I arrived to the upper parking lot around 10:30 AM on a Thursday, there were only 4 other cars there. It's worth noting that signs now indicate that the upper lot is open until 6 PM (rather than 4 PM).
This was my first time up Mailbox so I decided to take the old trail up and the new trail down. The old trail lives up to its reputation as a steep slog. I can see it being great for easy access training for bigger objectives, but it isn't especially scenic until after it joins up with the new trail about 2 miles in. For some reason I had expected a near-scramble up rock, but the tread is actually dirt and tree roots most of the way, and as a result, it is highly eroded. Currently, the old trail is snow-free until just before its intersection with the new trail.
From the intersection, I continued up through the fog toward the summit. No long views due to the fog, but the snowy mountainside was quite beautiful, dotted with ice covered grasses and trees in the fog. Much of the final third of a mile was covered in snow, which made some of the steeper sections very slippery. Still doable without spikes, but I would recommend them. By the time I reached the famous mailbox at the top, I was sorely in need of some food, so I hung out for 30 minutes to eat lunch and wait for the sun to come out, though it never fully did. On the upside, I made friends with a husky named Yukon, so that was a nice consolation prize.
On the way down, I found that the new trail has significant stretches of snow as low as perhaps 1 mile below its intersection with the old trail, a couple of which are packed into ice and very slippery. I did not bother putting my spikes back on, but was glad to have my poles. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the new trail is more scenic than the old. It passes through an apparently more mature forest, crosses some small streams and beneath large boulders, and has a couple open stretches through talus with views down the valley. It is also very straightforward and makes for a descent that is both quick and easy on the joints.
2 hours up, 30 minute summit break, 1 hr 40 min down. Total time 4 hrs 10 min.
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