Mason Lake, Bandera Mountain, Mount Defiance

Hard to believe I've been hiking this long and this was my first trip to Mt. Defiance. I've cut across the shoulder of it coming back from Putrid Petes but never took the side trip to the top. And I didn't even intend to today! My ankle still felt weird from last week so I opted to hike to Mason Lake. I felt alright in my sneakers at a slow pace so I needed something gentle and easy. Along the way I passed MiddleE heading towards Kaleetan.

The road was pretty rough. Less than a mile after the Talapus road turn off is a little dip that stopped a few very low cars. Another washout further on was more difficult but my Outback made it through, I just had to dip down into the ditch for some tippy driving. I didn't try the final washout since it's only a quarter mile from there to the trailhead. Later more than one large 4x4 drove through. I parked on the side and walked onward.

My pace would have made Slugman proud. I deliberately went slow to avoid aggravating my ankle. Great flower show on the Bandera slopes! Tons of bear grass, I've never seen so many in one place! It was very dry and hot until I reentered the forest, dropping to Mason lake. Already there were three or four tents setup here. This was my initial goal for the day but my ankle felt good enough so I walked onwards to Defiance. Even nicer flowers high up on the slopes here! A little bear grass, lots of lupine, paintbrush, and a few tiger lilies thrown in. It was toasty and crowded on the summit so I didn't stay too long, starting my slow trip back down.

I had to be extra careful walking down, my sneakers didn't provide too much traction in the dry dirt tread. Happily I made it back to Mason without slipping anywhere. At the lake it was so warm I made a half-hearted attempt to go swimming but chickened out after wading in knee deep. Still, the water felt very refreshing on my sore feet. There were several more tents with a few more backpackers on the way. I couldn't believe the number of hikers heading up with the trailhead isn't even reachable by car!

Back at the road cars were lining both sides all cattywumpus. It was a tight squeeze just to get out of my parking area. I overheard another hiker saying she had more than a mile road walk back to her little Honda Fit. I gave her a lift, hating road walking myself. Cars were parked right up against the middle washout forcing me to go even further into the ditch to get by. Always fun to use my Outback the way they show in the commercials.

Road report: Most cars should get through the first small washout but the second more was stopping some Honda/Toyota sedans. The last one was passed my a beatup little Honda Civic but I'd bring a Subaru or truck. The big washout is doable in a 4x4 but is only ~ 1/4 mile from the trailhead.

Trail conditions: Snow free! No snow all the way up Bandera and all the camps around Mason are fully thawed. Only one tiny snow patch going up Defiance. Looking back from the summit I could see Mason, Kulla Kulla, Rainbow, Blazer, Island, and lower Tuscohatchie lakes were all thawed.

Photos here: http://www.pbase.com/billcat/mtdefiance1/