Great day for a hike. Last time I attempted this trail (in July I think) the road had 3 washouts and we parked about 200 yards from the trailhead at the last of the washouts. That damage has been repaired - there is still some caution signs around one washout towards the beginning of the access road, but this is easily passable.

Trail is clear, we saw no one on the way up and perhaps 4 groups on the way down - some of whom were heading to Mason Lake. As much as I like dogs, PLEASE leash them on the trail. And clean up after them!!

Just after the junction with the Mason Lake trail, the "stairmaster" section was slightly harder than I remember it from last time (or I'm less fit) but we made good time regardless - an hour and a half to the top, a half hour for some lunch, and an hour back down.

Beautiful views, particularly towards Rainier.

Hiked up to Bandera Mountain today from the Ira Spring Trailhead. Road to the trailhead has been fixed well, we got up in a small car with no problems. Got to the trailhead about 10am, and it was full. There are a few large washouts from the winter along the trail, but have been cleaned up and are easily passed. After the turnoff to Bandera, the trail changes dramatically, becoming steeper and less defined. Some parts were almost steep enough to have to scramble up (fun but nothing too difficult). I liked this section a lot, it takes you through alpine meadows and has great views including Mt Rainier. Eventually you reach a rocky ridge, which you can follow to the summit of Bandera. From the top there is a nice view down to Mason Lake and across to Mt. Defiance, and looking South there is Mt. Rainier and Adams, along with many others. This was my first time to Bandera (i've hiked to Mason Lake and Mt. Defiance before), and I liked it a lot. It took us about 4 to 4 1/2 hours total.

This was the first hike that I have ever done and it was a blast. The views were beautiful, it was fun climbing over boulders, and was overall a great hike! The road up to the trail head was actually in pretty good shape. My friend drove his Hyundai Accent up to the parking lot without too much trouble. A few pot holes here and there, but that was about it. It looks like they have fixed the damage the road previously had, so there was nothing to worry about.

When we started we were under the clouds and it was a bit cool. The beginning of the trail is a very easy gradual incline. It gets steeper as you go, but it wasn't too hard at all. Eventually we came up through the clouds and got some awesome views of the surrounding mountains poking up out of the clouds.

Following the trail you will run into a few switchbacks, one which leads you over a huge rock chute. Once you cross that, you will get to a fork with a sign. To the left the trail goes to Mason Lake, and up is Bandera Mountain. We went toward Bandera Mountain which leads up into the meadows. This is where it got a bit tough. We were on all fours for some of it, clambering up through the boulders and the grass. Although tiring, it was really fun and the flowers were pretty. Sadly though, the bear grass is all gone now. All that remains is empty stalks. I was really hoping to see it.

Once you get up through the meadow you'll pass through some trees and arrive at huge boulders to climb over. We lost the trail at one point, but after climbing up the boulders some more we spotted it again to our right. From there on you head up to the false summit at Little Bandera Mountain and then on to the actually summit just a short distance away. The view was amazing! Absolutely worth the trek up and was perfect for my first hike. The summit has a few trees surrounding it, but you still get a fantastic view.

We had lunch at the summit and then headed down. Going down was rough on the knees and I swear my toes almost busted through my boots, but we made it without incident. Just watch your footing through the meadow on the way down.

It took us two and a half hours to get to the top and about an hour and a half to get back down. The trail is a bit dusty. My legs and shorts had dust all over them at the end. There was no snow at all and there are still some really pretty flowers out. We had bug spray on, which helped with the bugs. Although there weren't that many, I think it could have been a problem without it.

More pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/[…]/

I joined Gary for an after work hike up Bandera Mountain. Gary has been up Bandera more times than me but had not been to the real summit. I did the hike exactly one year earlier and the beargrass was at its peak. The only draw back was the southern facing route on an 85 degree day. The road to the Mason Lake/Bandera trailhead had washed out over the winter in three places. Reports were that the first one was easy to get around, the next one was okay with higher clearance, and the third stopped most folks. We expected an extra third of a mile hike to the parking lot. In fact, the road has very recently been repaired. There were 4 or 5 cars in the lot when we arrived just before 3:00 pm.

The first 1 1/2 miles are in forest and kept the sun at bay somewhat. I knew that Mason Creek had washed away much of the old road/trail but was very surprised to see that there was another huge washout just before the creek. The hillside is completely untouched above the trail but completely gone below. A new trail was been carved out of the hillside to allow easy passage. At Mason Creek the culvert is still there but most of the road around it is gone. It's just hanging there now. All the dirt slid down to a smooth rock slab.

The few beargrass down low were spent. Only the stalks remained. We saw some lupine and paintbrush plus a few other flowers in the forest. When we emerged from the forest the heat really hit me. We had set a good pace up to there but I slowed dramatically in the heat. When we reached the Bandera junction it felt like 95 degrees. The next stretch is the remnant of the old straight up the fall line trail to Bandera. No switchbacks here. Gary took off to get in his work out and I crawled up the slope.

As we ascended the beargrass became better and better. Near the ridge they were just about at their peak. There were some paintbrush, lupine, and tiger lilies mixed in too. Gary was waiting at the ridge top and we continued on together. One last bit of shade in a short forest section then back out into the sun. It took me just about two hours to reach the false summit. We took a short break and then it was on to the real summit. I found the break in the rocks taking us back to the southern slope. The route is mostly on the south side near or at the crest. We found even more beargrass over there and it was all at its peak. Many photos were taken.

My two previous trips had some snow on the crest. This time it was nearly snow free and I found that a trail works its way over to the north side near the low point in the ridge. This worked well and soon we were back on the ridge crest. We climbed around the next false summit and soon reached the boulder fields. We made quick work of the rocks and soon were on the summit. There was just a little breeze here. Island Lake sits just below the summit. Pratt, Granite, Kaleetan, Chair and other peaks are all around. It was nearly 6:00 pm when we arrived. Now it felt like it was down to only 94 degrees.

At least the route back was almost all downhill. As with my two previous visits we managed to lose the route coming back. Again we had to head straight uphill to get back on route. At least we found the false summit okay. The steep section back to the Mason Lake junction is a real knee basher. With the heat I was going just as slow as the ascent. Back on trail the situation improved markedly. The Ira Spring Trail is smooth and nicely graded. We reached the bottom well before 9:00. We did pass by Scott's Dairy Freeze just after 9:00 and it was closed. A not so minor disappointment.

Starting off in the heat of the afternoon on an open southern slope on a trail that ends going straight uphill with big steps is not my favorite thing to do. This trail is worth it though as the flowers and amazing beargrass display is stunning. Gary said it was the best beargrass display he has seen and I concur. Throw in a bit of a scramble and it was worth the pain and heat. A fun summer afternoon after a day of work.

Photos have been posted at: http://www.hikingnorthwest.com. Go to "Trips-2009" on the left margin.