Bandera Mountain loop
I hiked from the Mason Lake trailhead to first peak of Bandera Mountain. Then
I followed the bootpath across the ridge to the second Bandera Mountain peak (the
higher of the two), I found this path kind of hard to follow at times
but the route was obvious since I just followed the ridge. I'm glad I
continued to the second peak, 55 Hikes Around Snoqualmie Pass: Mountains to Sound Greenway says people don't usually
bother and I don't see why, I did have to scramble a little, but
mostly it was an easy walk though beautiful territory and great views
to the north and south. The second peak of Bandera Mountain was very
satisfying, I like being able to sit on the very tip-top of a
mountain.
I went cross-country down the north face of the ridge between the two
Bandera Mountain peaks (as described in
Cascade Alpine Guide: Climbing and High Routes: Vol 1 - Columbia River to Stevens Pass) and headed for Island Lake. I
found keeping a bit right of the creek in the ravine the easiest
(although it was steep and tough on my knees). There are some little
ponds in here, and meadows, forest, and talus, very pretty. This
might be better to do on snowshoes.
From Island Lake I pushed though brush to Rainbow lake, this was
really brushy, I may have missed a trail that I could have followed.
From Rainbow Lake I took the trail back to the Mason Lake trailhead.
Took about 6 hours.
In:
South Fork Snoqualmie Drainage, Alpine Lakes Wilderness
Copyright © 2024 Gabriel Deal.