Bandera Mountain — Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015

Snoqualmie Region > North Bend Area

Today was incredible! My friends and I headed out in the afternoon and the parking lot was fairly full with some people parked back down the road, but we easily found spots in the lot. We started out and it was fairly gradual and about a mile in it got pretty steep and didn't let up until the junction with the trail to mason lake and mount defiance. We took the right fork up to Bandera. This is a scramble up and be prepared to climb using your hands. It wasn't too difficult, but coming down was a little rough on the knees. Once we passed the steep section, there was some mud that was avoidable with caution. When you head into the trees, there is some serious ice that will remain with you on the trail for the rest of the hike. We forged our own path right to the side of the trail (as carefully as possible) because the ️snow was a bit deeper and much easier to walk in. We slipped and slided on the way down (even with good boots). Crampons or microspikes are recommended. The views at the top were absolutely spectacular. Well worth the ice and the haul up! We very much enjoyed it. It was a little tough for the pup in all the ️snow, but overall, beautiful.