Little Quilcene River, Mount Townsend — Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

1. This trail is for masochists only. 

2. Whoever designed the trail was clearly a sadist with a pathological hatred of switchbacks. You'll only encounter one until you reach the Mt Townsend / Tubal Cain fork. Until then, you'll climb and climb and climb up a steeply graded slope. A sign at the trailhead claims it's 15-20% during this early section of the hike, but that is patent nonsense. It's closer to 30-40% with a brief reprieve before you reach the fork. Once you join the Mt Townsend trail, the climb becomes a little easier.

3. We drove from Port Angeles via Palo Alto Road, which becomes FS 2909. It has the typical potholes you'd expect from a forest service road. But once you turn onto FS 2820, which takes you to the trailhead, the road becomes significantly narrower and rougher. I would not recommend driving a low-clearance vehicle on this road.

4. Pack all the water you think you'll need. There's a shallow rivulet within the first tenth of a mile - precisely when you don't yet need water - but it's the only water source you'll see the entire hike.

5. The designer was a sadist, but whoever named the trail was a comedian - because you will neither see nor hear the Little Quilcene River during this hike.

6. On a clear day, Mt Townsend affords some spectacular views of Sequim Bay, Discovery Bay, Hood Canal, Puget Sound, Mt Baker, and Mt Rainier, along with the surrounding canyons & valleys in this beautiful part of the Buckhorn Wilderness. It's a popular place. We encountered half a dozen hikers at the top, and almost a dozen on our way back down. 

7. Although this probably goes without saying for the kind of conscientious and knowledgeable hikers who read trip reports on this site, please remember to park perpendicular to the border of the parking lot at the trailhead. When we arrived, there were already half a dozen cars there, four of which were parked parallel to the border, taking up far more space than they needed to and turning the parking lot into an insane and stupid puzzle.