Seriously the sun is 27,000,000☏ and your dreams of your “light sunburn turning into a tan” is only an illusion. Recommendation: right before you come out of the trees, slather up. Up until the last part, when you hop out onto the exposed rock, only then do you start to bake. Sunscreen, yes or no? Virtually the entire trail is shaded, which is perfect for summer hiking.You will thank me! But if you choose the old trail, unless you run Spartan races continuously, you will tell yourself “We should’ve listened to that review on AllTrails.”) It’s smooth, rolling, and easy to pass people (double wide!). Seriously you can’t walk 12 inches without getting your foot caught on a root, which is exhausting (or challenging!).Recommendation: take the “new trail.” The volunteers who put the new trail together did an absolutely INCREDIBLE job with it. The old trail is very technical with lots of roots. Old trail? Or new trail? Unless you are in marathon running shape, do NOT take the old trail up OR down.That’s why there are flies everywhere-from the person that day who put a box of raisins to cook in the mailbox. Don’t be that guy who puts food in the mailbox. Mailbox at the top: Bring a sticker for the mailbox.You will have a difficult time choking down that much water, so sprinkle some Kool-Aid powder or power aid mixture to give you an incentive to drink it. Yes it’s an obscene amount, but you will thank me. Sure I survived, but I felt pretty gross driving back. I jogged/fast-walked the entire thing, so I wasn’t hiking long, so I thought I could get away with just 2 liters. (You’ll see a sign) Head left, and walk uphill until you get to the top! Note: these directions are for the “new trail.“ If you want the “old trail,” keep going up this gravel road until you come to another sign on your left that indicates Mailbox Peak. Follow this gravel road uphill until you get to the trailhead. Just look for the big gate/bar across the road… That is the start of the trail. Once dropped off by the shuttle, walk up the paved hill until you get to a gate across a gravel road (on your left).Please close the lid of the toilet, guys. Note: there are pit toilets at the parking lot once you get dropped off from the shuttle and you walk uphill. If you do park at the lot, you’ll need a Discover Pass. You can’t miss it, and it beats the hassle of parking. There is a sandwich board where to stand for the shuttle, which comes ever 10-15 minutes. Bring $2.75 (each way, so $5.50 total) or your Orca card to pay the fare. Instead of battling for a parking space, park 10 mins down the road at Twin Falls Middle School. I packed light and alternated between jogging and “striding out“ on the steep sections. I almost always run into someone I know.I went up the new trail and down the old trail on July 14, 2018. When it rains, hiking the Effing Cable Line resembles scampering up a muddy Splash Mountain ride backwards, and my quadriceps usually ache the next day. I aim for just under an hour, but the fastest known time is 22 minutes and 22 seconds, less than the length of a Friends episode, and as a treat for my knees I often switch to the West Tiger 3 trail on the way down for a gentle, lengthy descent. Only the dogs ever seem to be having pure fun, leaping from either side of the cable trough dug into the mud.Ĭable Line is the only trail I might do twice in one week, the only one where I time myself from the start at the High Point Trailhead. Trail runners in sleek sneakers and aerodynamic hydration packs lap it twice or more in a row, while Rainier-bound mountaineers trudge up with big packs and heavy boots, trying to break in gear before an upcoming trip. Suddenly every hiker and climber in the Seattle area remembers that they need to get in shape for big summer goals, and this trail's punishing ascent is basically a Stairmaster that smells like the forest. Though busy year-round, Cable Line blossoms with activity in the spring. Image: Courtesy Laura Tiefenbruck and Seattle Met Staff

Mailbox peak trail