Iron Mountain & Worthington Peaks
Tubal Cain Trailhead ⚲ Buckhorn Wilderness, Dungeness, Washington
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My friend Ryan Rodman is working on summiting all the visible eastern summits of the Olympic Mountains. He had yet to get Iron Mountain, in the Buckhorn Wilderness, and so invited me to join him for a one-day push to go and get it. To make the trip more enticing, Ryan promised more than one summit - I bit on his offer, and so on Sunday morning I boarded the 5:10 a.m. ferry and headed to the Olympic Peninsula.
The enchanting entrance to the Tubal Cain Trail, named after the Tubal Cain Mine which is accessed via the trail.
Rhododendron and pine… feels like the Buckhorn Wilderness. Tubal Cain Trailhead sign.
We started the trip at the Tubal Cain Trail in the Dungeness Area of the Olympic Mountains. The Dungeness is where I started my trek up Mount Deception and where Ryan and I began our trip up Baldy and Tyler Peak earlier this year - it was nice to be back in this familiar area of the Olympics. The trail was mellow and well-groomed all the way to Buckhorn Lake, where we would eventually part ways and head off of the trail to gain the ridge above.
Buckhorn Wilderness boundary, Olympic National Forest.
Ryan Rodman takes in the first views of the Mount Worthington area.
The Tubal Cain Trail opens up to treeless hillside just prior to Buckhorn Lake.
Just shy of 5 miles in, the trail opens up and grants nice views of Buckhorn Mountain, Buckhorn Northeast, Iron, and Worthington before splitting left to the lake and dropping back down into the woods for a short bit.
Buckhorn Mountain - Northeast Summit (6,960’) (left) and Buckhorn Mountain (6,988’) (right), the namesake peaks - creating the “buckhorn” of the Buckhorn Wilderness, Olympic Mountains, Washington.
Don’t miss the left turn to Buckhorn Lake!
Buckhorn Lake, a nice and convenient water source, small enough to fit in frame from 15ft away.
We filtered water at the lake since it is the last source before heading up, and then followed a .gpx track back up into the wooded landscape. There is a light climber path here and there, but for the most part, it is on you to decide how you gain the ridge. There is a bit of bushwhacking and blowdown navigation at the start but it doesn’t last long, and before you know it, you’ll be marching up the scree-covered slope. Due to the lighthearted nature of this climb, we chose to go left and took every opportunity to scramble up large chunks of the ridge on the more solid rock.
Ryan Rodman navigates the solid rock ridge of the slope.
Getting ourselves into the most fun parts of the terrain.
Fun scrambling in the Olympic Mountains of Washington.
The ascent to the ridge line offers some great opportunities to get your hands on rock.
Fun climbing in the Buckhorn Wilderness of the Olympic Peninsula.
Our route was sometimes harder than necessary, but we enjoyed challenging ourselves on class 3/4 terrain. Stay below the cliff bands and follow the scree along the right-side up to the rounded saddle between Iron Mountain and Mount Worthington to avoid the added antics.
Ryan Rodman stares down Iron Mountain ( 6,826‘) from the saddle in the Buckhorn Wilderness. The true Iron summit is the square block on the far right ridge.
Pointing out Mount Constance, a peak Ryan and I climbed back in August.
It felt like most of the hard work was over when we reached the top of the ridge since all of our summits for the day lied along it - now it was time for the fun part! Getting to the summits!
The route to the summit of Iron Mountain (6,826’) seems convoluted from the saddle but if you follow your nose you’ll find the way!
Our itinerary included Iron Mountain (6,826’), Mount Worthington (6,938’), and maybe Northeast Worthington (6,880’). Because Ryan's main objective was Iron (he had summited Worthington on a previous trip) we turned right along the ridge and headed towards the needle-like Iron Mountain first.
Ryan walking a balance beam on the climb up Iron Mountain (6,826’).
Fall colors were really kicking in on the high ridges of Iron Mountain.
It is hard to imagine safe travel to the summit of Iron from the ridge. The passage looks unclear and dangerous, but as you continue along the highest points, a pathway always presents itself.
Ryan Rodman climbing higher up the ridge line of Iron Mountain (6,826’) in the Buckhorn Wilderness of the Olympic Mountains.
Ryan found a hole in the ridge line…
and snapped a photo of me climbing up. 📸 @ryanradman
Ryan Rodman climbs the final 10ft up the summit block of Iron Mountain (6,826’) in the Olympic Mountains.
There was a lot more hand-on-rock action than expected along the traverse. The steps and holds are solid where needed, but hikers should use caution as much of the rock encountered along this route could be dislodged or broken with little force. It was a fun puzzle to solve, and when we arrived at the summit we were elated.
On the summit of Iron Mountain with the Worthington summits in the background.
Enjoying some Wet Coast Brewing at the top.
Another east side peak checked off the list!
With eyes from above, we were able to stick to the higher parts of the ridge on our descent back to the saddle. It was definitely nice to get Iron done first as it was the furthest removed from the remaining objectives. We had also expected Iron to be the hardest part of the day, so with it complete, we were motivated to get as much out of the rest of the day as possible.
Looking back at Iron Mountain (6,826’) in the Buckhorn Wilderness of the Olympic Mountains.
From the Iron Mountain ridge we could get eyes on Mount Worthington (the lone spire centrally located on the ridge) and Northeast Worthington (the back right portion of the ridge line).
Mount Worthington’s Northeast Peak is very much its own mountain connected by a jagged ridge line similar to what we had become accustomed to on Iron Mountain. It was on our radar, but we needed to get eyes on that connecting ridge before committing. So up and over Mount Worthington proper we went in a sort of rushed fashion. We had brought up treats that we knew we wanted to enjoy on Mount Worthington (the highest of the days summits) and so we wanted to gun it over to the Northeast peak, get the summit, and get back to Worthington for an extended rest before heading back down.
The connecting ridge between Iron Mountain and Worthington Peak is nice and mellow allowing for quick, unobstructed travel.
Collin Blunk on the 4-class summit variation of Mount Worthington, ascending directly up the South face to the summit. 📸 @ryanradman
Ryan navigates his way around Mount Worthington. Much of the days action looked like this - high up on the side of crumbly spires.
Looking at Ryan from the summit of Worthington, he is standing at the base of the class 3 climb to the summit.
If there was anything we had learned from the trip to Iron, it was that looks can be deceiving. Once again, the route didn’t look clear, but we went for it anyway. This time the route was a bit more brushy, and required a bit more up-and-down scrambling, but still shared similar flavors as the Iron ascent.
Ryan Rodman and Collin Blunk on the summit of Northeast Worthington (6,880’).
Looking at Mount Worthington (6,938’) from the Northeast Summit. Iron Mountain and the Buckhorns stand behind it with Mount Constance, Warrior Peak and Inner Constance in the background to the left.
We hooted and hollered at the Northeast summit, took a selfie, and headed back to Mount Worthington.
Ryan Rodman looks back at Mount Worthington from high up on the Northeast summit’s ridge.
Ryan connecting the dots, heading back towards Mount Worthington.
Ryan going out of his way to enjoy the summit pinnacles along Mount Worthington’s craggy summit.
Ryan climbing up to the small summit of Mount Worthington (6,938’) where we would take our longest rest of the day before heading back home.
Ryan going out of his way to enjoy the summit pinnacles along Mount Worthington’s craggy summit.
The Mount Worthington summit is the smallest and most precipitous of the three and can be accessed via a class 3 route on the left side of the mountain when heading NE along the ridge. This is the path we took to regain the summit. It is worth noting that on our first pass over Worthington, I took a great class 4/5 variation directly up to the summit block from the south side which added to the fun.
Alien landscapes along the ridge in the Buckhorn Wilderness, Olympic Mountains.
A photo of Collin Blunk in front of Mount Constance, Inner Constance and Warrior Peak in the Olympic Mountains. 📸 @ryanradman
Collin in the Olympic Mountains. 📸 @ryanradman
We paused for a photo opportunity along the ridge before descending back to the lake. The scree fields that were a pain to ascend would now be the perfect medium for a quick boot-ski down!
Looking back at our ascent/descent route up to the ridge. The obvious scree gully/avalanche chute centrally located on the left side is the way up and down.
Once at the lake, we hopped back onto the Tubal Cain Trail and made our way back to the car. The smooth grade allowed us to lightly jog a good portion of the return trip making it even faster. Before we knew it, we were back in Kingston enjoying pizza and beer at Sourdough Willy’s - a must for anyone visiting the peninsula. It was another great day spent out in the mountains, and a great conclusion to what ended up being a 6-peak weekend for Ryan and I - See how we earned the first three summits of the weekend here.
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