Mt Defiance

This was a trip I took back at the end of January to the top of Mt Defiance. In an ordinary year, you would be hard pressed to be able to even drive to the trailhead due to deep snow, but this has been no ordinary year.

My Facebook friend Gwen, posted the night before that she was planning on hiking up Defiance and left an open invitation to anyone that wanted to join her. My other friend Jim was going as well. I was unsure how early in the morning I wanted to get up so I kept my mouth shut and figured I would see how I felt in the morning. The morning came, and I felt great after sleeping in later than I normilly would for a hiking day, so I decided to head out to the trailhead off of I-90 and see if I would run into them up there. I ended up seeing both of them at the summit. They got off to a slightly earlier start than me and went up via the old Mason Creek Trail. Luckily for me they hung out at the summit for a while giving me a chance (unknownst to them) to run into them.

What a surprise when I summitted and non-chalantly said "Hi Gwen, Hi Jim". They had no idea who I was, LOL.

Now if you're reading this and saying to yourself, how odd to meet someone in such a way. Meeting people that you only know through Facebook and have never actually met in person, well, you'd be right. It was kind of odd, but there is a little more to the story. All three of us know each other through a mutual friend who we have all hiked with before so the meeting was more than a simple case of Facebook stalking, although it may have seemed that way at first without knowing the whole story.

All in all, it was great to finally be able to hike with some friends on a day that I would normally be sitting home, daydreaming of summer high mountain trails.

January 31 2015

Trailhead
Makeshift Bridge over Mason Creek
Mason Creek
McClellan Butte
Rainier comes into view the higher you get on the trail.
Just below the Bandera Mt. intersection
Bandera Mt intersection
Defiance coming into view
The Ira Spring Memorial just before entering the Wilderness boundary.
The Ira Spring Memorial
Wilderness boundary
Mason Lake
Still frozen. In february it should be frozen and under several feet of snow. This has been an odd year.
Mason Lake
Intersection
This was about the worst of the snow
Nice trail
Putrid Pete's Peak
View from the summit. Lake Kulla Kulla on the left and Mason Lake on the right. Granite Mt in the distance to the left.
Summit group photo. Gwen, Jim and myself.
Heading back down from the Summit. Interstate 90 some 3500 feet below.
Heading back down. Mason Lake below. Granite Mt in the distance.
The man, the myth, the legend - Jim Kuresman. Hiking Northwest
Mason Lake
Frozen Mason Lake
Mason Lake
Below the Ira Spring Memorial
Looking up at the very steep Bandera Mt trail as hikers descend amongst the ghosts of last year's bear grass blooms.
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