Trip Report - Mason Lakes

TNAB has their Thursday Nights, and I have my Dawn Patrol :) Unfortunately it often means I end up patrolling solo, in fact for the last several months I haven't even bothered sending oute emails about up coming events to the Dawn Patrol list. Anyway I decided to head out Friday morning and check out Mason Lake. I have to wake my daughter up for early morning seminary (like youth Sunday school before school) at 4:45 am anyway, afterwards I stumbled around the house gathering up various items. I was on the road by 5:15 and arrived at exit 45. I was worried that the washout on 9031 was not yet cleared, but the crews had cleared a path. I had forgotten it was 3 miles to the trail head.

I arrived at 6, geared up and set off in a light drizzle. By 2700 feet the drizzle had got a bit stronger and turned to snow, which fell steadily throughout the rest of the hike. The trail was snow free (other than that which was falling) till the start of the large talus field about a half mile before the turn off for Bandera. From the Bandera turn off you cross snow fields whose edge was at times were annoyingly close to the trails edge, which made them slickery to traverse. At the top of the ridge, the edge of the Alpine Lake Wilderness, the snow level is still pretty deep around 3-4 feet. I had never been to Mason Lake and was unsure which way to go, the boot track was not obvious in the new snow. I decided to go to the right and down the ridge heading east, the trail disappeared, and the steep hillside and snow covered the trail putting me on the edge of rocks and very icy snow. It got to the point that I was unsure about making my way along the steep hillside with out slipping down into the snow, trees and brush. I opted to just head straight down the slope digging in my heels and post holing rather than risk sliding out sideways.

After a short descent of 15-20 feet I arrived at a large 4-6 foot deep snow field. The wind was blowing pretty strong and the snow was falling hard (where was spring?). I decided to put on a few more layers, I took off my shell, and my short sleeved sweat soaked bottom layer and put on a couple of long sleeve dry layers and stuffing gloves on my frozen sausage fingers. I got out the snow shoes and tromped up the clearing through the forest hoping I'd run into the lake so. Lo and behold shortly a clearing appeared and a flat expanse of snow where the opposite side faded in white out of fog and falling snow. I plonked around one side of the lake and then made my way back up to the top of the ridge and jogged down the car. I passed on guy on the way up, who noted he was thinking of Mt. Defiance, but rethinking it in the rain

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