We did the mailbox trail using the new trail, which is much longer but less steeper. It was a hot, summer day in June, difficult for the hike, but made the views unparalleled. We were a group of 10 friends and started at around 7:30am. We reached the parking lot at 7:10AM and it filled pretty quickly after that. The ascent up to 3000ft was easy and fun. It was all in the cover of the trees and moderate gain over 5.5 miles. We played games along the way, and thought that we were overestimating the hike to be very, very hard until we reached the bouldering section. This was where the tree shade ended and Mt Rainier showed up, standing in its full glory. We started the bouldering section, which was one of my favorite part of the hike. As we approached the top of the bouldering section, we were shocked to realize that there was an even steeper section (0.4miles, 800ft gain). This was where we realized that this hike was really difficult. We slowly climbed this part, taking breaks, clicking pictures along the way with Mt. Rainer, looking forward to see the mailbox. Finally we reached at the top, and it was surreal. The peak is very narrow and not surrounded by any other peak, hence provides a full view of Washington on a clear sunny day, like this. We could see Seattle, Bellevue, Lake Washington, Olympic Ranges, Rattlesnake Lake, Mt. Si, and of course Mt. Rainier. There were other 2 peaks also visible, once of them I think was Mt. Baker. After that we clicked some pics with the mailbox, had an awesome potluck lunch, of sandwiches, hummus, chips, and guac at the top. Then we started the decent. The decent till the end of bouldering section was easy and quick, but then the long 5.5 mile was boring and I got some minor blisters while coming down, before reaching the parking lot. We reached at 6PM. But overall it was a fun day hiking the mailbox peak with insane views and awesome friends. Looking forward to more hikes to complete the challenge! 🙂