Bandera Mountain
Distance (mi)
Vertical (ft)
Photo Gallery
6.0
2,950'
Year Total
24.7
11,610'
Year Goal
200.0
75,000'
May 28 - A Memorial Day hike up a classic peak in the South Fork Snoqualmie valley (a.k.a. I-90 corridor). Those hikes are so easy to access now that we're living in Seattle; it's actually about the same time to get there as from Duvall, but it's all on a freeway instead of curvy 2-lane country roads. Set the cruise control in downtown Seattle and an hour later you're at the trailhead.
This was also an opportunity to take my new fire engine red Lowa Mountain Expert GTX climbing boots (thank you REI dividend) out for a spin on a steep trail. They are pretty bomber and seem to fit well (no blisters so far!), although I think I'll still try on the next larger size at REI when they get it in stock. These boots did remind me, though, why I like my lightweight Montrail Hurricane Ridge XCR trail runners that I used for all my hiking last summer, including the PCT trip... I'd almost forgotten how hard climbing boots can be on your feet and knees when you're pounding downhill. Then again, I also twisted my ankle several times on that PCT trip, which isn't really a concern with these suckers. They're sort of like Hummers for your feet.
Anyway, the hike up Bandera was good, somewhat spoiled by the cloud deck that hung at around 4,000' and enveloped the upper mountain, minus a few teasing breaks in the cloud as it rolled over the summit ridge. But that's ok, I got in almost 3,000' of gain, which is finally making some respectable progress against my (now somewhat dauntingly ambitious) 75,000' goal for the year.