Mount Defiance, Ira Spring Trail - Mason Lake — Friday, Jun. 5, 2015

Snoqualmie Region > Snoqualmie Pass

An early start on a day predicted to be sunny and warm. Heading east on I-90 with a few wisps of cloud around Mt. Si, but most peaks out in the clear. Turn off at Exit 45 and take Forest Roads 9030 and 9031. A few rough spots, but none of the big potholes I've often encountered in the past. And there's enough moisture in the road bed that there's no dust. The parking lot is almost empty, my car the second one there. I'm off on the Ira Spring Trail at 6 a.m. Early enough, I hope, to miss afternoon heat. A few wildflowers show up immediately: miner's lettuce and twin flower, thimbleberry and false lily of the valley. There will be many more. At the crossing of Mason Creek, two large squared-up logs sit off to the side, plus a bundle of posts. And a notice that Mason Creek is getting an all-season bridge! Today, it doesn't matter. The water level is low enough for an easy crossing on the bounders. But in future times of heavy rain or rapid snow melt, the bridge will be welcome. So it's up the familiar old forest road - now trail - then onto the steeper trail, finally out onto the rocks. I pass the side trail to Bandera and continue on toward Mason Lake and Mt. Defiance, with the mountain itself visible directly ahead. The surprise is the near-absence of bear grass. There are a few individuals out, some stalks just starting to flower, but compared to the exuberant growth of last year it's nothing. (See my trip report photo for June 30, 2014. True, that was three weeks later, but last year's snow lingered much later too.) At the ridge top I pass the Ira Spring Memorial, then descend on moister trail some 150 feet to cross Mason Creek again, this time at the outlet of the lake. I press on, avoiding the side trail through the swamp to Little Mason Lake (It's easier to stay on the trail now. The "Main Trail" signs that were there a few years ago, then went missing, have been restored.) At the T-junction I turn right on the Mt. Defiance Trail and head toward the mountain. The trail is a bit muddy in spots, but the snow banks so prominent last year at the end of June are all gone. In the meadow a few wildflowers are out, valerian and paintbrush, columbine and lupine, but the glacier lilies that appear just as the snow melts are long gone. I note a bit of motion at the upper end of the meadow. It's a pair of deer, a doe and a buck with velvet antlers. Too far away, and moving too quickly, for a photo op. At the west end of the meadow I find the unsigned, but obvious route heading up toward the summit. And when I reach the top there is no one else there! Rainier and Adams are out to the south, and Glacier Peak and Baker to the north. Many other peaks are visible, and all the nearby lakes. Lake Kulla Kulla down below is completely still, at least for a first few minutes, but then the breeze comes up and the sun-reflecting ripples begin to appear. I have the Defiance summit all to myself for about 40 minutes, when a few other hikers begin to appear, and I encounter a few more as I descend the steep route back to the main trail. And I encounter more folks - late starters - on my way back to the trailhead. Trails were in good condition today. Minimal mud and only a couple of blowdowns, easily stepped over or around. Wildflowers were less profuse than in some years, although I did count 32 species I recognized, plus the usual few whose names I don't know. It was a great day to be out for a hike, just over nine miles round trip with an elevation change (max-min) of 3,384 feet. There were a few bugs in the air, but they mostly ignored me.