Checking my mail - Mailbox Peak

Part of the reason I hiked Goat Peak was to prepare myself for an even more difficult hike. That's right. I went out with a friend and tackled the famous (or infamous?) Mailbox Peak in North Bend! This one was a doozy! It's not a beginner's hike, that's for sure.

Mailbox Peak
WA State Dept. of Natural Resources
Parking permit: Discover Pass ($10 per day/$30 per year)
Distance: 9.4 miles round-trip
Elevation gain: 4000'

Note that the parking lot closes at 8pm. It took my friend and I about 11.5 hours to hike this. We're exceptionally slow, but if you think you might not make it back in time, there's shoulder parking available outside the gate.

There are two trails up Mailbox Peak. The old trail is 2.5 miles. It's unmaintained, rough, and steep. Lots of people still take on the legendary challenge of the old trail.

We chose to go up the new trail. For the first four miles, the trail switchbacks up the mountain with fairly gentle grade. There are a couple creek crossings within the first mile and a half; these represent the only water on the trail, so fill up if you need to. The trail is mostly in the woods, with a few sections of open talus to cross. I heard the distinctive meeps of pika here, though I couldn't see the elusive little furballs.

Half a mile from the summit, the new trail rejoins the old trail for the final push, and what a push it is! You're going to climb 970 feet in that half mile, and it's gonna hurt.

First you come to a large boulder field. The photos look more intimidating than the actual hike. It looks like a stairway to Mordor, but we passed it relatively easily. Brace yourself, because the trail gets a whole lot worse.

After the boulder field, you're gonna climb straight up. The trail gets rocky and dusty and steep. Even four-legged buddies were having trouble on this section of the hike (my own four-legged friend stayed home). A few people we met on the trail didn't make it up this section and didn't summit. For me, when I'm this close, it's too close to quit, so I very slowly pressed on to the top. This section of trail was absolutely brutal. It's the most brutal hike I've ever done!

I saw a flag waving at the top and silently prayed it was finally the summit. Sure enough, as I approached I finally saw the iconic mailbox!

My hiking buddy striking a pose, plus some kid who had unlimited energy and was the only one not tired at the end.

Make sure you sign the summit register in the mailbox, plus check out what other trinkets are in there. I left some of my business cards in there.

I'll probably do this hike again another year, but for this year, that was exhausting enough!

It's still Hike-a-Thon, and you can help by clicking here to sponsor my dog's hike! We're two weeks into August and already at 24.5 miles! You can donate through the end of the month, but why wait?