Backpacking Washington: Tubal Cain in Buckhorn Wilderness

Backpacked the tubal cain trail in buckhorn wilderness in mid august and camped at marmot pass with an astounding sunset over our camp later that night. This hike featured numerous wildflowers and meadows, serene forests, rhododendron bushes and panoramic views of the surrounding mountain ranges. On a clear day, you can easily see Mt Rainier and Mt St Helens. Has to be one of the greatest places to backpack in Washington.
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[@Olympic_TryAthlete]

The Dungeness and Tubal Cain trailheads are so close to each other and you pass the former on the way to the latter, makes this an interesting open loop option if you have 2 vehicles. Leave one at the Royal Basin/Dungeness trailhead and continue to Tubal Cain. Head up Tubal Cain and stay wherever you want and then head out the Dungeness. Could even add an extra night or two and stay at Home Lake or Sunnybrook Meadows before heading out the Dungeness. You’d then have a vehicle waiting and a 10 minute drive to pick up the other one.

[@TheOutdoorGypsy]

Good to know for our next trip there. TY. In our case we only had one vehicle but probably wouldn’t have known about this regardless.

[@Olympic_TryAthlete]

10:15 is salal. The berries are edible.

[@tpouw]

Didn't visit Buckhorn Lake? How is the camp site around the lake?

[@TheOutdoorGypsy]

Correct. We actually bypassed the lake so I can’t give you advice on that specifically. We wanted to camp at the pass and we had some tired legs from a previous trip just a few days ago. We talked with some other backpackers on the trail that said the pass was a better option for camp.

[@Olympic_TryAthlete]

There are a number of spots along the north side of the lake in the trees. From the Tubal Cain trail, you drop down and cross a small creek, then go up another small hill and at the top of that there are a few sites scattered, one of them being large enough for a group. I took that one for myself last summer.