Distance: ~10
The day was cool ~40 at 12:00 when I started. I parked at the picnic area because the campground road was closed. The climb up to Castle Rock was challenging (~1900 ft) with many switchbacks. I chose this direction to get the climbing over with. About 1/2 way up, I stopped and removed my long johns. Since my car was the only one I saw in either parking area, I figured there was little risk of an embarrassing situation. I didn't see a single person until I was back in the parking lot.
Castle Rock was a very large rock formation on the top of the mountain. It did resemble castle walls. Following along on the Bird Mountain Trail, the trail crosses the peak of Bird Mountain which had a sign indicating the elevations was a bit over 3000'. Shortly after the Bird Mountain Camp, the trail turns into a Jeep Road. With lots of leaves on the road, it was difficult to hike at times due to hidden logs and holes under the leaves. When the trail hit the Lookout Tower Trail, it was shortly after 2:00pm. Originally I was going to go back down the Tower Trail, but since it was still early, I continued on East and south to the North Old Mac trail. The walk to the Old Mac trail was on an old road. It was mostly along the ridge and was easy hiking. Since it was a clear day and there were no leaves on the trees, there were many nice views of the surrounding mountains and valleys.
The North Old Mac trail was a nice smooth walk down the mountain. The rate of descent is about perfect, not to steep.
It was a great day in the woods.
Hike Times:
Start 12:00
Bird Mountain Camp: 1:30
Intersection with Lookout Tower Trail: 2:10
Intersection with North Old Mac: 3:05
Old Mac Trailhead: 4:18
Back to Car and ready to leave: 4:30
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