Gorgeous late-spring day, perfect for a hike.
We arrived at the trailhead at around 10:15 Monday morning and there was plenty of space in the parking lot. The trail was in great shape up to Mason Lake and took us a couple hours. The lake is beautiful, and the surrounding boulders made for an excellent lunch spot.
After a decent pause, we decided we had enough vigor to continue on to Mount Defiance. From the lake onward, there was much more snow on the trail, but it was relatively easy to navigate and traverse, with plenty of footprints to follow. Shortly after leaving the lake, we ran into a lady coming the other direction who warned us that the snow was a significant obstacle ahead and that it had caused her to turn around prematurely. We decided to continue on anyways, and although there were some steep sections through the snow, we were able to trudge on up without incident.
Before long, the trail extends onto the south face and the snow disappears, replaced by radiant meadows of yellow avalanche lilies. After the junction near the peak, the trail becomes significantly steeper, but it doesn't last long and soon enough we emerged onto the summit and enjoyed remarkable views in every direction. Rainier dominated, as expected, but Adams was also peeking out behind it. To the north, we saw Baker, Glacier, Hinman, and Daniel. Stuart was visible to the east, and to the west we could make out the distant Olympics as well as the towers of Seattle and Bellevue.
The trip back down was uneventful, and we arrived back at the car just after 5:00.
Great hike, only downside being that I-90 is quite audible along much of its length (although thankfully not by Mason Lake).
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