Mailbox Peak in Washington (FKT)

Just off the cruise at the beginning of September, I was looking for a hike/climb/run as a last real workout before volunteering at Primal Quest.  The FKT site has a lot of interesting possibilities, and I found one that didn't even have a female time posted yet.  The route up to Mailbox Peak looked like an excellent trail, the skies were mostly clear of smoke finally, let's do it.

I took a shuttle bus to the trailhead and a fellow hiker offered to take my picture in lieu of my normal close-up selfie:

It's a big ol' road right at the start:

The turn onto the new trail:

The new trail does several long switchbacks instead of climbing straight up the side of the hill:

Washington trail greenery (and no sign of poison oak, how nice):

An attempt at a picture of a bird, perhaps we were both a bit startled by our encounter:

Quite a lot of work has been put into this trail creation:

Excellent shade most of the way up:

A first glimpse of the area around the peak:

Things start to get more rocky higher up:

Mount Rainier!  Memories of our recent climb:

Crossing a talus field in the final climb toward the summit:

Well-placed stairs up through the rocks:

Climbing up to the horizon:

Back on dirt, OK, we're not quite to the top yet, and that final push was quite a haul.

It was worth it though - a very cool summit setup:

I wonder which came first, the name "Mailbox Peak" or the actual mailbox:

Another look at Mount Rainier for good measure:

Wonderful views all around:

The mailbox was stuffed full of stuff and covered in stickers:

And... a bicycle??  No idea what that's all about:

The split with the old trail (I followed the new trail up and back down):

Hmm, the bathroom is way over there, but sometimes you just gotta go...

Back at the bottom - thumbs up for this trail, I loved it.

Total time = 3:28:30, posted to the FKT site:
https://fastestknowntime.com/route/mailbox-peak-wa

A look at the shuttle stop, and I appreciated the bus option so I didn't have to fight for parking at the trailhead:

Thank you, Mailbox Peak!