Old and new trail in good condition. The tree down at the gate is annoying but should be easy to clear since it’s at the start of the hike…

No snow as of 11/2. Some fall foliage left but barely. Quiet day we didn’t start on the old trail until 9:30 am. Came down the new trail. A handful of people at the mailbox but the trail never felt busy. Gotta love shoulder season hiking.

There's snow on Mailbox right now. The top of the mountain has conditions where it's kind of awkward to wear spikes and kind of awkward not to.

The old trail was in great shape and didn't have any snow until right before the new/old junction. The ground up to that point is nice and firm and there's no mud or anything slippery right now.

All the snow from there up was mostly slush. It was pretty slick in places. There's enough exposed rock from the boulder field to the top that I went all the way up without spikes, but then put them on to descend.

The top was in the clouds today, the only view was the mailbox. There was about 6 inches of snow at the top. It was pretty cold, mainly from wind chill and I was glad for every extra layer in my pack.

The top third of the new trail below the new/old junction has quite a bit more snow than the old trail. There are also several muddy parts and a whole section where the trail had water running over it. It's a more complicated hiking experience right now than the old trail is.

At the bottom I got an interesting glimpse of the Middle Fork micro climate. All the peaks from Mailbox and Teneriffe north down the Middle Fork were in the clouds. Across I-90, Mount Washington was in bright clear sunshine. 

I also noticed that they no longer have a sign saying they lock the gate. I wonder if they stopped doing that? Instead there's a sign where the gate lock sign used to be that says "no overnight camping." (Fourth pic)

Went up the old and came down the new.  The old trail is fun, the new trail is suitable for all abilities.

If you’re looking for punishment this is the hike for you. A grueling 2.75 miles straight up and an even more painful 2.75 miles down.

Plenty of parking on a Wednesday morning. The toilets were well stocked and clean. Thank you!!

We picked the old, shorter trail because we were racing the clock and thought it might be faster. Up and back in 4hr 43 minutes. There were sections in the forest that were more difficult to navigate but the white diamond markers in the trees helped, just don’t look for them while moving or you’ll trip over the roots/rocks. The last push at the boulder field was rough and pretty exposed with some shaded areas to rest in. This is the first time you get a view of anything.

The mailbox is unique and the view at the top on a clear day is great, but there are many other hikes around with equally amazing views that won’t kill your knees, and are more scenic on the trail. I’m glad to have checked the box for this novelty hike but likely won’t do it again (at least not the old trail).

Also, the trinkets in the mailbox are kinda fun, but someone left an opened, half-eaten granola bar in there… seems inappropriate and likely to attract critters/bugs. The mailbox is not a trash can!

Monday 0700 arrived to a near empty parking lot, toilet in fine working order with TP.  Decided to go up old trail. Felt like they should post a skull and crossbones next to the warning sign at TH..lol.  Trail is exactly Rx, exactly as described…straight up, rooty, relentless, and at times hard to track the trail. Thank goodness for the little diamond plates nailed to the trees to locate the trail, because it can be difficult to tell as the entire forest floor looks the same as the trail.  Got to the top in about 2hrs 10min, was the only one there.  No real views as the landscape was fogged in.  Mail box pretty full with some interesting items.  

Decided to go down new trail. This felt like a highway and easy on the joints going down, didn’t need my trek poles. Saw a handful of folks coming up, but over all a quiet day. Made it down in 2 hours.  

My overall thoughts are that I would not want to go up or down the old trail in wet/muddy conditions, I’m sure I’d likely biff it more than once. The new trail I feel is doable in rain/wet conditions.  Trek poles were helpful going up. Mostly dry hike, so bring enough water, today I only used 1 liter, but it was not hot out.