Buckhorn Mountain — Sunday, Jul. 16, 2023

One night overnight trip. Arrived at trailhead Sunday around 10:45am. Saw plenty of cars leaving as we were heading up. Also saw a number of parties heading down as we were heading up. Trail is in great shape. Wore trail running shoes instead of hiking boots based on reading prior reports and didn't regret it. It's a steady climb to Camp Mystery walking first along the river then rising up above where there were nice views on this sunny Sunday. Got to Camp Mystery in about 2.5 hours and set up camp. At about 3pm we headed up, sans packs, to Marmot Pass. Very pretty. Took a break and soaked up the views. From the Pass you can look East and see Hood Canal and Puget Sound. Saw a cruise ship headed up the Sound. After a short break decided to head up to Buckhorn Mountain. The first 600 or so feet of elevation gain is quite steep. We took several breaks to catch our breath. After that you get to a less steep shelf that's gradual all the way to the false summit. The views at the false summit were better than the actual summit - looking all the way from the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the NW to the heart of the Olympics to the South. The actual summit is a short walk from the false summit and pretty rocky with a couple steep points but pretty passable. It was around 5pm when we got there and the clouds were swirling around so the views weren't as clear but still very cool. It was a tough climb up and down Buckhorn from the Pass but very rewarding.