Pretty much, we got to the parking lot at whenever in the morning, passed by everyone who turned around, and successfully got the first summit of spring for Mt Buckhorn or what not. After getting 75 percent of the way there, we had to break trail. The bootpack we created is totally accurate and totally does not just go straight up a 45 degree slope. I really hope whoever does this route next really enjoys our boot pack. We brought snow shoes (I never used ) and I just wore a Uw hoodie. 

best, 

homelander

Started at around 9 am and finished at 8:30 pm. It's a more difficult hike than Mt Ellinor but it has much better views. We were able to see all five of Washington's stratovolcanoes. The trail was snow free for about a mile and then had intermittent snow the next two miles or so. The last 3 miles were pretty much completely snow-covered aside from the ridgeline. The summit looks more intimidating than it is from the false summit. It's probably only class 2. It's a very difficult hike this time of year because of how soft the snow is and snowshoes aren't that effective. There was some recent avalanche activity, and we triggered a few rollerballs, but overall avalanche danger seemed low. Surprisingly we encountered a few mosquitos on the way down, but they weren't bad. 

Arrived at the trailhead around 8 AM with some snow at the parking lot, but no other people there. I brought both snowshoes and crampons, you could get away with either but crampons might just be easier to bring at this point with so little fresh snow. About half a mile of snow and ice appeared in patches until around 1 mile before Camp Mystery, but I just used my bare boots until then. Lots of tracks to follow to get up to Marmot Pass after Camp Mystery. Getting up to the summit of Buckhorn itself has almost no snow at all, it's either been blown away or melted and I didn't use crampons since it was bare ground. Of course Buckhorn always delivers good views from the top. The descent after Camp Mystery was very irritating, since the patchy snow had refrozen becoming slippery, but without it being consistent I had to take on and off my crampons. Overall this feels a lot more like Spring weather with lots of melted and blown-away snow, especially on the stretch from Trailhead to Camp Mystery with the annoying patches of ice.  Hopefully we get some good snow in the mountains soon because we definitely need it. 

Three cars at the parking lot by 0830 with four of us ready to hike.  For most of the hike, about three quarters, it was snow free or just about.  At the meadow, there was a good foot or more with snow drifts, but the path was still visible.  I did not make it to Buckhorn Peak proper, the clouds covered the peak multiple times.  It was cold with a wind chill of 24 at the ridge, but the views were well worth it.  All in all, a great day of hiking.  

We hiked from the Upper Big Quilcene trailhead to Marmot Pass where we spent two nights. Side hikes up Buckhorn Mountain and to Constance Pass.

Trailhead to Marmot Pass: Parking lot was mostly full on a Wednesday morning, but still lots of space along the road. Toilet in good shape. The trail was a steady incline, well maintained and easy going. There were sites open at Mystery Camp Wednesday afternoon, but things looked very full by that night and on Thursday. We camped at Marmot Pass, a dry camp, so went down to Mystery for water. At Marmot Pass there were spaces open Wednesday, but by Friday established sites were mostly full.

Buckhorn Mountain: this is a walk-up hike, but steep and loose rock as the WTA description says. I found poles helpful. The views from the top were spectacular -- even though much of Mount Constance was shrouded in clouds, the strait was visible.

Trail to Constance Pass via Boulder Camp and Home Lake: This is a great, long day hike from Constance Pass, with varied views and terrain. The trail was in good condition the whole way, no obstacles. The south side of the pass was socked in so no views, although still worth the climb to see Mt Constance up close and the views to the north.

Smoke notice: the second evening we had significant smoke come in from the 2620 Road fire in the Duckabush/Mt Jupiter area. The fire had started the day before. Smoke patterns are strange, we saw no smoke the whole day between Marmot and Constance passes, but as soon as we turned towards the Quilcene valley at the pass it was quite heavy. People staying at Camp Mystery that night reported only slight smoky smell, nothing like what we had at higher altitude. In any case, be aware that there may be smoke impact, depending on conditions. The next morning we had no smoke for our hike out.