Townsend to Iron

We attempted a traverse from Townsend to Buckhorn but bailed down the valley between Worthington and Iron Mountain since didn't like the terrain we got ourselves into.

Started our loop from Tubal Cain TH and enjoyed the start of wildflowers on our way up to the expansive views on Townsend. The traverse over Welch Peaks, Silver Lake Peak, and Hawk Peak was straightforward. There's generally a faint bootpack and  even with some snow on route (low snow year) we made quick progress. Generally stay on or south of the ridge line.

We opted to camp near the B17 crash site by dropping into Tull Canyon. Snow was good for heel plunging at first but was pretty miserable steep postholing in the trees until snowline shortly before camp. We avoided this the next morning by sidehilling up  high on the slopes of Hawk peak back to the saddle below Worthington. Excellent views of the constance group there with space for a tent.

Worthington was rather steep and loose with steep snow and solid enough rock used to the summit. Might be better when dry but our route up the ridge line required steep snow climbing.

Fun scrambling down Worthington and dropped a bit to the south off the ridge while working our way to the grassy meadows between Worthington and Iron.

We found Iron to look intimidating and worked up the ridge through snow then around to the south on dry terrain for awhile, but below the summit it was clear that the next mile to Buckhorn would require steep loose scrambling on the south or exposed scrambling over spires and snow on the ridge line so we reversed course to the saddle NE of Iron Mountain.

Some scree skiing, glissading, and steep bootplunging through a forest got us to Buckhorn lake then an easy trail back to the car.

Overall, this was a fun adventure that felt remote despite being within line of sight of many familiar features. I would recommend waiting until a bit more snow melts to have more secure footing on the ridge, and/or generally staying a bit south of the ridge proper. Great fun from Townsend to Hawk, but be prepared for extended focus on loose 3rd/4th class from there to Buckhorn.

Started from the upper trailhead. Road in was great as far as forest service roads go. There's a short section of very well maintained gravel before it is paved again. The paved road is narrow, curvy, and has plenty of sneaky potholes and dips, but my low clearance car was grateful for such a nice road. Arrived just before 11am and the parking area seemed full and there were several cars parked in the wide spots along the road, so I joined them. There is one tree across the trail right at the start which wasn't difficult to hop over, but I have fairly long legs. The trail seemed to start off with a lot of UP and later on, seemed to mellow out a bit. Snow on the trail began around 5,000 ft and was prominent through the switchbacks. It was mushy and slippery today, but other than that, I had no problem on the compacted boot path. Views at the top were phenomenal. All the mountains were out. Lots of people today, but luckily there is plenty of room to spread out.

Trail is popular for a reason. It’s a great hike up to some beautiful vistas. Some avalanche lilies and baby wildflowers peeking out. Rhododendron on the lower part of the trail probably will be in bloom in another month. The upper 1/2-1/3 of the trail still has snow but the summit is 95% clear of snow. We used poles and our hiking boots just fine. Microspikes would be fine too but not required if you have poles.

Cloudy day at Mt. Townsend! I started on the Lower TH at 10am. The road in was one of the best forest roads I've ever driven. Some dirt and gravel for the first two miles off of Penny Creek Rd, great pavement for the rest of the way (some well-marked holes and bumps though so don't get too speedy), then some gravel for only .5 mile to the parking area. Arrived at the same time as a kind trail running fellow, ran into a woman and her dog as they were headed down the summit, then passed by another solo hiker on my way down, all encounters were hours spaced out so it was solitude city on this usually busy trail! I counted 9 blowdowns, all occurring between the start of the lower TH and not too far up from the second TH. All were very small and manageable. Snow started to be a consideration after the first set of switchbacks where the trail opens up (see second picture). I used microspikes and poles with snow baskets on which made things infinitely easier as the snow was quite deep in places. Great bootpack though, the snow here was very easy to travel on. It was decently soft, not too hard or icy at all, but not so soft that it's a postholing mess. Pretty perfect! Granted it was approximately 50º-55º and not a ray of sun, so I could see the snow getting very soft and sketchy on a warm sunny day. On the last set of switchbacks leading up to the ridge, the trail was fairly easy to follow from previous tracks left behind, but you cannot really discern where the real trail is and what is not due to some misleading tracks in places so don't trust them all too much. I don't think I'd do this one without poles as it got a little dicey in this area above treeline and they saved my butt on my descent which I'll mention later. The trail was pretty solid walking on the snowpack, but if you slipped it may be a long way down at this point. Would recommend comfort and confidence dealing with fairly exposed snowfields. Don't know if I'd even recommend going this far yet on a warm sunny day without the right gear and expertise.

There is a short but steep 45º mound of snow that you have to go over just before you crest the ridge which was easy enough to scramble up, although on the way back down it I took a careless step and slid on my back down the mound and about 15 feet past it, thankfully was able to pull off a self-arrest with my trekking pole. Cautious steps on the way down!

But alas it wasn't all snow, you get a bit of respite in places, and the last push to the summit is nearly snow-free. No views at all on this cloudy May day, but I wasn't too disappointed as this was my first time here so I didn't know what I was missing out on haha. Saw lots of adorable chipmunks darting around at the summit. Tiring on the knees and toes on the way down, but overall a satisfying early season hike great for some snow practice. 10.4 miles RT, 3,491 ft elevation gain, just under 6 hours total (but I'm a slow hiker haha). 

Hiked Mt Townsend via Little Quilcene Trailhead.  Road has large potholes, is snowfree until the last 2 miles.  Dirt tracks through the snow make it easy to get to trailhead, but vehicle should have some clearance.

Trail mostly snow free up to Little River Summit, but a couple of downed trees need to be carefully crossed.  After Little River Summit, patches of snow more frequent - did not need microspikes but wore high gaiters which helped to stay dry when post holing.  Snow on and off regularly after turn to Mt Townsend, but relatively easy to follow the boot tracks.  Top is snow free.