Mailbox Peak - Old Trail — Friday, Feb. 6, 1998

Snoqualmie Region > North Bend Area

Well, I hadn't been hiking in a couple of months, but a free day at work and the warm weather conspired to leave me no choice but to head up to the mountains. I thought Mailbox was a good choice since I've heard of it being done in the winter plus it's close to Seattle and I had a late start. Temperature probably in the mid 50s at the trailhead so I just wore my t-shirt and shorts which was a good choice. The trail is one of the steepest I've done in this area and definitely keeps one warm. It's one of those rare trails steep enough to be quite a workout in both directions. The trail was in great condition through the forest, dry and entirely without snow. As soon as I broke out of the trees there was snow on the ground and also a very fierce wind, particularly near the top. Thinking this was January (even though it's really February), I had brought ice axe and snowshoes along. I never touched the snowshoes, but the ice axe came in handy near the top though it definitely wasn't essential. The views were nice with Baker and the Olympics easily visible, along with the lower slopes of Rainier. I only saw two people on the trail and the round trip took about 4 hours. Hopefully it didn't wear me out for my soccer game tomorrow! Michael [Online Editor Note: Did you run into Pilar on the trail']