Last Hike Before We Head to Ashford

This past weekend was very full, with helping a friend move, having to work and supporting a friend's fundraiser, that getting to Camp Muir this weekend was not in the cards.  Although we couldn't find the time to drive down to Mt. Rainier, we still managed to fit in one more training hike with 40 pound packs before the summit attempt July 24th.
On Sunday, Ryan, Natasha and I hit Bandera Mountain trailhead at 7am!  We had an early start to get back into Seattle to support the Ericksons' Fundraiser and to stay out of the heat.  This trail is mostly in the sun after 11am.  Thank goodness we did not have to worry about the sun until about 15 minutes to the summit of Bandera Mountain because that last mile was steep!  Although the elevation of the mountain is only 5200ft we managed an elevation change of 3000ft, in just over 3 miles, in about 2.5 hours.  We held a great pace up the mountain to keep within our time constraint and in thanks to Natasha setting the pace with a lighter pack.  She looked like a gazelle compared to us,which kept us motivated to keep going. 
Not only was this hike a great workout, we had some of the best views for a hike only 75 minutes away from the house. 

Sitting on the top of Bandera Mountain, Mt. Rainier behind us

Mason Lake, camped there last year with Natasha and Jacob

We even had a glimpse of the Craggy North Cascade Mountains

Less than one and a half weeks away we will hopefully be on the top!