Drove up for an evening hike to play along this trail. Road was easily passable with 4WD but there are several sections of road with fairly large potholes so watch your speed as the tree shadows can hide the size.
Kicked off at 4p and hiked up to Tull Canyon to see the bomber wreckage. The rhododendrons lined the first couple miles before hitting the Tull Canyon split. We went past the tiny mine entrance (~20') and up the very steep, and somewhat slick, trail but did okay (even with a 9 year old). Given the time, we only hung out at the wreckage for about 15 minutes before heading back down to find our camping spot down at the old miners' camp at the base of Tubal Cain Mine.
The next morning, in gorgeous PNW sunny weather, we hiked up to the mine shaft but did not have the proper footwear to go beyond the first 10-15 feet (the stream essentially comes directly from the mine). From there we continued on to Buckhorn Lake. Wildflowers were en masse painting the hillside meadows. Trail was in great shape and signage was clearly visible.
We took the split to the lake and had a few short steep ups and downs before landing in a beautiful blue-green alpine lake. Next time we'll plan to camp here.
Decided to head back to get back to the car before dusk. Clouds started rolling in on top of us but no rain. Several hikers were coming up as we were headed out and we were sad to share they just missed the beautiful blue skies and would now be hiking in the clouds.
All said and done, the weekend was about 15 miles include the side trips and exploring the old mining camp. Got home and had to do some research on Tubal Cain Mine and the bomber that went down - fascinating stuff.
Highly recommended for the gradual elevation change, tons of camping locations along the way, and variety of scenery that can be found.
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