Took this trail up to the peak yesterday and unfortunately it started raining as I got to the peak, so there wasn’t much of a view. The trail becomes very overgrown, rocky and steep as you get past the balcony where everyone else stops. I would highly suggest wearing long pants and a long sleeve shirt since it’s impossible not to brush up against some of the greenery/weeds growing in the last mile. Nice workout, definitely a leg burner on the last mile for sure. Trekking poles are extremely helpful for the descent! 

Looking for a hike in the I-90 corridor with views at the balcony and a peak with solitude & views, Dirty Harry’s Balcony and Peak has it all.  Taking exit 38, the trail head is at the Far East end of the frontage road and is paved with a pit toilet.  The trail is for hikers and provides access to the climbing areas of Exit 38 east end.  The trail to the balcony was a combined effort of multiple groups and WTA was one of the leaders in creating a sustainable trail replacing what was a host of rough routes to the climbing areas.  It also replaced what was a makeshift trail to the balcony that was the old logging road Harry utilized.  The trail climbs steadily from the start and showcases some awesome trail rock work that WTA spearheaded, as it climbs the initial 1,500 feet to the balcony.  At the junction with the the peak trail, take a right and its a short hike to the balcony. The balcony had plenty of hikers savoring the views and for most, this was their final destination.  Taking a left and the climb to the peak begins in earnest, getting steeper as you go. Its an old road for most of the way, reshaped into a meandering trail that goes along the road bed. Its is rocky and gravely but very manageable.  Solitude was also a reward as there were less than a dozen hikers all the way to the top and back down to the junction with the balcony trail. Towards the top, the trail steepens even more and is a lot narrower.  Once on the ridge line the trail levels out and there are multiple view points that offer great options for a rest stop. The first view point affords views North and East at the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie, the Central Cascades and beyond.  Directly below several 1,000 feet down is Granite Lakes Take the trail to the end as the views there are some of the  best towards the West and South.  Mt Rainier, McClellan Butte, Mt Washington, Rattlesnake Mt, were just some of the views.  Take time soaking up the views and for sure take time coming down as some of the trail footing was a bit loose. There are some view points below the trail to the balcony trail as well, and well worth exploring before heading back to the car

Perfect day hike for someone who checked off all the hikes in the area but still wants a challenge- fairly close to Seattle, views, elevation gain, and a chance to seek out the infamous museum. 

Got a late start (arrived at 10am) but found a spot in the parking area. It seemed like most of the individuals on the trail had their climbing gear so I basically had the trail up to the peak all to myself. 

As you get closer to the peak, the bugs start to come out so be aware. Also there is some uneven terrain so be prepared to navigate around some rocks and vegetation. The peak is worth it with views of Baker and Rainier.

On the way up I missed the museum, but used my GPS on the way down to find it. It was worth the extra 15 minutes of retracing my steps to find it.

Overall it took me 4.5hrs with a stops at the peak, on the way down to pick berries, and to find the museum. I logged a little over 9.67 miles round trip.

Plenty of parking outside of the lot. A hard hike but amazing views. Minor amount of bugs at the top

I hiked Mailbox for the first time since winter, my second time ever. I only saw about a dozen other hikers on trail. I started off on the old trail taking most of the shortcuts I saw, then veered off of it a ways up to a less defined bootpath. It went straight up the ridge with very minimal switchbacking. It crosses the new trail before joining the old trail.

The rock steps through the talus field are nicely done. I had the summit to myself for about five minutes and took off when a couple of hikers arrived. I dropped down the ridge towards Dirtybox. Wow, what a fun and challenging ridge it becomes. I loved it.

I recommend it if you frequent Mailbox and want some scrambling practice. There are bootpaths that drop below some of the rocks and avoid some thick trees. Some of them I ignored to stay on the knife edge ridge. Saw quite a few bits of mountain goat fur along the way.

I rested awhile on Dirtybox. The summit register is in an old ammo box. It seemed to be pretty much full. Left my pack here. I hadn't read anything about Dirtybox to Dirty Harry's Peak for months and the only thing I really remember was the mention of cliffs below Dirty Harry's. There are indeed cliffs. I was surprised to see a series of ropes leading up them though.

The 50 feet or so to get to the ropes was very slippery hemlock duff. The old hemlock forest on the ridge leading to Dirty Harry's is much easier to travel through than the dense, younger growth towards Dirtybox. I can clearly see the dividing line in one of my pictures.

The ropes all felt strong and trustworthy as I climbed my way up. Probably wouldn't attempt it without them there. I didn't stay long on Dirty Harry's, I was getting thirsty. I kind of dreaded going down the ropes and scoped out the talus field on the SW side, it becomes steep cliffs. I've never repelled like that, but it was really easy! Just need to be careful. Thanks to whoever has roped that route up.

Relaxed on Dirtybox again, then made my way back to Mailbox. Tempted to stay awhile and watch the sunset. Probably hurried down the rocks a bit too quickly. Unnecessarily hard on my legs. Had a great run down below the talus field until I crossed the new trail and quickly lost my route. Dry, loose and rocky down the old trail. Tough and tedious to run some of it.