Bandera Mt 4.20.04

My goal today was for a return attempt of Putrid Pete's Pk.. The regional snow level had dropped to under 4000ft overnight resulting in some accumulations. The weather was also very unsettled with very large storm cells blowing through in regular intervals. I decided that staying on trail today might be a better option. I had not been up the new Mason Lk. trail so I thought I would give that a go. Bandara Mt still provides over a 3000ft climb. The reworked trail is much more pleasant that either of the other lake routes. The trail does force some extra elevation on you but you hardly notice due to the pleasing grade. I made great time to Bandera's western summit and picked my way carefully to Bandera's eastern summit. The views were stunted today due to some low lying cloudcover. Mason Lk. is still frozen solid and there seems to be quite a bit of snow in it's basin. Upon returning to the Mason Lk. trail I followed it until the descent to the lake. Having been to Mason Lk on many previous trips I had no motivation to drop to the lake. I returned to the truck with a brisk pace and was there before I knew it.

Putrid Pete's Peak 4.13.04

I had hoped today to summit Putrid Petes Pk, or as I have sometime seen it called Web Mt. This peak is Pt 5335 which lies between Mt Defiance and Dirty Harry's Pk.. I chose to use the Mason Lk trailhead,there is a trail that leaves the logging road at the first switchback. This trail is not mantained but is easy to follow after about a mile the trail splits with the lower branch going to Dirty Harry's balcony and on the logging road that starts on the Fire Academy access road. I took the upper trail which climbs to Putrid Pete's Pk.. The trail becomes less and less obvious as you climb, there is more than enough flagging to show the way. The trail becomes very steep above 4000ft, I climbed to around 4400ft where I became a bit concerned about my descent. After some deliberation I decided that I would make my tedious descent. Since I mostly solo climb it is not unusal for me to turn back, I usually feel good about my choices. Today however I feel like I really should have pressed on. The grade seems to ease somewhat and with less than a 1000ft to go I really wish I would have kept on. I guess that is what is so great about being able to go out as much as I do, there is always next week.

Mailbox Peak 4.7.04

After last week's foiled attempt, I was back for another try. The weather was dry and mild with low cloud ceiling. My goal for the day was to do Mailbox and then traverse to West Defiance. I made fairly good time to the summit where I was greeted with dense cloudcover that limited visibility to less than 25 feet. As I summited I was treated to two men with Pit Bulls that were overly aggressive, I was forced to tag the peak and descend all without breaking stride. On the way down I picked up parts of what I think is the trail that eminates from the Fire Academy. I was alittle concerned when I didn't recognize any landmarks for a 1000ft of descent. I was much relieved when I rejoined the regular trail. Just to add a little spice the truck was acting up when I started it. I limped into North Bend where I stopped and checked to find the cap for the power steering pump was loose and very low on fluid. I was much relieved that it was so simple to fix, or at least that is what I thought. The adding of fluid didn't stop my problems. I realized that a bolt had come out on the alternator allowing it to slide a bit causing the blades to hit metal. Not having any tools with me I decided to try and drive the remaining 25 miles home. One of the best things about having a beat up hiking truck is that you are always $1000 away from a replacement. Lucky for me I made it home with the truck still running.