Hike Date: 08-08-2013
Distance (Roundtrip): 6 miles
Elevation Gain: 2550 ft
Highest Point: 4750 ft
Ira Spring Trail Hiking Guide
A couple of years ago, I took a solo hike up to Bandera Mountain. It was rainy and the road to the trailhead was rough on my little Nissan Sentra. Today, I decided to revisit the same area with some family members and hike up the Ira Spring Trail towards Mason Lake. It was a Thursday, so the parking lot had very little cars when we arrived at 3pm. Don't forget, a Northwest Forest Pass is required here. This time, I came prepared! My "new" '98 Jeep Cherokee XJ did a much better job climbing forest road 9030 and 9031 up to the trailhead. The sun was shining brightly above as we started into the forest up to the lake.
This trail is very well-kept and easy to navigate. It starts off nice and wide, so partners can hike side-by-side. Though the trees open up here and there, most of the beginning of the hike is through the woods. This was nice, as it offered shade from the hot sun. About half a mile in, we crossed over Mason Creek. The water tumbles down a smooth surface of rock, closely resembling a water slide.
There are hardly any switchbacks for the first 1.5 miles. At some point, the trail seems to fork. The path to the right is blocked off, leaving the steep grind to the left. This can be quite grueling for some inexperienced hikers, so be prepared to take breaks and hydrate when needed. The forest should provide ample shade for this thigh-burning portion of the trail.
The trail begins switching back at about 3400', a nice break for the thighs. Looking through the trees towards the south, it's obvious how high the trail takes you. Views of the valley below are astonishing from up above. Eventually, the forest opens up to an even wider view along the ridge up to Bandera Mountain. From here, you can see much of the Snoqualmie valley and the tip of Mt. Rainier. With the sun shining up above, this view is stunning.
Continuing up the trail, we reached the Bandera Mountain trail junction. If I remember correctly, the Bandera Mountain trail is less of a hiking trail and more of a very steep scramble. We turned left and continued on to Mason Lake. About half a mile in, there is a nice viewing spot among the rocks on the ridge. On one of those rocks there is a plaque dedicated to Ira Spring. Take this time to read about this great man and snap amazing photos overlooking the valley.
The trail to Mason Lake is about .5 miles from the Ira Spring memorial. It loses a bit of altitude, but nothing too steep. When we finally arrived, there was nobody in sight. Hikers can reach many other trails from here, so feel free to explore beyond this point. We decided to relax in one of the many backpacking campsites along the shore. The water was clear and the sun was noticeably lower than before. It's much cooler on this side of the mountain. After about a 45 minute rest, we made our way back down the trail and to the parking lot. The entire hike took about 3-4 hours total.
The views along this trail are incredible! I would highly recommend this to those who don't mind a little sweat and love stunning mountain and lake views along the way.
Photos
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