We showed-up to the trailhead around 8:45 and there were about 5 cars in the lot. It felt humid and in the upper 60's.
We didn't make it all the way up to Mason Lake as the snow stopped us at about 3,000 feet (as the previous trip report reported) and we didn't feel like dealing with that sort of activity. We stopped at 3,000 feet (which on our pedometer was exactly 3 miles) and had lunch. As we ate a surge of other hikers welled-up to where we'd stopped. Some continued on equipped with microspikes, snowshoes, ice-axes and the like, others stopped and ate, like us.
The visibility was magnificent (much less hazy than the previous day). For much of the hike (especially the relatively steep last mile) the views were gorgeous. Rainier was lookin' magnanimous to the South and the view was open a long way towards the West. We saw a tiny snake on the descent and loads of chipmunks.
This is my first post on WTA, and I was compelled to make it because of an act of kindness by a fellow hiker. As noted in the previous post, a bridge is washed out over a river... the river plummets down a steep slope just after where the bridge washed out, so it was kind of scary. Like, somebody could die if they lost their footing and tumbled a few feet downriver. So, on the ascent, a few logs had been laid across the creek which made passing fun and relatively stable with a staff to help with balance, but on the descent, the logs had been washed-out, and the pass did not look so simple... however, some very cool person or persons ran a rope across the river, which turned the experience from somewhat frightening to absolutely fun and kind of made our day. So, whoever ran that rope across and left it there... thank you!
We plan on returning in a few weeks to make it up to Mason Lake and perhaps further along the trail along the Mt. Defiance Trail.

What a wonderful day to head up the Ira Spring trail.

The road is clear and in great shape all the way to the trail head.

The trail is in great shape there is only one creek crossing that you need to be careful on that is in the first section of the trail. Some one was kind enough to lay some logs across that are not slippery at all but barely keep you out of the water.

There is no snow till you get up to about 3000 feet or so just a little ways before the trail splits heading to Mason lake or to Bandera Mountain. If you are going to go in the next week or so I do recommend that you take your Ice Axe with you as you get up to Little Bandara the slope is step the the boot tracks are melting out as soon as they are made. The slop its self is stable and appears to be well anchored in the talus field. If you are going to go get there early so that the snow is not to soft. On my way down I kept post holing up to my knees and with the rocks below you need to be really careful.

Other then that it was the perfect day to go up. once at 5000 on Little Bandera I was able to see all the way down to Mt Adams and all the way north to Mt Baker and everything in between. Round trip with the snow was about 5 hours including a long lunch break..

If the warm weather keeps up most of the snow should be gone with in the next couple of weeks I would think.

Update to the Ira Spring Trail: About 0.5mi past the trailhead, the river crossing is VERY sketchy. The river/waterfall is currently at full steam and was all but uncrossable until we crudely laid some logs across it. Upon our return after a very warm day, the river was even higher and the log bridge was taken out. We laid some more logs from what we found but I would be surprised if it lasted another day.

In Short: Use caution, with the river this high, there is a significant chance to lose footing on a crude log/stick crossing and the consequences could be devastating with the river drop/waterfall mere feet from the crossing.

My original plan was to go up Mt Defiance (for Cinco de-Fiance) but I ended up on Bandera instead. The road into the trailhead was very smooth and I was the third car in the lot. Snow free trail all the way to where the switchbacks begin around 3500 ft. Then some patchy snow, and solid snow where the trail breaks out of the trees.

Here is where my plan changed. I could see a lot of snow on Defiance, but the rib leading to the ridge on Bandera was nearly snow free! I kicked steps straight up in surprisingly good snow and reached the Mason Lake trail junction. From here up to the ridge top was pretty much snow free. I hit solid snow again on the ridge but it had a well established boot path and minimal postholing, though I had an early start.

I continued up the ridge to the false summit. Ahead of me the snow coverage on the ridge out to the true summit was great. I gave it a shot, but after about 5 minutes turned back. The sun was now on the ridge and the snow softening very quickly. I was afraid of breaking through into a tree well or sliding off the edge. Being solo today, I retreated to the false summit and called it good.

Descending, I continued farther down the ridge towards Mason Lake and found better snow coverage. A combination of plunge stepping and slow-glissades got be back down to the main trail. The snow was liquifying very quickly now and I was glad to be heading out. Some others were just now reaching the snowfields.

A little further down I ran into a uniformed Forest Service volunteer. I assumed she was checking on trail construction but she informed me that they were trying to keep people from crossing the snowfields since they were expecting slides. And I was also informed they are doing the same on Granite Mountain ever since the recent avalanche death. Snow conditions seemed good early on, but later in the day I could see problems developing. Based on the thin snow depth I figure post-holing injuries would be much more likely than avalanche though. There were many people up there unprepared for the conditions. Hope everyone stayed safe.