![]() After a mile or so, you will come to a fork and the road will split. In 0.6 mile turn right onto SE Middle Fork Road (#56). What does the mail consist of you wonder? Well, go see for yourself.įrom Seattle take I-90 East past downtown North Bend to Exit 34. This strange tradition goes back to the 1950's. Mailbox Peak actually has a mailbox on top with a summit log and a changing assortment of mail in it. Although this hike is a real challenge, mountain folks retain they're sense of humor with an inside joke. Often in Spring and early summer you will see mountaineers lugging full heavy weight packs up and down to condition for Mt. The grade of the trail makes it one of the much more difficult hikes in the I-90 corridor. Mailbox Peak is not the sort of hike that is chosen for a fun, easy outing. I have heard of another time when they carried a full-length ladder to the summit and back. The last time I visited the summit, one of them had carried up a solid iron street corner fire hydrant and left it next to the mailbox. There is a fire-fighter training center located at the south east foot of Mailbox Peak and trainees often use the rigourous path for physical conditioning. Getting passed by super-athletes running up this trail (they get to the peak in an hour) will make you feel even more old and tired.Mailbox Peak, located between the Snoqualmie middle-fork and southfork drainages, is the North-West end of a range that includes Mount Defiance, Bandera Mountain, and Granite Mountain. The round-trip distance to the peak is only 5.4 miles using this route, but your knees are going to hate you on the way down. The grade is relentlessly steep and your calf muscles will feel the burn. The old trail is the tough alternative route to the peak. There is good cell service, so be sure to upload that selfie to Facebook! The 4800' summit of Mailbox Peak offers an unobstructed view in every direction, as well as the famous mailbox. You will need all the motivation you can get to ascend this last portion of the trail, much of which is little improved and climbs steeply up the fall line. Congratulations, you still have a thousand feet to go! Now the scenery becomes spectacular as the trees thin out. At 3800' the new trail joins the old one. It is a bit of a dull climb in thick forest, at least until you reach 3000' where views open up in rocky areas. The new trail climbs the peak in long, moderately -graded switchbacks. If you want to go on the old, steep trail, continue walking up the gravel logging road another quarter mile. The new Mailbox Peak trail starts on the left a short distance up the road. Hike up the driveway to the upper parking lot, then continue walking on a gravel logging road. The bus drops you off at the lower parking lot at the Mailbox Peak Trailhead. Try to find a spot amidst the crowd of happy hikers, and enjoy the scenery. Atop the peak you will find the eponymous mailbox stuffed full of all sorts of odd things. The old and new trails eventually rejoin high on the peak, and the final climb up the windswept and bare ridge offers grand views. It can be a dull as well as tiring experience. Either trail involves a long ascent in a thick, view-less second growth forest. The old steep route, which gains the 4000' in less than three miles, remains popular with the fitness crowd. Completed a few years ago, this new trail takes 5 miles to reach the peak. With the increasing usage, the Department of Natural Resources, the land manager for the area decided that new, better-constructed trail was needed. Reaching the summit became the perfect Facebook/Instagram/Strava moment. The fact that the trail was steep and tough became an attraction, not a deterrent, for many. Word about the hike spread on various social media, and the number of hikers exploded seemingly overnight. Then the trail was discovered by athletes drawn by the 4000' of elevation gain. T en years ago, Mailbox Peak was a little known route used a by a few peak-baggers. NOTICE: The 2021 Trailhead Direct Service will not be running to Mailbox Peak, but it does serve nearby Destinations.
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