Fellow Six Pack of Peaks Challenger, Johnny, and his dog Mara, and I made our first ever mountain summit on Sunday and scaled Mailbox Peak!

We took the technical, old route up and the new route down.  The new route offers a pleasant hike on a wide well maintained trail, past creeks with small waterfalls, and is easily accomplished with time, water, and maybe snacks.  On the other hand, the technical route was much harder than expected, we should have taken the sign in the pictures more seriously!  The trail is incredibly steep, relying mostly on rocks and roots to hold it in place.  If you choose this route, understand you will be doing lunges for 3 miles, so bring plenty of water and food to recharge!

It took us over 5 hours to complete the summit and get back down.  However, my partner and I did not expect it to take that long, so I brought only my 2L Camelback.  The difficulty of the trail and heat of the day (we didn't start till 2pm) had me dripping sweat and out of water 1.5 hours in.  The creeks on the new trail coming back down saved us here (it is Wednesday night of writing this and no illnesses to report)!

All these precautions being said, it was a great hike!  Great views from the top, and when nearing the tree line.  I can't wait for the other peaks!