Windy Ridge Trail

Day 116: When I got up this morning, I started getting ready for the workday at Mt. Rainier National Park, but shortly, the phone rang and once again, I was rescheduled. Flexibility is the key here, and that was part of the arrangement I made before I started. As long as I have advance notice that I'll be working, the day makes no difference to me.

That said, I settled into my chair to play "Angry Birds," not giving a thought to the beautiful weather developing outside my window. When the sun streamed in and blinded me, I laid the game aside and looked out onto the promise of a 50-degree February day. My conscience wouldn't let me rest, so I packed up my gear and headed down to Charles L. Pack Experimental Forest with no particular goal in mind. I did want to see the extent of the ice storm's damage, even though I knew it had been cleared from the roads.

The hike begins at the administration buildings. The public is prohibited from motorized access to the roads, so a two-mile walk takes you to Kirkland Pass where you have a number of different choices. Kirkland is a five-way intersection of roads, and three trails are close at hand. I thought about making the 2000 Rd. loop for a day's total of eight miles, but decided that was too far for the lateness of the day. Besides, I hadn't had a storm-damage report for the Windy Ridge Trail, only for the roads.

As it turned out, I did 7.5 miles anyway, the trail being much more interesting than the road would have been. I found very little debris down on the trail and only one very small tree I actually had to step over. And Windy Ridge lived up to its name today! The trail follows a line between mature timber and young reprod, and those tall trees were whipping and swaying in the wind. Still, all in all, it was a great day to be out in boots!