Went up to Mount Defiance via Mason Lake today -- no real issues to report except that due to the storm yesterday, leaving everything pretty soggy, and the amount of brush that grows over portions of the trail, my legs got soaked (of course this had to be the one time I leave the Gore pants at home). Oh well, the sun poked out about half the time while I was on top, and dried me out pretty quick. Decent views from what I could see; clouds obscured anything more than a valley or two away. Be sure to take the left fork a little over a mile out from the trailhead, and stay on the trail (which winds through a very pretty, thickly moss-covered hemlock grove along the creek) for as long as possible. The trail starts to parallel a big field of granite boulders on the right, and eventually the trail ends near the top of that field, at which point you must scramble across. You should be able to see some pink flagging tied to a sign at the top of the boulder field, marking the continuation of the trail to Mason Lake. On the way down, I saw lots of people unnecessarily crawling up the entire boulder field when there is a perfectly good trail just 50 feet to the side. The sign with the flagging instructs you to follow the cairns to get back down -- I think you want to ignore this as the cairns seem to continue all the way down the length of the boulder field. Very misleading if you ask me. If you're not up for the adventure, just go back the way you came.

Started at 10:00am. Ascended to the lake via the old trail that runs along the creek. After a short rest, proceeded up to Defiance. The trail was not clearly marked to the summit, so I erected a cairn. Spent 20 minutes on top, enjoying the nonviews ( It was shrouded in cloud ), and chatting with a friendly doe that hovered about 100 feet away. Headed down along the ""main trail"". Note that this trail is quite dangerous with a large amount of loose rock and is heavily eroded. Hit the parking lot around 4:00pm and was greeted by sunshine. All in all, a tough , berry-laden late summer slog.

The trail to Mason Lake starts as an old logging road with an easy grade. When you com upon a sign to go either straight to Bandera Mt. or left to Mason Lake, the left to Mason becomes a real trail. Not too much later you come to a fork in the trail with no signs. Either will get you to Mason Lake. We took the right trail up and the other way down. The right trail up was extremely steep and scrambly. Dry and nothing interesting to look at. You also have this long rock slope to traverse, which is kind of interesting. The two trails meet on the other side of the rock slope. I highly advise the left trail, though. It's very pretty and goes along the creek (from Mason Lake). Lots of moss and bigger trees, etc. However there are quite a few blow downs that have been there awhile but are quite easy to duck under. You also might want to pay attention to some of the brush you're brushing up against, as there's quite a bit of devil's club along the trail. But by far a much more pleasant trail. Mason Lake was very pretty. Hardly saw any other hikers, so was very quiet. We proceeded on to climb Mt. Defiance. Trail is very decent from here. Eventually it levels out and traverses the mountain for awhile among a massive field of berries. Enough for everyone. Just before you get to another wooded area, you may notice the little trail climbing steeply up to the peak. We climbed to the top, and certainly there would have been nice views if it weren't for being consumed in clouds and fog. Bummer. Oh well. We didn't get rained on but we got soaked from all the wet brush. I think it's time to waterproof my boots again. Over all, it was a very good trip. Probably about 4 1/2 miles or so each way, and about 3000' elevation gain.

Wednesday and the forecast was for clouds on Thursday and Friday with possible drizzle prompted me to skip work and head up to the hills. Thought I would do Mt. Defiance a good short hike for great views. I started up the trail and remembered something I had read here about a trail that left the main trail and headed toward West Defiance. At the switchback on the road trail I turned on the GPS and headed west. The tread followed an abandoned road bed then trail traversing for a mile or so then started ascending on well graded switchbacks. Other switchbacks were seen below. This was obviously an abandoned trail that was not shown on any of my maps or references. The tread is in excellent shape to about 3600’ and is much better than the Mason Lake Way. There was pink tape at each switchback that I considered removing but did not. The trail disappeared into brush for a short section and only traces and tape were found in the steep woods above. At one point I heard something big in the brush that did not sound like a deer. I continued to ascend on patches of well-cemented talus until I emerged onto the slopes below West Defiance (5335’). At 4700’ I began traversing toward the connecting ridge to Mt. Defiance. The side hill was painful but easier once the crest was met. I followed the ridge to its low point and dropped to join the Mt. Defiance trail, which passes on a bench below. Ascending the trail leads too a side trail on a corner that goes to the summit. I descended the Mt. Defiance trail to Mason Lake and followed the Mason Lake Way back to the abandoned road. New cairns had been built on the rockslide pointing out the way but the direct up from the road continues to deteriorate. This is a great 7.5 mi. loop with a little adventure combined with the misery of the Way trail. Most of the elevation gain is in woods with the only problem being a total absence of water.

This extremely challenging & interesting trail is a great alternative to the crowded Granite Mt. crowds. The people are much fewer and the feel of wilderness is greater; all at 45 minutes from Seattle. From the Lake, follow the trail about a quarter mile to a junction with the Pratt Lake & Mt. Defiance trails. From here the path widens, flattens, and is much better maintained. Take a left and gradually gain the ridge, about 2 miles. The forest opens up to steep meadowlands, and the flowers were in their fullest bloom, incredibly beautiful, even on this day of dense clouds. All the hills were alive with the smell of flowers, and most colors were represented: white bear grass & avalanche lilys, purple tinted subalpine daiseys & bleeding hearts, incredibly beautiful orange tiger lilies, and the biggest, fullest, red paintbrush that I had ever seen. Outstanding. Just as the trail starts to dip, find a tiny little path heading straight up. About thirty paces from the top, an aggressive doe stood on the trail and wouldn't let me pass. Despite my most intimidating looks, it took about ten minutes to get past her. Bugs on top made it downright miserable: ants crwaled through my pack, while flies, mosquitos, and bees swirled around my head constantly. Coming down, I began to think that maybe I hadn't actually climbed up Defiance, for the clouds obscured my view and the peak is not very alpine in character. Looking at my map at home, however, I think the more alpine peak visible from the trailhead is just called #5335, so I guess I did make it. Great trip. Trail enforcement: Ranger was parked at trailhead, and numerous cars had been cited already when I arrived. My letter of protest, however, seems to have spared me a ticket...