Here's the problem. Mailbox isn't a terrible hike. As much as I whine and complain about Mailbox Peak I keep coming back. It's a great workout. It's got great views. It's got name recognition and you get instant respect when you talk about your time there.
At the same time, it has 3,000 feet of either long, boring switchbacks or stupidly steep and deteriorating trail through dead forest. Neither are good. It's become insanely crowded to the point that I won't go unless I'm really early or really late. And don't even think of finding parking if you're after 9am.
Those two paragraphs kind of balance each other out. Then, out of nowhere comes a day like this where the sky is blue, the snow is powder, and everything is awesome.
So... good hike? Bad hike? Trickster hike? I give up.
And I'll see you at the top.
