day outside...

I wanted just one more hike to close out the year but with limited time I scrapped option 1. I knew option 2 was a long shot coming from a 30 year old hiking book and sure enough an iron gate with a fancy 'No Trespassing' sign greeted me. Fortunately, I had also chosen an option 3 from the Mato playbook and had wisely printed a map.

I'll cut to the chase by saying it's 90 percent a logging road walk through second (third?) growth forest so not very pretty, but there's a few views along the way if you take the time to look around on the high points. Once on top of the hill there's many short spurs going left to the cliff face. I picked one at about half way then worked my way along the cliff until I came to an open flat spot with fire ring and sitting logs. On a clear day I imagine the views are quite nice.

As I bushwhacked I found the skeleton of an animal and another example of where those helium balloons eventually end up hanging on a tree branch. I pulled it off and packed it out. You'll find the logging road start and parking on the right just before the second crossing of Youngs Creek. I'd guess it's about 3 miles roundtrip with a couple hundred feet of gain. And because I came here I was also able to find that another option out of that 30 year old hiking book still has open access so all in all it was a productive trip.

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, safe, and hike filled New Year!