Mt. Wire solo: When I got off the freeway onto Foothill Dr. the first thing that I noticed was the wind was blowing a lot harder than in Sandy. I parked at the zoo and the wind was even stronger. Dammit, should have done View Benchmark. Oh well, I was prepared. I put on my windstopper fleece gloves, hat and vest and told myself not to be a wuss. Mud! Slush! Ice! The lower trail is in bad shape right now. Once I got to the ridge it improved and I saw someone ahead of me above the first saddle, so naturally I picked up my pace. It was a woman and I caught her and passed her before the second saddle. Nice lady. Above the second saddle the wind was horrendous and when I hit the towers it slugged me in the chops and took my breath away. I ran hard to the top and turned right around and went down. I took it slower than normal because I didn't want to slip and tweak my back again. Below the second saddle the wind seemed to die which was nice and then it was a messy slog back to the car.
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