Field trip: Conditioning Hiking Series

CHS 2 Hike - Mailbox Peak

Sunset hike to Mailbox Peak! We will be heading up the Old Trail in the evening, enjoy a sunset dinner at the top, and use headlamps to come down the New Trail. This is a strenuous hike with a ton of elevation gain!

Contacts

Craig Behnke

Primary Leader

Wed, Jun 25, 2025
Committee: Seattle Hiking Committee
Activity Type: Day Hiking
Audience: Adults

Difficulty: Strenuous
Leader Rating: Challenging
Mileage: 7.5 mi
Elevation Gain: 4,000 ft
Pace: 2 MPH

Availability: 3 (8 capacity)
Instructor Availability: FULL (2 capacity)
Cancellation & Refund Policy

Leader's notes

Our objective: hike one of the best conditioning hikes around Seattle minus the weekend crowds! Mailbox defines the "short but painful" hike category. Our route up will cover about 4000 feet of elevation in 2.5 miles; expect to go ballpark 1.0-1.5 mph going up and a bit faster going down the longer new trail. Overall hike time including resting at the top is likely to be around six hours. We're not going to rush.

For those who haven't hiked it before, there's a large talus field at the top that has to be crossed, good shoes and patience are required to cross the field safely (and hiking poles can help). By late June it's likely there will be no filterable water available, so make sure to bring enough to complete the whole hike.

Meeting place and time

We'll leave from the trailhead in the early evening, exact time to be set out in the Hello Hiker email.

Route/Place

Mailbox Peak

Recommended Maps & Charts:
Green Trails Mount Si NRCA No. 206S
Green Trails Middle Fork Snoqualmie No. 174SX
Green Trails Bandera No. 206
See full route/place details.

Roster

Required Equipment

Pointing out the light source in the ten essentials-- for this hike we'll be in twilight or dark on our way down, so it is critical that you have a headlamp and extra batteries!

Ten Essential Systems