Mailbox Peak - Old Trail — Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009

Snoqualmie Region > North Bend Area

Don't like those pesky switchbacks on Mt. Si? Find them to just increase distance unnecessarily? Then Mailbox Peak is for you! This trail finds the most efficient trail through the forest, rapidly climbing elevation all the way from the base to the summit. We started our day at 8:20 at the trail head... parking was easy, even though people seem to think their cars are much wider than they actually are. Only passed four other people on the way up. Blueberries and huckleberries were ripe and a tasty treat. Made me forget for a few moments that I was in the middle of one heck of a workout. The trail along the way is marked with diamonds, watch for them because at times the path becomes a maze of roots and is easily lost. The last bit of the climb has a great view and is possibly one of the most difficult parts of the climb. My legs felt like noodles by then. Total time to the top was 2h30min-ish. At the top, as promised, there were two mailboxes with some fun artifacts hidden inside. Spend some time reading the books, as they provide quite a bit of amusement =). Flies and other bugs at the top were intermittently pestering us, but not as bad as it has been. Down, as anticipated, was much worse than the climb up. The trail is very precarious in many spots and required very tired legs to negotiate around roots, rocks and loose dirt. The trees lining the path seem to be there when you need them most thankfully, which explains the lack of bark! Total time down was 1hr 30min. All in all, I'd say that this was a hike to do once to say you did. Mt. Si can give a similar workout if done quickly without the knee-buster on the way down and Granite Mountain promises the same view.