Mount Townsend is one of my favorite hikes and I have hiked it many times as a day hike, traveling up the popular Mt Townsend Trail #839. On this trip, I wanted to explore a different route and incorporate a one night backpacking trip. I read about the Silver Creek Way trail and was intrigued. I wasn't able to find very much information, other than the location of the trailhead and that it was an unfinished path. Following the directions I pieced together, I discovered the trailhead marked by a small post that has "832" written on it with permanent marker. It's past the Tubal Cain trailhead and past the Little Quilcene River trailhead on FS 2870. This little trail was a very pleasant surprise as it has obviously received a lot of maintenance recently! While it is very steep in places, and the tread at times is rocky/rooty, it is in great shape and very easy to follow. There were no obstacles. Portions of the trail are super sweet, meandering right next to Silver Creek, offering refreshing access to the cool water. It is only 2.3 miles and it ends at T with the Silver Lakes Trail. Turning right and following the now wide, smooth tread takes you to Silver Lake, which was much prettier than I expected. There are some nice camps tucked in the trees surrounding the lake. Turning left at the T takes you to the Mount Townsend trail. There were several people at the lake when I arrived, but it was not crowded. I got up early Saturday morning to climb Mt Townsend. My dog and I had the summit all to ourselves (there had been a total of 3 other people there leaving as I was arriving). Beautiful as always, but this was the first time I experienced pesky bugs at this summit. My previous experiences on the summit have been of chilly temperatures and a cold wind, requiring multiple warm layers, and no bugs. This time, despite the early morning, the bugs were out and bothersome. Mosquitoes and flies were also very annoying at the Silver Lake as well.
In summary, Silver Creek Way trail is a sweet, often steep, little trail. Certainly more people are learning about it, as I passed 4 parties (backpackers and day hikers) as I hiked out.
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