First time on this trail. Arrived at parking lot @ 9:30AM. Only 2 other vehicles in parking lot, surprising considering the beautiful clear skies. Started up the trail(road) in firm snow only a few inches deep. Walked the mile or so thru second growth forest before hitting the actual trail tread. From here, the trail climbs steeper before finally entering open meadows and rock fields. Wind was blowing particularly hard from the east and was causing serious blowing and drifting snow. Avalanche danger seemed high on open slopes so we climbed thru the trees to attain the ridge which drops down into Mason Lake. Wind was much less in the lake basin, with maybe 3 feet or so of snow at lake. After a quick lunch break, headed up east ridge of Mount Defiance. Struggled up the ridge in snowshoes in deep snow for an hour before stopping 200 feet below summit. Wind was blowing too hard and slopes above didnt seem too safe to be on. Was a beautiful day nonetheless. Back down to car in 2hrs. 6 hrs RT.

Little Bandera Mountain is a great local destination for any scramblers out there, but it it not quite ready for a typical hiker. Snow begins about halfway up, or about 2/3 of the way to the junction with Mason Lake trail. When you are on the final switchback and are hiking east to the junction,about halfway up the switchback, most of the footprints veer off to the left and go straight up the slope over snow and boulders and head toward the top of the ridge, Little Bandera's western arm. Follow those prints because the route they will lead you on is much easier than the actual route. Climb a bit over the boulders and you will reach the trail that leads west to Mason Lake. You will notice prints continue north up the slope. The route from here is non-technical but pretty steep and tiring, so pace yourself! About halfway from that trail to the top of the ridge, start moving a bit diagonally (NE) up towards the summit so you avoid the trees. You should see plenty of footprints. Just keep going and you will make it to the ridge crest. Then continue east up the slopes to the summit of Little Bandera Mountain. The route to the main summit of Bandera is snowed in and looked pretty dangerous. Do not attempt until more snow melts. Besides, the views from Little Bandera are good enough, as you will see. Views include Kaleetan and Chair Peaks, Granite mountain, McClellan Butte, Mt. Kent, Mt. Si, the Middle Fork Valley, North Bend, the Olympics, Bellevue, and Seattle.

Winter at 4,000 ft!

Based on earlier weather reports we were expecting sunny weather. Fooled again. Luckily Mason Lake was well worth it.

Road to the trailhead was good and only one other car. Started out in light drizzle. Snow on trail started at 3,000 ft and was solid just before breaking out into the open (3,400 ft). While you don't need snowshoes (snow is solid), its a good idea to have hiking poles and gaiters.

To navigate to Mason Lake I strongly suggest having a map and gps and how to use them. The only tracks are those up to Bandera Mt. as the wind and weather had erased the trail (where Ira Spring trail splits) to Mason Lake clean. While you could pick up the trail near the ridge crest just before entering Alpine Lakes Wildnerness {ALW}, parts of it near the lake were again simply gone.

Ah, but the need for cross-country snow navigation paid off. You got to love gps. :-) Above 3,400 ft the rain turned to snow and the trip into the ALW was magical. No noise from I90, just quietness, a frozen lake, and snow covered trees, all to ourselves. While the snow depth was only 2-3 ft, (grass was poking out near the lake edge), it still was very much full into winter. The hike out was a quick trip from winter to spring.

Highly recommended if you can manage the navigation.

At 9:00 AM, we were the only car in the parking lot at the Ira Springs Trailhead. The parking lot, trail, trees and brush were covered in ice. It was beautiful but treacherous. I recently purchased Katoola Microspikes for $65.00 from REI. I heartily recommend them for most of the conditions we encountered. The other members of our party were wearing Yak Trax. Nice, but not quite the security of the Microspikes.

We love the Old Mason Lake trail so we took that route up to Mason Lake. Many thousand thanks to the person(s) who have recently improved that trail. It is wonderful! While steep, it is shorter and far more interesting than plodding up the Ira Springs Trail.

On the old trail, since we were not wearing snowshoes, there were a couple of sections through boulders that were a bit treacherous as we occasionally broke through deep snow into gaping holes. Tread lightly!

When we left the car, it was foggy. As we gained elevation, we climbed above the fog into sunshine. At Mason Lake, we sat on boulders and enjoyed the warmth of the sun as we ate lunch. It was such a beautiful day we thought it odd there were no other hikers at the lake. After snapping numerous photos we started up to Bandera Pass. We decided to go back on the Ira Springs Trail to be kinder to Kevin’s knees and to experience more views of the area.

Near the outlet of Mason Lake to Mason Creek, we found a stand of trees encased in ice. Droplets of water were coursing down the bark behind the ice. The droplets looked alive. This was a fascinating phenomenon we had not seen before.

At Bandera Pass we saw the fog in the I-90 valley and saw Mt. Ranier crowned with a cloud. It was spectacular!

Then we started down the Ira Springs Trail and quickly found the reason no one else had joined us at the lake. It appears wind had blown snow across the side of the Bandera Ridge on which the trail crosses. The snow filled in the trail. After a short period there was no sign of a trail. A vast expanse of snow the consistency of a snow cone covered the side of the mountain often steeper than 90 degrees.

Kevin was the heaviest in our party. He insisted on going first. He kick-stepped across the mountainside. He is somewhat agorophobic. To avoid the terror of looking down he started to angle up slightly. Eventually we saw off in the distance the edge of the ridge on which a steep trail ascends to the top of Bandera Mountain. The snow seemed to disappear at that point. Kevin headed toward the edge of the ridge. He stomped three times for each step to create a firm surface. Thus, there was little risk for Kazuyo and me as we carefully stepped into the steps Kevin created. We made it!

We downclimbed to the intersection of the Bandera Trail with the Ira Springs Trail. We were not out of danger yet. A few more feet and the trail disappeared again in the steep snow! After consulting our Green Trails map, we decided to climb down through the trees and intercept the trail at a lower elevation. We clutched the branches of trees and slid, post-holed and slipped down and down. We were very happy to find the trail.

As we descended into the fog, the ice got thicker and thicker on the trees lining the trail. The evergreen trees lining the trail looked like spooky sentinels with their arms weighted down with heavy coats of ice. Many branches of the deciduous trees had broken off from the weight of the ice and many others bent into barriers on the trail. We were very, very happy to make it back to the parking lot where we found only one other vehicle.

What a beautiful, unusual, adventuresome day!

See trip photos: http://www.flickr.com/[…]/