Made a loop by connecting Silver Lake to Tull Canyon. Unofficial trail is rough but established with some cairns and plastic ties. We went via the ridge by staying left when the trail forks at Silver Lake, but could see there is another route that goes from the lake through the boulder field. Ridge has some loose sections but is definitely doable. 

One thing to mention is that the Little Quilcene Trail #835 is marked on my Gaia map as allowing bikes but had a no bikes sign at the trailhead. It was not technical but pretty steep so I’m not dying to ride it, but I had considered connecting this loop by stashing a bike which now is definitely inadvisable. 

1. This trail is for masochists only. 

2. Whoever designed the trail was clearly a sadist with a pathological hatred of switchbacks. You'll only encounter one until you reach the Mt Townsend / Tubal Cain fork. Until then, you'll climb and climb and climb up a steeply graded slope. A sign at the trailhead claims it's 15-20% during this early section of the hike, but that is patent nonsense. It's closer to 30-40% with a brief reprieve before you reach the fork. Once you join the Mt Townsend trail, the climb becomes a little easier.

3. We drove from Port Angeles via Palo Alto Road, which becomes FS 2909. It has the typical potholes you'd expect from a forest service road. But once you turn onto FS 2820, which takes you to the trailhead, the road becomes significantly narrower and rougher. I would not recommend driving a low-clearance vehicle on this road.

4. Pack all the water you think you'll need. There's a shallow rivulet within the first tenth of a mile - precisely when you don't yet need water - but it's the only water source you'll see the entire hike.

5. The designer was a sadist, but whoever named the trail was a comedian - because you will neither see nor hear the Little Quilcene River during this hike.

6. On a clear day, Mt Townsend affords some spectacular views of Sequim Bay, Discovery Bay, Hood Canal, Puget Sound, Mt Baker, and Mt Rainier, along with the surrounding canyons & valleys in this beautiful part of the Buckhorn Wilderness. It's a popular place. We encountered half a dozen hikers at the top, and almost a dozen on our way back down. 

7. Although this probably goes without saying for the kind of conscientious and knowledgeable hikers who read trip reports on this site, please remember to park perpendicular to the border of the parking lot at the trailhead. When we arrived, there were already half a dozen cars there, four of which were parked parallel to the border, taking up far more space than they needed to and turning the parking lot into an insane and stupid puzzle. 

The gravel road up past the reservoir has quite a few potholes. Some are deep. Keep a good lookout. We had to drive really slowly not to bottom out our suspension.

Got to the trailhead around 10:15. Three other cars there, not super busy (probably because it's a weekday). Clear day, no clouds. Around 65F/18C when we started.

Bugs were a menace, mostly flies and bees, but they wouldn't leave us alone the entire hike. Bug spray didn't help.

First mile is decently steep, but the ground is stable and can be traversed quickly. There's a small rivulet that crosses the trail within the first half-mile, though I probably wouldn't try to drink it. Tree cover thins during the second mile, and you start to get glimpses of the views. The grade levels out somewhat here, but the ground is still firm, so progress is fast. Third mile to the top is steep again, but exposed, so you get great vistas all around, and a sunburn healthy tan to match. Ground can get a bit slippery as you get closer to the summit.

Brief lunch at the top, still harassed by bugs (now ants too). The wind feels really nice. Amazing views of Hood Canal, the Olympics, Rainier, and Glacier Peak. Still very few people.

As always, the descent is faster, but hell on your knees. Even though it was nearly 2pm, it still wasn't very hot, which was welcome. Took about 80% as long going down as coming up.

Approximate time from US101-summit-US101: ~6hrs.

Arrived at the Little Quilcene River trailhead at 2pm with the plan to summit Mount Townsend for an overnight. There were 6 cars total when I parked on a Saturday afternoon, proving the "less-crowded Townsend route" rumors to be true. The road in is long and windy and took about 40 minutes from 101. It's a beautiful drive! I made a few stops along the way to soak up the views of Bon Jon pass and mark potential dispersed campgrounds on the way. Normal amount of potholes - not great but nothing crazy.

The trail does in fact go up right away. The grading isn't too horrible, but you'll be working for that first mile. The flat portion after this is actually more of a rolling up and down, but it's still a nice break. Enjoy it, because the steep incline comes back after a half mile or so. It continues steadily to the summit, with views peeping shortly after making the left turn on to the Townsend trail. It's hard to miss - a well-labeled fork with the options to summit or turn right to head to Tubal Cain trailhead.

The north summit was quiet. Just a few of us enjoying the views and saying hello. I set up my tent up top, and ultimately there were 3 tents on the mountain total. Wind was present the entire time, which kept it bug-free all evening night and morning. Bugs were present in the forest on the hike up, but they were fine compared to my experiences in the cascades this time of year.

Incredibly beautiful sunset and sunrise up there. I will go back again to experience the show. Views of Rainier, St. Helens, Seattle, the cascades, baker, puget sound, whidbey island, etc. It is truly a great vantage point up there. 

There were remnants of firepits all over at the top. No one was dumb enough to do this while I was up there, and I am sure no one on WTA is partaking in that. But, I think it is on us to call-out and educate in these situations. Would hate to lose this place to an accident!!

Sweet foggy day for a quick trip up to Mount Townsend. No views today, but the quiet mountain was glorious nonetheless.
We had a leisurely start, arriving at the trailhead at 10:30am. Google maps took us there smoothly; Apple maps did not, but luckily we switched to Google. The roads back there fork several times and the numbers didn't perfectly match the WTA description. Lots of potholes but nothing too serious. Look uphill from the small parking area to see the trail and trail sign. We ran into some guys in the parking lot who got confused and couldn't find the trail. There were seven cars when we arrived, and room for several more. By the time we returned in the midafternoon all the other cars were gone.
This is a really beautiful trail through gorgeous mossy forest with lots of wildflowers still blooming. We had the Townsend summit to ourselves, but alas the mountain stayed socked-in.