A two-fer Sunday: Mason Lake first, then Bandera. And boy, are my legs sore! 

We got to the Ira Spring trailhead early, just before 7. The parking lot was less than halfway full, so getting there early pays off on a sunny day! The road in was fine, lots of potholes, but nothing that even a low-clearance vehicle couldn't handle. That said, there's a big one where the paved road meets the gravel/unpaved road. Be ready for that one!

The trailhead toilet was in pretty good shape, though low on toilet paper even when I used it that morning, so it's a good idea to bring your own (and bring your own hand sanitizer, too). 

Note: If you choose to do Mason Lake + Bandera in one day, I highly recommend heading to Mason Lake first (a la doing Bridal Veil Falls before Lake Serene, if you're familiar). My wobbly legs would not have wanted to continue to Mason Lake after descending from Bandera (lol). 

TO MASON LAKE

Because we got such an early start, it was a quiet hike up to Mason Lake. We got passed by a few backpackers who were heading down, and a couple of trail runners (and one very speedy hiker) who were on their way up. The trail is in good shape, albeit quite very rocky in some places, so poles were nice on the way down when my legs were a little wobblier. 

The lake is beautiful, as always. It's been years since I've been to the lake, and it's as lovely as I remember. Bugs were annoying at the lake, though they weren't mosquitoes and were never bad enough to pull out any bug spray. We sat around the lake for a while, and got the lake to ourselves for like 20 minutes — another nice bonus to starting early! 

TO BANDERA

It has also been many years since I've done Bandera and I apparently forgot how steep this hike was. WOW. 

The trail is in pretty good shape — that is, it's easy to follow for the most part, and, with poles, I didn't have too tough of a time staying on my feet. That said, I would not have wanted to come down this trail without poles. Lots of "rock steps" (if you can call them that — they're really mostly just rocks, see photo #3), though you get incredible views the whole time, and the top of Adams as you climb higher. 

We saw wildflowers all day, but they were really popping on this stretch to Bandera, with paintbrush, beargrass, tiger liles, and probably other wildflowers I'm forgetting/can't identify (because I'm bad at identifying plantlife). It was really beautiful. My pictures don't do any of it justice. 

We stopped at Little Bandera Peak. We heard other folks talking about how the trail ahead to Bandera was a big of a mess, and we felt good about stopping there. There were nice rocks to sit on there for a break, and we were just about ready to start heading back down to the trailhead anyway. 

We (unsurprisingly) ran into many more folks on our way down, and the parking lot was full when we got back, with cars parked down the road over a quarter-mile. A fun day for a pretty tough hike! 

Great day on the trail! The parking lot was nearly full by 8 AM, but once on the trail, groups were nicely spread out, so it didn’t feel crowded.

The road up had a few small potholes—nothing unmanageable for most vehicles. There’s just one larger pothole where the gravel begins, so watch out for that.

The trail itself was in great condition with beautiful views throughout and lots of wildflowers!! The lake was absolutely stunning—perfect for a swim! A bit chilly, but super refreshing.

By the time we returned, the parking lot and even a long stretch down the road were packed with cars. Definitely a busy Sunday!

The TL;DR on the Putrid Pete's Peak route to Defiance: Mind blowing views, but steep, as in lean into the mountain and use your hands steep. You should probably have some scrambling experience if you want to tackle this one.

My route was a clockwise loop, up Putrid Pete's Peak (P3), along the ridge, up to Mount Defiance and back via Mason Lake / Ira Spring trail. A friend suggested this to me as good training for scrambles later in the season. 

The trail starts by going straight on the Ira Spring Connector at the first bend of the Mason Lake Trail. Someone put sticks over the trail, likely to keep Mason Lake hikers from taking the wrong trail. The Connector is well maintained. A ways in you'll hit a sign for the continuation of the Connector, you take a right up the hill there. 

From there, the first half of P3 is reminiscent of the Old Si Trail - elevation gain, but with lots of switchbacks making it not too bad. When the switchbacks stop, the rest of the trail is straight up. It's a semi-scramble, similar to Snoqualmie Mountain (and steeper than Mailbox, since that's the trail everyone compares steepness to). Judging from the Strava heat map, it appears a lot of people turn around when they hit this part. 

The advantage of such a steep hike is that the views are incredible. After you get above the treeline, there are also tons of wildflowers right now. Rather than go to Web Mountain, I took a right and walked along the ridge. You have panoramic views to either side, Spider Valley and Lake as well as the I90 corridor. The first half of the ridge can be a route finding challenge. Once it dips into the trees it's a little more clear. 

Defiance was beautiful, but super buggy. They weren't biting bugs, but they swarm your face and are annoying. This was the only place bugs were an issue. 

The way down to Mason Lake was dry, and after the scramble and ridge hike, super easy. Mason Lake had a really nice breeze, so there were no bugs at all. People were swimming. The temperature and breeze were so perfect I stayed for a while. 

I saw no one on the P3 trail or the ridge until I turned up to Defiance, and only 4 people from there to Mason Lake. Mason Lake had one camp set up and one or two other people. On the way down I saw around 15 people coming up the trail, most with with overnight packs. Mid-week is definitely the time to hit Mason Lake. 

The trail was not too busy on a Friday afternoon. I made the round trip in about 3.5 hours with my dog, including a 30 minute lunch stop at the lake. The only bugs were right by the water but they weren't too bad.

watch out for the big pot hole on the road in. It's right where the paved road turns to gravel.

If you own a pee cloth (Kula or otherwise), I recommend bringing that even to the toilet at the trailhead. Paper quickly runs low when staffing is uncertain.

What a delightful trail to honor Ira Spring, the late hiking guidebook author who played a key role in the history of WTA, serving on its Board of Directors from 1982 until his passing in 2003.  
That footbridge across Mason Lake is quite impressive, too. I would have liked to witness them felling that tree and then situating it across the water.