Today we headed to exit 45 off of I-90 and the Ira Spring Trail to Bandera Mountain. I brought an extra litre of water in anticipation of a very hot day and by end of the hike I was glad I did! Even though it was 7:45 in the morning when we arrived at the trailhead, you could already feel the heat building. I was shedding layers and had barely gotten out of the car.
The trail starts off as an old forest service road and starts climbing almost immediately. While much of this three mile section of trail is under the trees, quite a bit of sun broke through and there were plenty of sections where it opened up and we were in full sun. And there were many excelent vantage spots for a great view of the Snoqualmie Valley. Since I was already sweating and breathing hard, I decided to not try to take pictures on the way up the trail - I knew I'd have an opportunity to do so on the way back down. So I concentrated on getting up the trail to the "junction." Let me pause a moment to mention the bugs. I sprayed myself with bug spray at the trail head, but not well enough! We fought off black biting flies, gnats and mosquitos the entire way. Every time I stopped, I reapplied the bug spray. Mental note to myself: Next hike, spray clothes all over at home before leaving because bugs will bite you through your clothes!
The three miles to the junction were tiring in this heat and a steady climb. We reached the junction where some of us would take the lefthand trail to Mason Lake and some of us would go to the right and head up the scramble to Bandera. A scramble, it turns out, is exactly what its name implies. You have to scramble over rocks and up the steep hill, virtually straight up (no switchbacks here). It was amazing to look up the hill and see all the hikers pockmarking the side of the hill. There's no real trail, just a footpath and you look for the best way up. I'm not sure what time it was when we reached the scramble, but there's virtually no tree cover so we were in full sun while climbing.
Good hiking boots and trekking poles are a must for the scramble. The trekking poles are worth their weight in gold! They help you balance as you step up onto rocks higher than your knee (hoping your daypack doesn't pull you over backwards!) rather than having to get down on all fours!
We finally reached the top and had spectacular panoramic views of Mt. Rainier, the valley and on the other side of Bandera, Mason Lake. Looking down at the lake we could see the other team that had chosen that route - swimming in the middle of the lake! The lake looked so inviting, but standing on top of Bandera Mtn, I knew I wasn't going to be able to take a dip myself anytime soon. We rested at the top eating some lunch and taking pictures before heading back down the scramble. After the trek up the hill, I was expecting the way down to be even harder due to the steepness. But trusting my poles and boots, I made my way down only having to fall back onto my butt once! (Did I say that it was hot and buggy out?). After a slow scramble down we made it to the junction again. Some of us were going to go back down to the trailhead and some were going to head down to Mason Lake.
I knew that I wanted to cool off in that lake, so I headed to the lake. We had some small gain in elevation for a short way, but then it was down hill and after I guess a half mile or so we were at the lake. Everyone got into the lake as soon as they could. I cannot tell you how good it felt to take off my boots and sit down on a rock in that lake! It was well into the 90's by this time (the car gauge said 94 when we left the trailhead) and that lake water was nice and cool. We hung out for about an hour before heading back to the trailhead. As we left Mason Lake my 3 litre hydropack ran out of water - luckily I had brought an extra litre of water. Makes for a heavier daypack, but a real life-saver on such a hot day.
The 3.5 or so miles back to the trailhead took us back into tree cover which was nice. Note to self: Buy a sun hat for these hikes! By the time we got back to the parking lot, it was about 3-ish. We got out of our boots and shucked our packs and dove into the air-conditioned car as quickly as possible!
I'm exhausted tonight from the hike, have at least 25 or so bug bites and sunburned my shoulders and face. But it was an awesome hike! I'll edit the post once I have the mileage and elevation gain.
I hear that we may be doing Snow Lake and beyond next weekend. I am going to cover myself in bug spray and sun screen for that one!
The trail starts off as an old forest service road and starts climbing almost immediately. While much of this three mile section of trail is under the trees, quite a bit of sun broke through and there were plenty of sections where it opened up and we were in full sun. And there were many excelent vantage spots for a great view of the Snoqualmie Valley. Since I was already sweating and breathing hard, I decided to not try to take pictures on the way up the trail - I knew I'd have an opportunity to do so on the way back down. So I concentrated on getting up the trail to the "junction." Let me pause a moment to mention the bugs. I sprayed myself with bug spray at the trail head, but not well enough! We fought off black biting flies, gnats and mosquitos the entire way. Every time I stopped, I reapplied the bug spray. Mental note to myself: Next hike, spray clothes all over at home before leaving because bugs will bite you through your clothes!
The three miles to the junction were tiring in this heat and a steady climb. We reached the junction where some of us would take the lefthand trail to Mason Lake and some of us would go to the right and head up the scramble to Bandera. A scramble, it turns out, is exactly what its name implies. You have to scramble over rocks and up the steep hill, virtually straight up (no switchbacks here). It was amazing to look up the hill and see all the hikers pockmarking the side of the hill. There's no real trail, just a footpath and you look for the best way up. I'm not sure what time it was when we reached the scramble, but there's virtually no tree cover so we were in full sun while climbing.
Good hiking boots and trekking poles are a must for the scramble. The trekking poles are worth their weight in gold! They help you balance as you step up onto rocks higher than your knee (hoping your daypack doesn't pull you over backwards!) rather than having to get down on all fours!
We finally reached the top and had spectacular panoramic views of Mt. Rainier, the valley and on the other side of Bandera, Mason Lake. Looking down at the lake we could see the other team that had chosen that route - swimming in the middle of the lake! The lake looked so inviting, but standing on top of Bandera Mtn, I knew I wasn't going to be able to take a dip myself anytime soon. We rested at the top eating some lunch and taking pictures before heading back down the scramble. After the trek up the hill, I was expecting the way down to be even harder due to the steepness. But trusting my poles and boots, I made my way down only having to fall back onto my butt once! (Did I say that it was hot and buggy out?). After a slow scramble down we made it to the junction again. Some of us were going to go back down to the trailhead and some were going to head down to Mason Lake.
I knew that I wanted to cool off in that lake, so I headed to the lake. We had some small gain in elevation for a short way, but then it was down hill and after I guess a half mile or so we were at the lake. Everyone got into the lake as soon as they could. I cannot tell you how good it felt to take off my boots and sit down on a rock in that lake! It was well into the 90's by this time (the car gauge said 94 when we left the trailhead) and that lake water was nice and cool. We hung out for about an hour before heading back to the trailhead. As we left Mason Lake my 3 litre hydropack ran out of water - luckily I had brought an extra litre of water. Makes for a heavier daypack, but a real life-saver on such a hot day.
The 3.5 or so miles back to the trailhead took us back into tree cover which was nice. Note to self: Buy a sun hat for these hikes! By the time we got back to the parking lot, it was about 3-ish. We got out of our boots and shucked our packs and dove into the air-conditioned car as quickly as possible!
I'm exhausted tonight from the hike, have at least 25 or so bug bites and sunburned my shoulders and face. But it was an awesome hike! I'll edit the post once I have the mileage and elevation gain.
I hear that we may be doing Snow Lake and beyond next weekend. I am going to cover myself in bug spray and sun screen for that one!
Pictures featured: (1) The Bandera Group on the scramble back down the mountain. (2) The view of Mason Lake from the top of Bandera. (3) The view of Bandera from Mason Lake.
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