Mailbox Peak
Date: May 20, 2011
Difficulty: 9 out of 10
Distance: 5 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 4,000 feet
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Near North Bend, Washington
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: No Permits Required
Trail Conditions: Dry to Packed Snow (only on top)
Hiking With: my dog Macho

I knew it was going to be a sunny warm day and I wanted a big work-out so I chose Mailbox Peak.  It was such a nice day, we hit our first 70 degree day this year…it was a perfect hiking day.  Since I was only hiking with my fearless dog Macho and I had all day to hike, I casually loaded up and got to the trailhead around 9:45 a.m.  There was five cars in the parking lot when I drove up….which meant there were only a few people on the trail. 

The trail was pretty much dry until you came out on the first opening on top, there was packed snow which wasn’t that bad to hike on.  The rock field was free of snow, but most people were taking the thick snow to the north of the rocks.  After the rocks, the trail to the top was free of snow until you reached the top, which had so much snow, there was no signs of the Mailbox.  I found a dry rock and took my boots off and shared a Starbuck’s turkey sandwich with Macho.  It was such a beautiful day, I sat on top for nearly a hour.  On the way down, I was feeling the Mt. Si hike I did two days earlier…my legs were tired and stiff.  At the bottom, I stopped at the creek to wash the mud off of Macho and rinsed the sweat from my face and hair.  On the way home I stopped for a 9 Pound porter at the North Bend Bar & Grill.