Black Rock
Black Rock is a CC-listed summit in Mendocino County, one of only six I had remaining from this list of 301 coastal peaks. It is located west of US101 near Laytonville, on a small island of BLM land surrounded by private property. The area is heavily forested with ranches found in some of the open areas at higher elevations, isolated homesteads found lower along both sides of the road and mostly folks living on the edge of the grid. Sean Casserly had figured out a way to visit Black Rock two months earlier and it was his GPX track that I mostly followed. The route starts from Woodman Creek Rd, a well-graded dirt road that any vehicle can negotiate. The road is marked as private, but not closed to the general public. The road passes through another section of BLM lands that allows legal access from the road. The two-mile route passes through half a mile of private land at the higher elevations, though no fences or signs indicating property boundaries were ever encountered.
Having spent the night further south near US101, it had dropped below freezing
during the night and was 28F when I awoke around 6a. It was a little warmer,
about 34F when I started out shortly before 7a but I would have little chance
to get cold. The all cross-country route 
starts off very steep, climbing
1,200ft in about 2/3mi, and I warmed up nicely despite seeing so little sun that
I never bothered with a hat the whole outing. The 
forest understory is
not clear, but it is not a real hindrance, either. By favoring the north sides
of the ridges the route follows, heavier brush can be avoided. Above 2,800ft the
gradient relents some and a few 
open areas appear on the ridge with some
classic views of the 
fog-filled valleys among folded ridgelines
so typical of CA's northern coastal ranges. Old 
logging roads appear as
one passes through the private property section, logging at one time taking
place extensively, though
it seems to have fallen into disuse now. One can make some use of the old roads
and bulldozer paths, but they aren't a significant advantage. The route turns
steep once again for the final 300-foot climb to the summit. One breaks out of
the forest after going over a false summit with the highpoint found another
400ft to 
the southeast atop an 
open, sunny knob. With more
than 1,800ft of prominence, it has a 
commanding view in all directions.
It had taken an hour and three-quarters to reach the top, only a tad faster than
I had expected. Now after 8:30a, the pervasive fog was beginning to
burn off and would be gone completely within an hour. It was chilly at
the summit with a light but cold breeze blowing. The remains of a survey tower
were 
scattered about but I was unable to locate the benchmark (I didn't
look very hard for it). Not finding a register, I 
left one with an
extra entry for Sean before starting back down. I don't think I was there more
than two or three minutes, not wanting to cool down and get cold.
On the way down from the summit I followed 
a clipped trail through the
manzanita, ascertaining that it was heading the wrong way down the south side
of the ridge before leaving it to return to the original route. Someone had
spent some time building and maintaining the trail so I suspect the summit gets
semi-regular visits. They might be surprised to find the register on their next
visit. Will they take it as a affront and throw it in the trash? Perhaps. Not
surprising, the return went a good deal faster, taking about an hour. That last
1,000-foot descent down the steep slopes was particularly enjoyable, with
gravity-assisted slipping and sliding down leaf-laden, loose dirt slopes.
Overall, I found the route and summit very agreeable, one I could easily
recommend. The private property issues seem to be no real problem - I saw no
evidence that there was any regular visits there and the chances of encountering
anyone has to be close to zero (hunting season might be another story).
Jackson State Forest HP
I went back to Jackson State Forest west of Willits and US101 for the second day in a row. I had intended to climb the forest highpoint the previous day but had misidentified it. Armed with new knowledge, I headed back for the correct point. The state forest lies along both sides of SR20, a twisting, winding road that runs for 25mi between Willits and Ft. Bragg. Most of the forest is composed of
second-growth redwoods,
with a network of publicly accessible roads
running throughout. Some of these are suitable for any vehicle, others are no
longer maintained, and it seems to be hit-or-miss as to whether you'll run into
one of many locked gates throughout the forest. The highpoint is found on the
southern edge of the forest, south of the highway. I drove up Rd 900, good for
any vehicle, to its junction with Rd 810. Here I found the first of several
locked gates. Though the roads behind the gate seemed cleared and very
driveable, they were currently closed to motor vehicles. This left me with a
2.5mi hike each way to the summit. This wasn't really bad news, as I found the
hike in the late morning to be very enjoyable. I had the place to myself and
the weather was near perfect, with some 
sun filtering down through the
trees and ideal temperatures, neither warm nor cold. Most of the hike was
through heavy forest, but some views 
looking south opened up when I was
on the edge of the forest in the upper reaches. I took a series of roads and
some trail to within a few hundred feet of the summit. The road
continues below the summit about 100ft on the north side. A trail cutting
through brush around 
the west side seemed promising, but that merely
continued below the summit down the South Ridge. I saw no way to get through
thick brush on that side to the top. I returned to the road on the north side
and went up from there, finding the 
forest understory easier to
penetrate. The summit itself was a disappointment, buried under
thick manzanita that required some crawling to get to absolutely
nowhere of any importance. No views at all and I couldn't even stand up. That
said, the hike itself was enough to recommend it, a very pleasant stroll through
the redwoods with only 
banana slugs for company.