Mailbox Peak - Thighmaster 4000

This was a fantastic adventure, although not the trek I had originally been looking forward to this morning. Cedar and I headed up into the North Bend area aiming for a 10 mi trail, Big Creek/Otter Falls, which promised only 700 ft of elevation gain.  Looking forward to a nice long walk without all the up, we set out on I-90 heading East.  We took all the right turns and made record time, but on the last stretch of road we got only about half the 12 mi distance to the trailhead when I saw that the road ahead, through a flat marshy area, had a lot of standing water and slush covering it in large areas.  The Altima had done fine with ice and little snow patches, previously and didn't seem to mind the muddy potholes, but this was not something I was willing to attempt.  Unfortunately the road was a single track with icy snow on each side and in the middle, which kept rattling under my car, so I had to back up for about a quarter mile before I was able to turn around.  Actually, I got sick of reverse and tried to turn around sooner, but nearly got it stuck. 
Once I turned around I drove back to where I had seen quite a few cars parked and hikers getting out earlier.  I pulled into the parking lot and asked about the trail, which I was told was Mailbox Peak, and challenging, "quite a workout."  Well, that sounded like a fair trade.  I would go one quarter the distance, but over 4x the elevation gain.  Ouch.  This 6 mi round trip trail gains 4000 ft of elevation and it is ALL on the way up, so 1000-1500 ft per mile of climbing. 
The trail started out on a dirt road and after a bit the actual trail head was on the left, with an ominous sign stating that this is a very demanding climb which many people have been escorted off of by search and rescue, and to please respect your own limits. 
On I went.  For a brief few moments, the muddy trail wended through the trees, passing this stream.

Then it just went up.  Up, up, up and forget about leveling off at all.  I took my time, since I knew this would be pushing my limits and was a trail I was unprepared for, but still it kicked my butt.  Now and then for maybe 1 or 2 steps the trail would be flat and it was an amazing pleasure even for those brief seconds.  Then up again, through a sunlit forest of young trees.

A little hard-packed ice and snow started showing up on the trail as we climbed, and then less and less earth could be seen. Tree roots that twisted across the path were now ice-covered,

both tripping and slipping hazards. 

 We started to see a few hikers on the trail with spiky things for their shoes, trekking poles, snowshoes and other snow hiking/climbing devices.  One even had an ice axe.  I thought maybe that was overkill, but considering I didn't even make it to the top, maybe not!   

I kept hoping my legs would hold out and pushed on and on.  Finally, we got near where other hikers said the trees opened up on a scree slope.  It was gorgeous, and I noticed that we seemed to be actually above the elevation of some of the surrounding peaks.

I could tell that I would have to turn around here.  With the drifts and snow-covered objects, the snow was sometimes over Cedar's head.  He acted like the whole thing was a total lark, running and flipping tiny fir cones around, kicking chunks of ice down the slope (they fell for a long, long ways... it was steep!!) 

I checked his paws and gave him a lot of water, and he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself and none-the-worse for the wear, despite being snarled at and attacked by an off-leash dog a little earlier.  To be fair, she was old and crotchety and he was trying to play with her, but her people were not even in view yet and she could have moved away.  Her attack escalated fast, and I delivered a couple solid kicks and yelled at her.  Her owners apologized and let me know that "she wasn't socialized."  Ya think?? 
We sat for lunch on a log that I kicked most of the snow off of.  The remaining snow melted in through my layers and completely froze my ass.  The minute I stopped moving I remembered that I wasn't in a sauna (it was hot work, climbing) and the wind was brutally cold.  I made sure Cedar got some food to replace the calories he was burning, ate just half my lunch and threw my pack on again.
Down we went.  It had taken about 2 hrs and 45 minutes to get as far up as we did.  Another climber that had done the trail many times said I'd attained about 2/3 of it.  I will be back for the rest! 
It only took 1 hr 45 min to get down, but it was gruelling on my already-tired legs, and with no other equipment to help, I had to use my own balance to keep from slipping and falling all the way back.  Cedar pulled too much so I took him off his leash for my safety.

We made it back to the car and I felt a sense of accomplishment, despite not reaching the peak summit.  I will definitely be back, especially after reading more about the trail. 

It is an excellent training trail for my Rainier climb. 

After reaching the car, the little dog that had run all the way and acted like it was nothing, curled up on the fleece blanket on the seat and didn't move for the entire drive home.  : )  I guess it is possible to tire him out.