Did the Mailbox Peak/ Dirtyface Peak / Dirty Harry's Peak Traverse Loop. Started by going up to Mailbox Peak via the old trail.

Traversing from Mailbox to Dirtyface was relatively easy, only a few spots where I had to stop and figure out where to go. Probably class 2.

Dirtyface to Dirty Harry's was fairly difficult, especially as it was snowing/raining. Route finding is required at a few areas, when I went off the narrow ridge in order to find an easier way across. Closer to Dirty Harry's there were two probably low class 4 sections, but in the summer it would probably be high class 3.

After summiting Dirty Harry's I took the trail down, and walked Grouse Ridge road and past the Fire Training Academy back to the Mailbox Peak trailhead for a total of 12.5 miles and 5000 feet gain.

It's a great little loop, and would definitely recommend it in the summer till late fall! My Strava link is posted below.

https://strava.app.link/7Ky2CvC2rOb

Winter distracted driving= trying to stay focused on the road while the sky in front of you is lit up with drop-dead gorgeous sunrise colors. Wow! I-90 eastbound between 6:45 and 7 this morning was stunning.

Discover Pass required to park. Only a couple cars this morning at 7 am. The trail to the balcony is in wonderful condition. Barely muddy! After a quick peek at the balcony, I continued on towards the peak. Briefly hit up the museum. If you cross the creek, then you've missed the unsigned junction! It can be easy to miss.

The creek crossing was doable. But definitely note that I found out the hard way once that it becomes impassable after heavy rains.

Snow begins at 4400 ft. It is patchy, and I never felt the need to put on spikes. It becomes deeper and continuous about 200 ft from the peak (see photo). I followed some footprints and didn't posthole. Coming down required some care. 

Ran into about 7 or so people and all off-leash dogs coming back from the peak. Once I hit the balcony again, traffic picked up. There was still plenty of parking when I returned to the parking area at about 12.

McClellan was planned, but 5am-dissipating rain/drizzle was still going strong at 6am. Avoiding the Human Cheese Grater seemed a better plan, so I redirected.

With the overgrown sections of the trail, a jacket was helpful, and the drizzle paused only briefly during the first hour. Above the balcony was completely enfogged, and with the final summit climb encroached by trees, I was wet and cold on the summit.

Some pictures were possible on descent, but the sun had only broken through in a few small areas. McClellan was only partially visible, with the summit in the clouds. It even rained a bit while cleaning up.

Hint: Try to force a few breaks when starting, before the balcony junction, or at least drop below 3mph. Otherwise you tend to burn out and it's hard to downshift for the ascent to the peak.

Zero people... which is not too surprising on a Friday.

8.65mi 1200m

Arrived around 8:45am on a Friday. There were maybe 4 other cars in the parking lot.

After the balcony intersection the trail gets much narrower. As others have noted, it's a bit overgrown in sections. It's mostly small patches except for a good tenth of a mile at 3.0 miles from the start. Depending on how damp everything is and how warm you are, you may want to put on rain gear for that bit. I got soaked. There aren't any big branches or thorns, just lots of soft brush. It gets thick again near the summit too.

The trail from the balcony to the peak is mostly on an old logging road which makes for pleasant hiking, if a bit monotonous. Easy to follow and not too strenuous a grade. The trail description mentions that the summit is on private land but I saw no signs or markers anywhere.

I had no views at the peak. I hung around for half an hour eating lunch and hoping it would clear up but no luck so I headed back down. By the time I got to the balcony it was pretty clear, although the peak was still buried in a cloud.

Tons of pretty mushrooms and fungus on this hike and an impressive variety including some very big ones and some kinds I'm not sure I've seen before. Just 2 banana slugs.

I saw maybe 10 people all day, and all between the balcony and the trailhead. 1 dog (leashed). My watch said it was 8.55 mi and 3550 ft and 3hr 45min including my lunch stop. Not sure how WTA has it as 9.2 mi as my watch usually overestimates distance traveled.

the trail is a little overgrown a while paste the turnoff to the balcony. there is not a great deal to see along the way past a few glimpses into the distance and some tasty berries. I heard pika along the way and heard something big running away from me. Otherwise, it is just a steep logging road. once you reach the top, you can see Dirtybox Peak, Granite Lakes, Revolution Peak, and much of the middle fork Snoqualmie Valley. It's not a terrible reward imo. bugs were little to no issue except since I was first up, I "discovered" all of the spiderwebs along the way.