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Mailbox Peak Hike, April 2015

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Mailbox Peak
Date: April 24, 2015
Difficulty: 9 out of 10
Distance: 7.5 Miles / 12 Kilometers Roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 4,000 feet / 1,219 Meters
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Near North Bend, Washington
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: Discovery Pass
Trail Conditions: Wet to Snow-packed
Hiking With: Sam Elder, Rick Massie & my dog Macho

The last time I hiked up Mailbox Peak goo.gl/y3ANNn was pretty much the same conditions, wet with blowing sleet on top. Today’s hike actually turned out better than the forecast which was calling for rain all day. We started around 8:00 a.m. on the old steep trail with cloudy skies, but no rain until we hit the top and it started sleeting some.

I invited my friend Sam Elder to join Rick Massie and myself on this brutalizing journey to the famous Mailbox Peak 34 miles East of Seattle. Sam hasn’t hiked in a couple of years and he had no idea what he was getting himself into, but he made it to the summit with only a few hesitations along the way.

Right before we started up the last steep part out in the open we changed out into dry shirts and left our backpacks behind for a quicker scramble to the mailbox. After a few pictures we descended down the new long 5 mile route. I have now descended twice on the new trail and again it just feels forever, but it still trumps the knee pounding old steep trail.

Mailbox Peak Hike, May 2013

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Mailbox Peak
Date: May 24, 2013
Difficulty: 9 out of 10
Distance: 5 Miles / 8 Kilometers Roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 4,000 feet / 1,219 Meters
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Near North Bend, Washington
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: Discovery Pass
Trail Conditions: Damp to Muddy
Hiking With: Me and my wonder dog Macho

The last time I hiked up Mailbox Peak was in November so I was overdue for some thigh pounding punishing pain. There were only 5 cars in the old parking lot when I arrived, the new parking lot is not open yet. They (DNR) have installed new gates and added new asphalt to the new parking lot since my last visit in November. They also added a sign at the new trailhead stating that the new trail will be 5 miles up to the mailbox and will be open in the fall. My first thought was “oh hell yes”, what great news for my knees and legs because I will continue to hike the old steep trail up and descend on the new 5 mile trail.

By the time I reached the Mailbox, I had it to myself. Of course, like all my hikes this year…..it was so damn cloudy I had no view. I changed shirts, choked down a energy bar and headed back down. I managed to make my 2:00 p.m. acupuncture appointment with Dr. Wang in Bellevue.