My favorite so far!

Reviewed By: Alex on Tuesday, June 29, 2010 @ 11:01:39 PM

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This was my sixth hike since moving to the state 2 months ago.  Fun and challenging hike.  At 8 miles or so round trip, it makes for a great day hike without a lot of driving.  Beautiful views of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams on a clear day.  Definitely explore Mason Lake as well for a very well-rounded hike.  The last mile up to Bandera had my hamstrings screaming at me, but it was fun - a bit of a scramble at the top keeps you engaged.  I will do this hike again.  Make sure you're driving a vehicle that can handle a rough and wood-strewn road to the trailhead.

Use Only One Backpack

Reviewed By: Andrew G. on Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 08:08:45 PM

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So today, a group of friends and myself decided to climb Bandera. Two bagged on us at the last minute, so it was myself and two others. We arrived at the trailhead at about 8 with probably three cars at the trailhead. We set out on what we thought would be a memorable hike, and it was indeed. One of my friends, who was extremely out of shape, kept needing to stop, even on the almost flat sections, complaining of being dizzy and weak. Well frankly, we were determined to summit under almost all circumstances (we remained smart, if this friend was ready to pass out, we would stop and slowly back down). I had it when we had to stop yet again, so i told him to give me his backpack to carry the last 2.5 miles up the trail. He didn't have a problem with that. So now, i had two backpacks on, one in front and one in back. This proved to be quite adventourous.

Now we could keep going. We finally reached the turn off to Bandera, and let me tell you, that one straight up mile was hard enought, but with two backpacks on, it was pretty difficult. But we made it still ( I even beat the friend who had no backpack because he gave it to me). Trailhead to summit took about 2 hours and 10 minutes. Almost no snow on the south side until about the very top; the north side still had some. We stopped and eat, which was lovely way up there, with the absolutely excellent views. We left to return to the car, and I gave my friend the backpack back; he was fine going downhill, thank goodness. Took us about 1 hour and 40 minutes to desummit. Going up, we saw two couples at the top and that was it. Coming down was an absolute zoo. Think Mt. Si but with a bunch more avid hikers. The trailhead was completely overflowing with cars. Good thing we left so early.

So ultimately, great hike, great weather, great company, only one suggestion to any who want to hike it.

Make sure you only have to wear on backpack.

Recent storms = no trail

Reviewed By: Abe and Puckett on Monday, April 19, 2010 @ 11:42:50 AM

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Hiked to Mason lake last month and the snow was barely noticeable. Yesterday it was easy hiking for about 2.5 miles to the boulder field. From here the trail dissapears under a foot of snow. Snow shoes seemingly nessesary as the warmer weather is melting the top layer of snow, meaning regular hiking boots sink in a foot with every step. Called the hike off at the boulder field (as everyone else was) May go back this week either with snowshoes or without a dog and climb up the boulders.

hike

Reviewed By: britt on Monday, February 22, 2010 @ 06:09:34 PM

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it was fun but how tale is it

Snowy hike

Reviewed By: wendogger on Saturday, February 6, 2010 @ 06:40:00 PM

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Review: As warm as January has been this year, there was still a considerable amount of snow up top thru the boulders. This was my first time on this trail. I thoroughly enjoyed everything but the snow. My yaktrax were not sufficient for this, I needed crampons. We did have some sun and lots of wind. I really wanna come back in the spring and do it again. There was 10 in my group and only 2 went all the way up...we all had to head back down...just not prepared I guess. ;-)

Snow in mid-May on summit

Reviewed By: S&J on Saturday, May 16, 2009 @ 09:55:32 PM

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Beautiful views at the top. Other than the mountain views, there were a few small waterfalls. Unfortunately most of these were flowing over the trail. Bring waterproof shoes! Be prepared for snow as the last 1/2 mile with an 45 degree incline is completely covered and rather challenging. After you reach the summit, sliding down is a blast!

Another negative is that the road leading to the trailhead is washed out in several places and you have to park about 2 miles from the trailhead. Additionally, you will hear the cars on I-90 and a shooting range for half the hike. The spectacular views at the top make everything worth it!

90-degrees hot; 45-degrees up

Reviewed By: Dutch on Sunday, June 29, 2008 @ 09:54:41 PM

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Myself and three others set out at 8 AM to climb Bandera. Three of us made it to the peak by 10:30-ish but were all feeling the quads burn. The fourth (a friend of ours who could lose maybe 40 lbs.) was too spent after the ascent to the Bandera/Mason split point so he sat and took in the view from there. You have to be in decent shape to reach the peak, but as we were going up the steep and rocky trail a couple in their late 50's were heading down, so if your legs are in good working order and you're not carrying too many extra pounds then you'll make without too much problem. Today was 90-degrees, though, and with the abundance of sweat that will pour from you on this hike you should keep applying the sunscreen often. There's no tree cover for about 1/3 of the hike so be prepared for that. Also, fill that water pack up to the full level and pace your drinking. I ran out when I got to the peak and had the pleasure of experiencing a dry dusty mouth the trek down the mountain. All in all, this was a fun hike. The views are worth the effort.

Shorter Length of Time

Reviewed By: Anonymous on Saturday, June 30, 2007 @ 09:33:30 AM

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A friend and I visited on Friday, June 29th. We left the trailhead around 9:15 am and were sitting in the car around 1:40 pm.  This was after a really quick lunch since the rain was approaching.  We even saw some little flakes of snow while at the summit.  Either way, I don't believe the "new trail" (since I haven't seen the old one) would take you 6 hours as reported in the above description unless you also hiked to Mason Lake.

A Knee Knocker

Reviewed By: Go4Hike on Friday, June 29, 2007 @ 10:02:15 PM

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Hike Report of June 26, 2007 - The three mile (or thereabouts) dirt road approaching the Ira Spring trailhead is in pretty poor condition for a passenger car, but is do-able if one goes slowly. Along the road you see the damage from the winter storms, but the road has been cleared.The first 20 minutes or so of the hike were at a fairly level grade along sun-dappled road through slender trees, then abruptly starts to gain elevation. Weather permitting (as it was on Tuesday) you may have large views of Mt. Rainier and McClellan Butte. Just prior to the junction of Mason Lake & Bandera at about 2.5 miles, the Bear Grass really started making an appearance & once arriving at the junction there was Bear Grass covering the entire hillside, as thick as I've ever seen it, very beautiful & creating great photo opportunities. As stated in previous posts, the most grueling part of the hike begins on the ascent of Bandera (though even the portion prior to the junction tired me quickly in the heat.) This day it was quite warm out, and there was a strong breeze which was both a blessing and a curse, it helped prevent overheating, but thought for a moment it might take me off my feet on the steep hillside. This part of the hike is completely exposed to the weather, there is no coverage. During this part of the ascent trekking poles were shortened to a very short length to be of use, and often set aside in favor of using one's hands to grasp the rocks on the 'trail' ahead.  Continuing up the mountain the Bear Grass continued, and Rainier was in fine form. There's a point where the trail gives way to rocky hillside, its a bit of a guess just where to go, other than 'up'. Climbing the rock bed, the trail again became apparant and the trail leveled out a bit and winded through a treed area, and then again there is rock scrambling to views of Mason Lake & (?) Kulla Kulla and more views. The only snow is off-trail, and the hike was pretty much bug-free. After descending back down Bandera, my knees were weak and wobbly from the steep descent. Overall a great hike, but pretty difficult.

A tough, yet worthy hike

Reviewed By: Kirk on Sunday, August 20, 2006 @ 08:26:06 PM

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Review: The previous user is correct in that the hike is 3.8 miles.  I went up by myself on a Thursday, and had a wonderful time.  I saw mabye 20 people during the duration of the hike, and was alone at the summit.  The is is somewhat challenging, and the when the path splits off from the Mason Lake trail, the going gets real tough.  But it proved to be worth it in the end.  With views of Mt. Rainier to the south and Mt. Baker to the north, as well as a nice view of the I-90 corridor, the hike was a nice respite from the city.  I went up in mid-August, so most of the wildflowers were on their way out, but there was still some subalpine lupine and indian paintbrush around.  It was a wonderful hike on a wonderful day.

The bird robbed me...

Reviewed By: Nod on Sunday, October 9, 2005 @ 03:25:04 PM

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Review: The trip to Bandera is 3.8 miles. Not the 4.5 stated on attrition. Most of the hike is fairly easy, until about 30min. from the top. Right at the junction to Mason Lake, the Bandera route basically shoots straight up the face of the mountain. This caught me by surprise, but made the hike just that much more fun. Theres something about going straight up a mountain that makes me happy. This section runs for about 20min. and is the steepest terrain Ive seen on a hike along the I-90 corridor. Once at the top of this part, its a short stint to the summit. Someone told me that the end of the trail wasnt the true summit. Oh well, I still had a great time. The view is fantastic, and we saw a bald eagle fly through the valley. Beware though, while we were eating, a small cunning bird did a fake dive-bomb at me making me drop my scrumptious doughnut, and then robbed it right off the ground. I never knew birds were that smart! Other than that, the hike was fantastic. Highly recommended...

Good even in the rain

Reviewed By: Derrick and Rebekah on Monday, September 5, 2005 @ 10:50:09 AM

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We initially attempted this hike last November, but the snow go the better of us (the rocks leading to the summit can be a bit precarious) and we abandoned the mission. This time we completed the hike. The new trail mentioned in John's review has since been completed and it provides a nice steady climb up to the split where the trail turns into Mason Lake / Mt Defiance to the left or Bandera to the right / up. The hike to the top is fairly steep and weather / conditions make all the difference in rating the difficulty. It started raining pretty hard, so our views were limited to Mason lake and a few peaks close by. I imagine on a clear day, the views would be pretty spectacular, but if it is a hot day, you will pay the price, as water sources are limited to the .5 mile of the trail and much of the hike up is fully exposed to the sun. Personally, I think the fall is ideal for this hike, because the threat of rain keeps away much of the crowds. On a labor day weekend, we only encountered 3 or 4 other hiking parties, none of which followed us to Bandera.

A half-day hike not to forget

Reviewed By: Reupbert on Saturday, May 7, 2005 @ 07:28:35 PM

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Review: The Mt. Bandera trail is a great half-day or conditioning hike if you're looking to experience nature without going too far from civilization. The beginning of the trail is a relaxed slope that turns into several small switchbacks. Then the trail breaks to Mason Lake or straight up to the peak, which is actually a few meters higher than the scenic stop looking out to Mt. Rainier (see John's review). My friends and I hiked this trail in early April and found the weather at the peak snowy but warm.