[SouthernYokel]

[tigermn]

What Hutch said. I did this hike in 2008 and left early. By the time I was winding down around 11AM or so the conga line was in sight... From 2008 around 11AM..

Conga line grows on descent from Mailbox peak.

No solitude here at least on any kind of decent weekend day especially if you hike via a typical later nwhikers type of schedule.. Funny report though... It could mostly apply to almost any popular trail in the I-90 corridor or elsewhere...

[forest gnome]

gee hutch THANKS for explanin that for us!!

[Dustin Trails]

I really appreciate the satirically angry reports. My hiking partner and I adlib WTA trip reports as we make our way up easy trails... "Thank you for the work on the new trail, but I will mention this is a rainy mountain! We couldn't see a thing. About halfway up the trail we came across a puddle on the trail and on the other side of the puddle was a downed tree. Not seeing a way around, we decided to call it a day. We hit the North Bend McDonald's feeling accomplished and were home in time to watch Game of Thrones." That being said, Mailbox has always been annoying on the weekends, but I recently did the new trail and think it still makes a pretty solid after work outing. We went on a Wednesday and were the only two out there. Although, the old trail made a good after work outing... so it does seem unnecessary.

[RichardJ]

Excellent report AH! I was on Tinkham Peak yesterday looking out towards I90 wondering where you were and if we would ever get another trip report. Made my day. I later a met tlake on nwhikers at Mirror Lake who quoted you from a Cedar Butte report and we had some laughs.

[The Angry Hiker]

[Gimpilator]

Thank you!!! I really needed that. I recall hearing that there was a project to make a new trail and thinking, "No way! Any peak but that one." I have not been back to see it, but I did drive past the parking area one weekend and it was jammed. Seeing your photos of all those bridges is rather disappointing... Looking forward to your next report.

[Malachai Constant]

The bridges are down pretty low, probably lower than where the old trail leaves the road. They are however about a mile up the new trail, it is very flat.

[joker]

I enjoyed Mailbox as a pretty quiet sort of off-season stairstepper back before folks were bragging about it on trip reports on the web, on social media sites like facebook, etc. Most days we saw pretty much no-one. Damn interwebz ruined it! Why, when I was a kid we had to walk ten miles to school in the snow... I can only imagine how hikers reacted when the put an auto road and railroad up Mt Washington in New Hampshire!

But it's actually a sort of surreal, disorienting, and festive sort of place to arrive at in high season in the middle of a weeklong backpack.

[Malachai Constant]

They had the Cog Railroad before the road, and they left a bit of rock on the true summit just like Mailbox so folks could pose at the top.

[Graveler]

SAR was up there twice over the 3 day saving the people.......

[cartman]

[Kazan]

Get over yourself. Seriously. At first I thought this was meant to be satire, but then I realized that you're probably serious. We don't need hiking hipsters. We don't need elitist jerks. Other people using the new easier trail does not cancel out your accomplishment of using the harder trail.

[crazyhiker]

^^There's always at least one.... Great trip report! I've missed these.

[Slugman]

Kazan's first post is to take AH seriously? Ha haha! Then he talks about someone being a jerk? Ha ha ha! What a clueless jackass. He will fit in well here.