Tubal Cain Mine and Buckhorn Lake, Marmot Pass, Lower Big Quilcene River

Sep 25, 2009

by stephen.alvarado — last modified Sep 30, 2009 10:46 PM

Type of Outing: Multi-night backpack

Read More in our Hiking Guide: Hike: Tubal Cain Mine and Buckhorn Lake; Region: Olympics -- East; Trails: Buckhorn Lake (#845); Avg Rating: 2.75
Read More in our Hiking Guide: Hike: Marmot Pass - Upper Big Quilcene; Region: Olympics -- East; Agency: Olympic National Forest / Quilcene Ranger District; Trails: Upper Big Quilcene River (#833.1), Marmot Pass (#); Avg Rating: 4.24
Read More in our Hiking Guide: Hike: Lower Big Quilcene River; Region: Olympics -- East; Agency: Olympic National Forest - Hood Canal Ranger District; Trails: Lower Big Quilcene River (#833); Avg Rating: 3.67
Why You Should Go Now: Fall foliage

Grassy meadows high on an alpine ridge. By Stephen Alvarado

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!