This last Friday (May 12, 2006) I decided to hike Mailbox Peak for the first time with a few of my friends. After two hours of climbing almost straight uphill we departed from the forest and began to scale the rock slide, thinking the mailbox rested on top of the hill. Once we reached the top though we realized we had a good 20 minutes of hiking left to complete. It was here where we decided to stop for a water break and enjoy the view we had of the giant valley below. We couldn't have timed it any better. All of our eyes widened and jaws dropped as we watched a black bear roam the field below us. It was perfect. We were pretty far away but still managed to take a few pictures before the bear rumbled back into the forest. I'll try to post the pics as soon as possible.