Marckworth Forest — Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020

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!