First time doing the venerable Mailbox Peak. The upper parking lot was open, but most people had elected to park in the lower parking lot including myself. Started my hike around 12:30pm and there were 2–3 parking spots available in the lower lot, I glanced at the upper lot and it looked empty.
It is worth noting the retroreflective white diamond markers placed on trees along the old trail — without them, it was sometimes difficult to find the trail even in broad daylight!
The old trail was steep, but not as steep as Gunnison Route in Colorado if my memory serves me right. Just a lot of putting one step in front of the other and making slow progress. Trekking poles were extremely helpful both for ascent and descent and are highly recommended!
There were patches of snow around the summit block, but no spikes or snowshoes needed — in fact one could get to the summit block without stepping on snow. Regular hiking boots did fine aided amply with trekking poles.
The summit was a bit windy with middle clouds alternating with sun. Whereas I hiked in a chest base layer and shorts, I needed to put on a shell jacket at the summit.
The summit views were exceptional with snow dusted peaks all around. Mt Rainier was unfortunately obscured by clouds and only the base was visible. Mt Adams was not seen. On the opposite side, Glacier Peak stood out amidst a small preview of the snow clad Central Cascades through the foreground peaks. Mt. Baker was visible albeit very faint through lots of haze. Overall an exceptional view!
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