Just outside North Bend, a steep, unforgiving trail tempts hikers and aspiring mountaineers—and rewards them with a surprise at the top. The route winds through a dense forest before depositing huffing-and-puffing travelers in an ankle-testing boulder field on Mailbox Peak. The challenging day hike is a Seattle-area favorite, a training ground for peaks like Mount Rainier, and subject of local backcountry legend.
A 45-minute drive east on I-90 from downtown Seattle leads to a parking lot just north of North Bend. The trailhead closest to the parking area switchbacks five miles up and down each way. The other, a second route, greets hikers with a foreboding trailhead post: “Please consider if
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