This is actually a report on an off-trail approach to Mt. Townsend. The basic off-trail route follows a north-south ridge to its top, where it meets an east-west ridge, which runs to Townsend's summit. This route takes the north side of the valley, opposite the regular trail that stays more to the southern side in the upper end. We left the upper parking lot and took the trail to its intersection with the Wilderness Boundary. This is about one mile from the trailhead; there's a sign posted on a tree on the north (right) side of the trail. About 20-30 feet beyond the tree, the trail curves to the right and levels out some as it crosses a slight north-south ridge. We left the regular trail at this point and headed northwards up the ridge. Our bearing was about 345 degrees. We pretty much just followed the crest of this ridge until we hit the east-west ridge. From there, we turned west (270 degrees) and traversed just below the ridge. You probably want to avoid the very top of this ridge: it has significant exposure on the north side and a lot of climbing on not particularly good rock. We were able to circumvent most rock outcroppings. We followed deer trails as much as possible, which was a big help. There are a few spots on the way up where you have to bushwhack a little bit, but a somewhat meandering course will allow you a fairly clear path most of the way. You can vary this course by adding more rock, if you're comfortable with the climbing or have the necessary safety equipment. Even though the valley was socked in with clouds, by using our compasses for bearings, we ended up hitting the regular trail within 100 feet of Townsend's true summit. The lack of visibility made it difficult to gauge our progress as we traversed the upper ridge, but we were never seriously off course. There is a fair amount of scree in varying sizes, which makes walking difficult. I'd recommend helmets for safety. Trekking poles and/or an ice axe would also be helpful. This was a challenging, but not particularly difficult, route. Our group consisted of Boy Scouts ranging from 12 to 17 years old, and three adults in our early 50's. No one had any significant problems making this climb.

Trail in great shape. No snow. No bugs either. Rock garden blooming. Good place to see pillow basalt. No problems of any kind. One of the all time great hikes for alpine botany lovers.

On Sunday, June 5th, my sister and I drove out to Quilcene, WA and the upper Mount Townsend trailhead. We arrived at around 8:30 a.m. or so and we were the only car at the parking area. A parking fee is required for parking at the trailhead. The hike begins in the forest above a creek and switch-backs up the ridge through trees and rhododendrons. It crosses a couple more creeks before entering the Buckhorn Wilderness at 3,500 ft. elevation. Two signs on trees to your right will tell you of this point. Keep following the trail as it eventually opens out into meadows below Windy Lake. Windy Lake is off the trail to the left, 0.3 miles before the junction with the Silver Lakes trail. Continue past Windy Lake until you arrive at this junction which is marked by a sign on a tree in front of you. Turn left here and follow the trail as it passes under jagged rocks lining the ridgetop. You will make this ridgetop in a few switchbacks and then the trail will drop down the other side of the ridge eventually arriving at a small creek. Another trail adjoins the path that you're on at this location but make sure to keep left if you want to make it to the lakes. The trail will gently ascend as it parallels Silver Creek before you arrive at the lake. The lake is set in a meadow under rocky peaks that may make good day excursions if you decided to camp at the lake. All said, the weather wasn't very conducive to frolicking at the lake for long with overcast skies and occasional light ice pellet showers. While the hike to the lake yielded us solidly overcast skies with light ice pellet showers and sprinkles, the hike back was a little more wet. Once we began nearing the ridgeline again on our return trip, the light ice pellet showers we were experiencing increased in intensity and eventually changed over to light snow. From the ridge down, the snow repeatedly switched over from ice pellets back to snow before ultimately turning to rain once we reached a lower elevation. I completed the hike with sweatpants, a t-shirt and a waterproof jacket for the most part.

A superb day in the wilderness. We got an early start as the ferry schedule permitted, ate a quick breakfast on Bainbridge (we would need the fuel)and drove under gray skies to the Big Quilcene trailhead. We saw a nice sized balck bear at the fork of Penny Creek Road and Forest Road 27. The trail to Marmot Pass was cleared of the winters debris. The sky cleared as we reached Mystery Camp and stopped for a snack (more fuel)and drew water from the stream. No snow to cross until the last push to the pass. The views deep into the Olympics were inspiring. We headed north on the Tubal Cain trail. Several snow traverses delayed us while we kicked in steps and one outright detoured us onto the scree. The trail was otherwise clear of debris and had no erosion problems. After we headed down the pass from the Buckhorn ridge there was no more snow. The rest of the trail was easy going. We stopped for anothe snack at the Tubal Cain mine works and got back on the trail. The next stop was at the Silver Creek crossing. More snack and more water. Next we legged it up the road to the Silver Creek way trail. Then up the rugged little path. Parts could use a cag railway. We had our second to last snack before heading up the Silver Lake trail to Windy Pass. As we ascended we watched a marine cloud layer flow into the valley from the north. The last snack was at the pass. To the east was cool cloud. 10 steps away was warm, dry air. We headed down into the gloomy cluodbank and went through layer after layer of cloud all of the way to the Mt. Townsend trailhead. There we met a great couple from Bremerton (hikers ARE the nicest sort) who drove the stinky, sweaty pair of us back to our car at the Big Quilcene trailhead. A nice 22 mile day to warm up for summer treks.

On Saturday I hiked a loop starting at the west end of the Little Quilcine trail, which is located across the road and up a bit from the Tubal Cain Mine trailhead. The trail climbs steeply up Dirty Face ridge to the Mount Townsend Trail junction and when the trail opens up there are views of Buckhorn and Iron mountains and the Gray Wolf Ridge. From there I hiked the length of Mount Townsend and turned right at the Silver Lake trail junction. About one mile before Silver Lake I turned right again onto the unmaintained Silver Creek way trail which was clear except for a few blow-downs. It was about a mile of road to my car after the end of the Silver Creek Trail. This is about a 10-mile loop and is steep and scenic no matter which direction you choose. There was no snow to speak of and though not yet the end of May it was already July in the mountains. Flowers were out and fragrant on the ridge and there were Trillium and Calypso Orchids on the creek trail.