Port Angeles, WA: Marmot Pass via Tubal Cain Trail
Hike the vibrant meadows of the Olympics on this 17-mile out-and-back, passing a warplane crash site and old mining town in Buckhorn Wilderness.
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Trail Facts
- Distance: 13.7
Waypoints
TCT001
Location: 47.886223, -123.091568
From Tubal Cain trailhead, ascend SE through jungle of rhododendrons, laced with red, white, and blue wildflowers
TCT002
Location: 47.852081, -123.096169
Tull Canyon Way Trail, marked by small mine entrance. Option: Steep, short spur to hanging valley of Tull Canyon leads to B17 wreckage among fir and hemlock
TCT003
Location: 47.848896, -123.102531
Tubal Cain mine and town site. Little remains of this once-thriving copper/manganese operation except heaps of refuse
TCT004
Location: 47.840965, -123.115891
R @ intersection. Option: Turn L for peaceful lakeside camping near the forested shores of Buckhorn Lake
TCT005
Location: 47.838161, -123.126785
Buckhorn Pass (5,700 ft.); observe Strait of Juan de Fuca to N, snow-capped Mt. Baker to E. Good turnaround spot for dayhike
TCT006
Location: 47.836754, -123.127411
First view of Dungeness Valley to W, an old ore route. Nowadays, midsummer ushers in a painter’s palette of wildflowers through the valley walls and floor
TCT007
Location: 47.831326, -123.12973
R @ 3-way. Option: Ramp it up by turning L up Buckhorn Mtn. (6,956 ft.), a 3-mi. out-and-back with 360° vistas of the Cascades, Olympics, and Puget Sound
TCT008
Location: 47.818085, -123.133438
Marmot Pass, a route prospectors once used to haul ore from mountains near Copper City. Retrace steps to lot.