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Tubal Cain Mine and Buckhorn Lake

Last modified Feb 12, 2010 12:11 PM
Tubal Cain Mine. Photo by Stephen Alvarado.
Retrace a packer's trail to a mine dating from the 1890s. Peer into dark forbidding shafts and saunter past relics left over from boomtown settlements that went bust. But the real find is the miles of wildflower-studded meadows beyond the mine. Rhododendrons too-traverse a jungle of them on the trail's lower reaches.

Start on a well-groomed track, passing the Silver Creek Shelter (which once provided refuge to wayfarers before FR 2870 shortened the journey) and crossing Silver Creek on a log bridge shortly afterward. After 0.5 mile enter the Buckhorn Wilderness; then turn southward, entering the Copper Creek valley. Skirting slopes high above the creek, the trail travels through a tunnel of rhododendrons and thick stands of second-growth conifers. Occasional breaks in the forest canopy offer previews of the high country lying ahead.

After 3 miles of easy but monotonous walking (except in early summer when the rhodies' purple reign dazzles and delights), come to a junction. The trail left climbs steeply 0.7 mile into Tull Canyon. Among the surprises that await you if you explore this rugged rift are the ruins of an old mining town and the remains of a crashed World War II-era military plane. Immediately up the trail and visible from the junction is a mine shaft. It's extremely dangerous to enter, so best to just imagine what deep dark secrets it possesses (or once possessed).

A half mile beyond, in dank, scrappy forest, is the site of yet another old mining town, now a popular backcountry camping area. Rusted relics lie scattered about-some have been revived, serving the needs of imaginative campers. The Tubal Cain Mine lies just to the left. It is a private inholding within the wilderness and is still active (somewhat); respect all postings and leave any equipment alone.

Besides, you have little time to snoop around with miles of meadows waiting for your arrival. Leap across Copper Creek and begin climbing the valley's west wall via a series of short (followed by one long) switchbacks. Now, thanks to a series of past forest fires and avalanches, enjoy 2 miles of hip-hopping through the harebells. Other blossoms too-a full spectrum of colors streaks the hillside.

Twin-peaked Buckhorn Mountain with Iron Mountain by its side hovers over the far end of the valley. At 5.5 miles reach a junction. The trail left drops 150 feet, heading 0.5 mile to little Buckhorn Lake tucked in thick timber. The lake isn't much, but Copper Creek is pretty enough to make the trip worth it.
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Recent Trip Reports

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There are 15 trip reports for this hike. See all trip reports for this hike.
Tubal Cain Mine and Buckhorn Lake, Marmot Pass, Lower Big Quilcene River — Sep 25, 2009 — stephen.alvarado
Multi-night backpack
Features: Fall foliage
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Awesome! What an experience. I spent the weekend backpacking through the area with a few fellow men from church. Blessed...
Awesome! What an experience. I spent the weekend backpacking through the area with a few fellow men from church. Blessed with absolutely beautiful weather all weekend long, we could not have asked for a better day to be up in the mountains. We started at the Tubal Cain Mine trail head and camped near the B-17 crash site in Tullis Canyon the first night. The next day we headed out to Marmot Pass. It was another glorious day with a few clouds passing through. Along the way, we stopped for lunch at Buckhorn Lake...although Buckhorn Pond seemed to be a more fitting name. The water level was pretty low with the deepest parts being maybe only 3-4 feet deep. At least there still were some trout in there. One of our guys managed to catch three (too small, so he threw them back). Afterwards, we headed back up the trail and made our way over Buckhorn Pass. From there on to Marmot Pass the views were absolutely incredible. The fall colors on the mountains glimmered in the late afternoon sun as the clouds quietly drifted in and out of the valleys. We made it to Camp Mystery about an hour before sundown and spent the night there. On the last day we packed up and hiked all the way back to TC, with three of us making a detour to summit Buckhorn Mountain. We took the steep trail from Marmot Pass which was pretty rough and tiring with our packs on--but it was totally worth the effort.

The view from up there at nearly 7000 feet was incredible. On a day like today, we could see as far north as Canada and as far south as Mount St. Helens. Essentially, we could see the entire Puget Sound region, the Cascades, and beyond. The buildings in downtown Seattle were clearly visible as well. To the west, the adjacent mountains and hills were covered in a brilliant display of fall colors. I've never seen a sight quite like it. Took some awesome photos. After admiring the views, we headed back to catch the ferry home. We stopped at Fat Smitty's along the way and conquered the world famous Fat Smitty Burger :) Fun times!
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Buckhorn Lake, Dungeness River, Tubal Cain, Buckhorn Pass — Jul 03, 2009 — JanineG
Multi-night backpack
Features: Wildflowers blooming
Issues: Bridge out
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We hiked up to Buckhorn Pass on the Tubal Cain trail. We camped at the pass, then went through Marmot...
We hiked up to Buckhorn Pass on the Tubal Cain trail. We camped at the pass, then went through Marmot Pass down to Boulder Shelter Camp and out on the Upper Dungeness River trailhead. A nice loop hike that makes a good 3 day backpack using 2 cars for a short car shuttle. The Tubal Cain trail has lovely foliage and the rhododendrons were just nearing the end of their bloom. The wildflowers at Buckhorn and Marmot Pass areas are so diverse with amazing color. On the Tubal Cain trail the views start early and the trail has a nice gentle incline. It starts to get quite steep near the trail junction to Buckhorn Lake. We camped at the top of Buckhorn Pass with sweeping 360 views of mountains. There are still a few patches of snow up there for boiling for drinking water, but I imagine they will soon be gone. We day hiked up to Buckhorn Mt. on the middle day and the views from up there are amazing! We could see Seattle with ferries and cruise ships in the Puget Sound. Also seen from the top are Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Glacier Peak, and Mt. Baker. The hike out through Marmot Pass down to Boulder Shelter Camp is steep downhill, but once you get to Boulder Shelter Camp the going is easier. The bridge is out 2.5 miles from the Upper Dungeness trailhead. You have the choice of wading through at the spot in fast running fairly high water or going down 100 yards to cross on a log. We waded through and I was glad we had the dogs on leash as their paddling legs were not strong enough for the current. The Dungeness River's deep blue and soothing sound were a peaceful conclusion to a lovely hike.
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Buckhorn Lake, Tubal Cain — Jun 26, 2009 — Mountain Mary
Day hike
Features: Wildflowers blooming
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We headed up to Buckhorn Pass from the Tubal Cain Trailhead.. The rhododendrons are in bloom – and the...
We headed up to Buckhorn Pass from the Tubal Cain Trailhead.. The rhododendrons are in bloom – and the first few miles are thru a Rhododendron forest had plenty of them on both sides of the trail and in canopies above the trail. Trail has been worked on lately and is in great shape. Stream crossing at Tubal Cain Mine camping area has both rocks to hop over on or a log to cross over on. With sure footing and poles, we had no problem (opted for the rock hop). Then up into the high country! The wild flowers were out in abundance. No snow up to Buckhorn Pass. Views from Buckhorn Pass were splendid. We could see a snow field on the trail that goes up and over to Marmot Pass. Probably doable with alot of extra energy, but we opted to save it for later in the season. This 7 mile (each way) hike into the heart of the Olympics is truly a total delight at this time of the year!
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Tubal Cain #840,Buckhorn Lake #845,Dungeness River #833.2 — Aug 18, 2007 — JJ Rooster
Day hike
Issues: Mud/Rockslide
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This area is indeed beautiful. The view from Marmot Pass was just below the cloud ceiling to the Hood Canal...

This area is indeed beautiful. The view from Marmot Pass was just below the cloud ceiling to the Hood Canal Bridge and Paine Field/Boeing Everett.

But, with the beauty a level of use is occurring that this area is not developed for. Specifically, there are no pit toilets developed at either Buckhorn Lake, Boulder Shelter or Camp Handy. It became obvious when we upturned rocks or went to get water, that hikers camped at these sites have not been upholding the principles and practices of good sanitation. Defecation should occur at an upland site, preferably where the ground can be dug up to bury the feces. This may mean that one will need to walk a ways (sometimes up to a quarter mile) from camp and the nearby surface and subsurface (ground and hyporheic) water. I didn't see evidence that this measure was being taken. The stream water is likely being contaminated at both the buckhorn lake and boulder shelter camp sites by human feces. My water filter eliminates microbial agents, but not viruses. Also, with the current build-up of fecal matter at these campsites, in near vicinity to cooking and sleeping activity, the possibility of personal, direct contact and subsequent, potential infection increases.

There is one mudslide that about 1.5 miles north from boulder shelter on the dungeness river trail. It has not taken out the trail yet but the trail overhangs it.

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Tubal Cain #840,Buckhorn Lake #845,Big Quilcene River #833.1,Constance Pass #99 — Jul 29, 2007 — Don, Chris & Scott
Day hike
Issues: Blowdowns | Water on trail | Overgrown
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We made a four-day traverse of the high country trails from the Tubal Cain trailhead to the Dosewallips River -...

We made a four-day traverse of the high country trails from the Tubal Cain trailhead to the Dosewallips River - miles and miles of alpine meadows in full bloom, interspersed with stands of alpine trees and the occasional scree slope to cross. The entire route was snow free. The Tubal Cain trail is in excellent shape, with only two blowdowns across the trail between Tubal Cain Mine and the Buckhorn Lake junction, one we crawled under and one we stepped over. A trail crew was at work clearing the last blowdown from the trail between Marmot Pass and Boulder Shelter and had also restored the tread where it had been eroded away on steep sidehills.

There does not appear to have been any maintenance on the Constance Pass trail so far this year. There are 3 or 4 blowdowns across the trail between Boulder Shelter and Home Lake and several more below Sunnybrook Meadows on the Dosewallips side. In Sunnybrook Meadows the trail is overgrown in places and the trail gets a bit lost in the streams, but is not difficult to follow.

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Location
Buckhorn Lake (#845)
Olympics -- East
3.33 out of 5
Based on 3 votes
Featured In...

Day Hiking: Olympic Peninsula
by Craig Romano

To buy the full book, including maps, elevation profiles, photos, and more, visit:

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Information about this hike provided in partnership with Mountaineers Books. Copyright © Craig Romano/The Mountaineers Books

Roundtrip 12.0 miles
Elevation Gain 2000 ft
Highest Point 5200 ft
Guidebooks & Maps
Day Hiking: Olympic Peninsula (Romano - Mountaineers Books)
Green Trails Tyler Peak No. 136
Custom Correct Buckhorn Wilderness

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Driving Directions
(47.8862, -123.0916) Open in new window
Red Marker Tubal Cain Mine and Buckhorn Lake
47.8862166667 -123.091616667
From the west end of the Hood Canal Bridge, drive State Route 104 to its end and veer north onto US 101. Proceed 16 miles and turn left onto Louella Road (just before reaching the Sequim Bay State Park entrance). In 1 mile turn left on Palo Alto Road, continuing for 6 miles. Bear right at a junction onto Forest Road 2880. The road descends and crosses the Dungeness River, coming to another junction in 1.7 miles, where you turn left on FR 2870. In 2.6 miles bear right at a junction to continue on FR 2870 (formerly called FR 2860). Continue 10 miles to the trailhead.
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