Type of Hike
Day hike
I decided to hit bandera mountain the last two weekends in a row, July 17 greeted me with overcast skies and fog. Arrived at the trailhead at about 9:30am with 20 cars present. Changed into my boots and headed out. It was very humid out so the sweat was running into my eyes after I hit the steep bits. Passed quite a few folks along the way, including a very annoying guy who had an mp3 player with speakers blasting. Everytime someone passed, he asked if they had requests. I quickly zoomed away!
Arrived at the Bandera cutoff and headed up. Bear grass, tiger lilies,paintbrush, lupine, penstemon, heather are all in bloom! Very stunning up there, about 1/2 way up the scramble, I emerged above the clouds and had a nice view down the valley toward Seattle and also of Mount Rainier. This is the first time I've been to Bandera on a clear day so I was thrilled. Enjoyed a brief lunch with about 3 other parties of 2-3 each. Started back down the hill and found HOARDS of large crowds coming in and away from the Mason lake trail. Really, HOARDS! Groups of 20+ people! Lots of pets too and none were on a leash. Doesn't bother me at all, but some folks are afraid of dogs. Arrived back at the trailhead to find a mile long string of cars parked along the road. Glad I arrived early.
July 24th was a little different. Started out 90 minutes earlier. Lots of people arriving at the trailhead at 8am but still plenty of parking in the main parking area. Passed a lot of folks going up. Met three groups that came down from bandera ahead of me. The wildflowers are still in full bloom and will be for at least another week. Had the top to myself for about 25 minutes when three guys came up followed shortly by two other guys and then three girls. Ate my lunch and headed back down the mountain. Arrived to the parking area to again find a mile long string of cars. Much warmer hiking day, no clouds, and a lot less humid. Will plan on hitting bandera again next weekend; it's a great training hike. See you there!
Comments