Tubal Cain Mine

Although best known for its namesake mine and the nearby aircraft wreckage, the Tubal Cain trail also offers a pleasant and scenic route to Marmot Pass, a gateway to further wanderings.

After registering your visit at the trailhead kiosk, enter shaded forest and soon pass by a shelter and camp. Cross Silver Creek on a footlog, then begin a gentle ascent on a well-sloped trail lined with rhododendrons. The trail remains in the shade, and the rhodies remain the best view until they yield to mature forest at about 2.5 miles. At 3 miles, a mine shaft is visible on the hillside left of the trail; this is not Tubal Cain Mine, which is further up the main trail. A few yards past is a junction with the Tull Canyon trail, which doubles back sharply to the mine shaft.

If the 1952 B-17 crash site is your destination, take the Tull Canyon trail to the aforementioned mine shaft at mile 3 and past. This trail is steep, gaining 450 feet in 0.6 mile, passing countless enormous boulders poised on the steep slopes all around you. At the wreckage area is a plateau featuring several camp sites. A water source flows through the debris-strewn valley, but drinking water can be filtered upstream of most of the debris.

Extend Your Hike

The entirety of the Tubal Cain Mine trail takes you past Buckhorn Pass to Marmot Pass. To Buckhorn Pass, you'll hike 6.6 miles and gain just over 2,800 feet; to Marmot Pass, you'll hike a total of 8.8 miles and gain just over 3,300 feet with 600 feet of elevation loss.