Spectacular, volcanic scenery, utterly astounding and astonishingly colorful.

Left the house at 5:40 AM. Long drive through windy and twisty roads, about 125 miles driving each way. But once I got off the main highways (which amounted to the last 50 miles averaging less than 30 mph), I didn't run into a single car until I got to the trailhead. No logging trucks on Sunday! Perfect day to avoid the traffic on such a convoluted driving route. Reached the trailhead at 8:40 AM, and got on the trail at 9:00 AM. As planned, the weather was perfect: clear and cool with a constant breeze.

Total hiking distance: about 10 miles; total climbing: about 1,600 feet; total hiking time: 8 hours, 59 minutes, and 12 seconds. Hike back from my turnaround point was slow and tedious, due to totally unexpected conditions at Windy Pass, 5 miles from my starting point. Total time for the entire hike should have been more like 7 hours, but Windy Pass at 5 miles was completely washed out due to landslides. The trail across the Plains of Abraham was well marked by prominent cairns that abruptly disappeared at Windy Pass, as if the trail across the Plains was a trail to nowhere. I spent about a half hour, with the help of two slim, athletic young women, taller than I was, probably in their early twenties (one jogging the route!), trying to find a way through the pass for the likes of me within my aged limited abilities, and failing. The jogger was running all over the hillside exploring possible routes for me. Never in my life was I ever as nimble as she was.

There was one step up that I had to use all of my failing strength to get up. One effort to use my arms to pull myself over a steep pitch strained my Tricepts Brachii Muscle in my right arm, but I didn't notice this until the next day. Another stretch I thought I could climb up but I could make it up only about 20 feet through narrow toe holds. I then looked down and it looked like a vertical drop, so I chickened out , carefully and plan-fully making my way back down, But I was still lucky to escape with my life. Trying to find a route through Windy Pass was utterly exhausting for me. It simply exceeded my physical strength and sense of balance. Just to get back on the marked trail, the non-jogger helped me with a few hand-holds and that made it a lot less treacherous for me. Thank heavens for good Samaritans.

The landslides in Windy Pass was a lot more than I signed up for, and the attempt to find a way through it completely wore me out. So, totally humiliated by my aging and aching bones, I had to retrace my steps back to the original trailhead. My hike to Windy Pass was mostly downhill, and so my hike back the where I started was mostly uphill. That, coupled with my exhaustion at Windy Pass, made my return slow going and resulted in my feet aching by the time I got back to the car. (No damage done however.) The route of course was full of volcanic dust and I and all my exposed clothing and equipment were coated with the stuff. Was back in the car at 6:30 and didn't get home until 9:30 PM.

Timetable for the hike:
1. Started at 9:00 AM PST or 0:00 o'clock hiking time at the Windy Ridge Viewpoint, hiking south down the Truman Trail.
2. 1:12:26 o'clock hiking time arrived at junction of 216D (1 hour, 12 minutes, and 26 seconds after beginning of hike. Ate lunch here. Trail up 216D is steep and climbs by a series of sand ladders 4,150 feet to about 4,400 feet.
3. 1:50:29 o'clock resumed hiking after eating lunch (29 minutes and 3.09 seconds after the previous milestone).
4. 4:25:27 o'clock arrived at the junction with the Loowit Trail at 4,500 feet (2 hours, 34 minutes, and 57 seconds after the previous milestone.
5. 5:57:52 o'clock arrived at Windy Pass (1 hour, 32 minutes, and 24 seconds after the previous milestone). I had a lot of fun taking photos up to this point. But now I was forced to screw around for about a half hour, straining my muscles at at their limits, trying t