Bandera Mountain, Ira Spring Trail - Mason Lake — Tuesday, Jul. 1, 2008

Snoqualmie Region > North Bend Area

So I’m driving down East Lake Sam at something after 7 a.m. heading for the I-90 on-ramp and while stopped at a light on the north side of Issaquah I spies this sign advertising small-firm office space for rent. It sez: “ If you worked here you would still be in bed”. That got a good chuckle. When 7:40 rolled around I was pulling into the TH parking lot and the only rig in sight. Guess all the other Wednesday hikers were in bed. Now let’s rewind. After you exit the freeway and are driving toward the TH you first are on a paved road. Soon you will see an orange cone in the middle of road. Pay attention, take heed and SLOW WAY DOWN!!! Then move all the way to the left and drive through. I am guessing that a ~3 ft strip was sawn out of the paving so a culvert could be replaced. But if you tune out and hit this spot wrong heading for the TH at warp speed, the drop looks brutal. The first part of the gravel/dirt road to the TH is OK. But after the spur heads uphill to the granite rock quarry, the road to the TH acquires some deeper potholes. Another good time to slow down a bit. The trail to the Bandera false summit only has a small amount of snow in the woods high on the ridge. This does not pose any real problem. The beargrass bloom is spectacular and will be for sometime. If you are planning to do Mt. Defiance any time soon, I recommend you bring your ice axe. The trail above Mason Lake will be mostly snowed in. I could also see a sizeable snow patch on the trail where it traverses the south slope of Defiance. North of Bandera the area with Island and Rainbow Lakes is still snowed in and the lakes frozen. I also visited Mason Lake. As soon as the Ira Spring trail crosses the ridge there is a remnant drift on the trail. This is a steep spot and those unaccustomed to kicking steps in snow or without proper hiking boots should consider admiring the view and using this as their turnaround. After this patch of snow, the trail is mostly snow free as it descends across boulder fields. Once the trail reaches the forest and levels out then it is mostly snowed covered the rest of the way to Mason Lake. You can occasionally see the top of a cut log or just a bit of tread at the edge of a tree well. The careful observer should be able to stay on course. Remember to pack your sense of direction. I only visited the first campsite. That tent spot has up to about a foot of snow. A lot of the surrounding rocky area is snow-free. My plan was to descend via the old trail through the shady cool woods. Alas, I found the spot where the old trail takes off from the Ira Spring trail but the area where the old trail descends was snow covered as far as I could see. So I opted for safety and returned via the Ira trail and its oven-like temperatures. After finally sweating my way down to where the trail crosses Mason Creek and sat there basking in the natural air conditioning. When I left that spot I could literally feel the temps rising again with every step I took. The bugs were not bad at all. Musta been too hot for ’em.