Mailbox Peak — Local services in North Bend

Holy Stairmaster 10000! Def a butt burner and the longest 2.5 miles everrrr going up old trail. The trail gets progressively more challenging as you go up, pretty much a staircase of tree roots that then turns into a rock staircase towards the end 😆🥴 Was so beautiful though! We picked a PERFECT day to hike. The weather and views were gorgeous. Wasn’t hot or cold. Packed a sweater because it was chilly at the top. Left some snacks in the mailbox for someone less prepared than we were! :) Took us approx 3 hours to hike up and that was walking slowish and taking breaks- and an hour or so to go down. Got there at 11:30 and was back at the car around 4:30. I do not recommend running down old trail unless you have very strong knees!!! I rolled my ankle twice and was a challenge. But we made it! We only went down old trail because we weren’t sure how long it would take and it was getting late. Next time I’ll run down new trail! I can also see how some people could get lost in the woods on old trail but it seemed pretty straightforward which direction to go on the way down, just use caution and intuition!

Definitely was a great hike, very challenging, which I enjoy. Not for the weak or out of...

This was an epic hike for me, as I'm an avid average hiker and not a mountaineer. This is a trail you need to prepare for. Bring lots of water, food, hiking boots, poles and a first aid kit just in case because this hike is not something for the ill prepared or beginners in my opinion. There was a woman on the trail who wore her 'bare foot toe shoes' and half way up she had to turn around and hike down completely bare foot due to blisters. This trail is a very steep climb that took my breath away a couple of times. I did it several years ago before the current trail revisions, and it was brutal. I both loved and hated this hike. I'm glad I did it and checked it off my list, but I probably wouldn't do it again. I like long hikes, for example Rattlesnake to East Peak and over to the other parking lot is about 11 miles, and that's more my pace than this climb to mailbox which is only 4+ miles, but a lot of elevation gain. My buddy was using this trail to condition...

It's been a while since I took on a challenging hike, and this one made me realize I need to go out and hike more often. When I reached the top of the mountain, I thought I was close to the Mailbox summit, but I didn't anticipate the huge pile of granite stones that lay ahead. Although my GPS watch showed it was only about 300 meters away, that last stretch was a steep up-climb and I had no water or food to help me through it. At one point, I even wished the rocks were edible so I could eat them. But the view from the summit was breathtaking and definitely worth the effort.

The hike back down, however, turned out to be even more challenging. We took the shorter route shown on the map, but it was a mistake. The trail was unused and unmaintained, making it steep and dark. More than half of the trail was unclear and difficult to follow. What was supposed to be a 2.2-mile hike back took us almost three hours. It was a memorable...