Bandera Mountain June 2021 Trip Report

June 26, 2021

Mileage: 8 miles

Elevation Gain: 3,400 feet

Map:

Note: The map depicts Bandera Mountain's true summit. This summit is wooded and less than a hundred feet taller than the false summit with great views. The trail to the true summit is hard to follow and most people (including us) stop at the false summit. The listed stats are for the false summit.

Clarisse and I arrived just after 6AM to a surprisingly full parking lot. Luckily we were still able to get a spot, but definitely plan to arrive very early if you want to secure a spot in the lot and not add mileage to your hike with a road walk.

We didn't see too many others on the trail, and traffic dropped off even more after the Mason Lake junction. I think most people use this trailhead to access and camp at the lake... which means our hike was actually pretty quiet!

Clarisse and I hiked this during Washington's June 2021 record breaking heatwave. The heatwave was a miserable, deadly week in a region of the country where most apartments don't have AC. We arrived early so we could ascend the trail in the shade and be done hiking completely by 11AM.

The trail is steep and unrelenting. By the time we reached the top, I could feel my stomach getting upset from the strenuous hike in the heat. Even in the early morning hours, the sun was brutal. We were considering adding Mason Lake, but decided against it due to the heat.

Not far below the summit, the trail becomes a rocky scramble of boulders among the beargrass. On a hot summer day, definitely aim to be out of this section before the sun rises above the ridge. The sun exposure felt intense just hiking downhill in this section, and I felt bad for the people climbing still. If you have a dog, booties would be helpful to avoid burned toe pads.

After the boulder section, there's a few more short climbs and the summit is in reach! The views were spectacular.

At the top, we hid in the shade as the sun passed over the ridge. We ate snacks, drank water, and cooled off to prepare for the sun-exposed descent.

After cooling off, we headed down and saw a lot of people coming up with dogs. So much of this hike consists of hot, exposed rock. Please be careful with pets to avoid heatstroke!