Headed to Buckhorn Lake the end of June for an overnight trip. It was myself, my friend, and our two dogs. Tubal Cain is a pretty nice hike with frequent water sources along the way (although near where the mine is, would not recommend drinking the water). It's a nice steady climb until you cross Copper Creek.
This is where it got interesting for us. At a switchback, we went straight as opposed to going to the right. Going straight does not keep you on Tubal Cain but rather puts you on Tubal Cain WAY trail. This is essentially a goat path that goes straight up the mountain to the ridgeline as opposed to the much more gentle incline of Tubal Cain. Some of it was almost completely overgrown so we had to really keep an eye out. When carrying overnight backpacks, it pretty much sucks. Some spots were so steep I was scrambling using all four limbs. However, the views! Oh, the views of Buckhorn Mtn and surrounding peaks were amazing.
Taking Tubal Cain Way wound up probably taking us longer than if we had stuck with the main trail. By the time we got back to the proper trail, we were wiped. Thankfully it was a short trek further to go to Buckhorn Lake. There is at least one tree down on that trail but essentially a new trail has been created going around it.
There are only 2 or 3 campsites next to the lake and no real bank to even get to enjoy the lake. One of the occupied campsites had two folks there with at least 30 cans of empty beer cans all over the place as well as a ton of other trash. :-/ There was also a condom in the water. For some place that is over 6 miles to get into with plenty of elevation gain, that is some commitment, albeit extremely discouraging to see. Hopefully it was all cleaned up when they left. We wound up camping a bit farther away from the lake near one of the many little creek crossings and wound up having a lovely evening undisturbed by any of the other folks camping there that night (there was a surprising amount for a Monday/Tuesday).
On our return to the Tubal Cain TH, we stuck to the main trail and thoroughly enjoyed the views (with a lot less pain). Definitely looking to return and head all the way up to Marmot Pass now that the snow is gone.
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