Mailbox Peak — Wednesday, Jul. 14, 2021

We left early from the Olympic Peninsula to have a decent start on the day. We choose a mid-week hike to avoid most of the weekend crowds. We arrived at the lower parking lot at 7:15. There were around 5 cars. Just as we were headed up the Parks man showed up and opened the gate for upper lot. We took the old trail up and new trail down for the loop. 

The old trail is challenging especially for those not in good shape. I consider myself in decent condition and its a tough 4k elevation gain over 3 miles. The trail can be strange to follow at times with lots of roots and different "routes" to follow. As you climb you can turn around and look down and see the more definitive route but this can be difficult when you are hiking. One thing that was helpful were the white triangle markers. I hand to whoever put those up...look closely because they are funny! 

Once you break out of the trees you have several surprises left including the large boulder scramble to the "false summit" and then the last climb. Due to our early start we avoided not only the crowds but the heat. We were lucky to have a beautiful view even with Wenatchee fire having just started the night before. 

Bring lots of water as you will drink it! I'm not a huge water drinker and I used all of mine. 

The route down on the newer trail is easy to follow and almost a little boring in the long switchbacks.  Make sure you cut your toenails in advance! :) 

Overall fun, easy to access and I would definitely say do it on a weekday!