As you might expect for this time of the year, Mailbox peak trail was very muddy. The tree roots on the upper half of the trail were very slippery, and surrounded with lots-o-mud. The snow has melted for the most part on the lower sections of the trail. There is still quite a bit of snow just above the tree line next to the big rock pile.

The first half of the trail is damp, the second half snow-covered. No blow-downs or other problems encountered, the trail is in good shape and well-blazed. 4-5"" of snow through the woods - wet, heavy, and melting. Bring a hat because you'll be pummeled from above as melting snow drops off branches. Poles would be good to have along any time of year. The boulder field at the top has maybe a foot of snow - hard to tell with the uneven surface. It's messy going with occasional break-throughs, but the way is clear. Great 360-degree views from the top. The mailbox is nicer and sturdier than the one at my house! I think the trail will soon be much wetter and muddier as the last of the snow melts off. I encountered just four other parties on my 4hr hike - this one is fairly 'undiscovered', though not so much as the nearby Mt. Washington hike.

One of the most fun things about this very tough climb was Bill's trail review. I need to update the instructions however to say that the trailhead is just past the recent logging operation. No forest just before anymore. Couldn't find his toothbrush either. Thank goodness I thought to take my own! I shall add this as my 11th esential. As I stated earlier, this is very tough. The first two miles of trail were in fair condition with the exception of mud holes right at the begining. Above 3500ft the trail becomes much steeper and not so great. The orange flags were very helpful, if not required to keep on the trail. About this point there are also two trails. I think one is suppose to be old trail and one new, but they are both equally worn. They do meet later up the hill. This happen to us twice on the upper 1500ft. No big deal, just need to be aware. When we saw the rock pile(sorry, no time to move it Bill) we followed one orange flag to just below it and then climbed up the rock pile, eventually meeting back up with the trail and finding we had gotten off the trail. The orange flag at the bottom of the rock pile is very misleading. The trail turns to the left there but there were no flags in sight. There was about a foot of snow above the rock pile. We made it to within 400ft of the top but had to turn due to deeper snow and time restrictions that we had. This is a great conditioner. I hesitate to mention that it is as good as MtSi without the crowds. We saw one man with a dog about 1/2 mile from the trailhead when we were leaving and one couple on the road almost to our car. We were rained on, snowed, had sunshine, and just about everything you could expect in the mountains. Great day. Thanks for the report, Bill.

Too much enthusiasm and not enough sense made this “hike” a bit cumbersome for us on Sunday. We can only hope that Santa brings us some snowshoes over the holidays … for we love these vertical stomps. As if the the 3800-feet elevation gain on this 2-miler isn’t enough, instep-crampons and snowshoes (or extra time) would be largely helpful if you want to make it to the summit of this King County backyard beauty. The short service route that leads to the trailhead from Dorothy Road was covered in ice and made for a short slip-slip slip-sliding jaunt up to the trailhead. Lower portions of the trail were surprisingly dry and largely clear, with exception to a few passable blow downs. However, a 1,000-foot elevation gain quickly did away with notions of a clean hike and made for a rather icy mess for those not seeking adventure and challenge. Fortunately, the ice changed into 2-3 feet of snow high up and out of the trees. Safely wading through the snow was slow going, hence the desire for snowshoes. Also, as reported last week by “Rubberlegs” air pockets in the boulder field two-thirds the way up are not fun. We went around. If the snow keeps up at this rate, know the route or trust the footsteps you are following. That is, if there are any. We passed three hikers on their way down during an afternoon on the mountain. And above all … if conditions prevail, take it slow on the way back down unless you are confident in the strength of your own bones.

Since the roads looked a bit icy, and our group head out kinda late, we chose Mailbox as our alternative destination today. There was a bit of snow at the trailhead. At about 1500' above the trailhead it started accumulating deeper, but never very deep until we broke out of the trees way up high. We donned snowshoes, but it's still relatively easy walking all the way to the summit. Watch out for those air pockets in the boulderfield though! Snowshoes helped us dodge those mines. The mailbox is still out of the snow and full of mail!