Bandara Mountain and Sleeping Lady

Aug 2-4 2007
random trip report
Click on photos for hi-res version
Photos by Dave Gedye - click for slightly larger versions.

I flew up to Seattle to attend RosettaCon in Leavenworth, and arranged to meet Dave Gedye at the Tiger Mountain trailhead at 4:30, for a quick hike before my drive. We both got there at 4:00 and decided to continue up I90 a bit and do a longer hike, namely Bandara Mountain, a 7 mile round trip with 2,850' vertical.

We drive to the end of a 3-mile dirt road and are walking at 4:45. The first mile or two is in forest.




We emerge from the forest and get a nice view of Mt. Rainier.





Hand-held self-portrait - a Gedye specialty
The main trail continues to a lake; we take a small trail that goes up a steep slope towards the summit.


Dave ponders the fate of Nature and Mankind


Is my butt really that big?


Posed shot - some boulders at the summit





I fantasize about a cold beer


Back down
The light begins to fade.


Arty twilight shot
We reach the parking lot. I change into my jeans, locking my shorts (which have the car keys) in the trunk. Panic sets in. Fortuntately Dave has cell-phone signal and we manage to get a tow truck from North Bend to come out. The driver (another Dave) complains good-naturedly about the dust from the dirt road getting all over his truck (a giant diesel rig, overkill for this application) which he washed the day before.


Dave from North Bend jimmies the door


The bill: $162.50 (what can you do?)





Art shot of tow-truck bed
At 9:30 I say goodbye to Dave and drive on to Leavenworth, stopping in Cle Elum for food. I get to the Sleeping Lady at 11:30. It's a sprawling Asilomar-type resort in the middle of the forest. The office is still open; the attendees are all either drinking or in the hot tub.

The next day I chat with various people. The resort is a cool place - lots of sculpture, a music center with a little concert hall and a Steinway B in the closet (which I play a bit). Also the food (which is part of the deal for ~$200 a day) is great.

I decide to start the drive early, and head back after dinner, stopping at a motel in Cle Elum.