Pikes Peak

October 5
Another brrrrr-worthy morning. If I hadn't set my alarm for 7, probably would have stayed curled up in the covers a few more hours. We actually moved the van to a sunnier spot before having a quick breakfast and heading back toward Manitou Springs for the Barr Trail to the summit of Pikes Peak. We arrived at 9 but took quite a while to actually get going - a lot of it determining if bikes were actually allowed on the trail before coughing up the $10 parking fee. I figured eight hours for the round trip, so leaving at 10 didn't leave much cushion for getting back by dark at 7. But off we went, me on foot and Rudy on bike a few minutes behind. My hip and left leg in general were still a little iffy, so I tried to start carefully, but without dawdling. The trail was pretty nice - wide, some rocks and steps and a bit steep, but seemed well maintained - there were even mile markers! I was happy to see the first one, then I saw 1.5, didn't like that so much, but every half mile is still OK. The first 2 miles took 45 minutes and I was already worried about not being able to get to the top in 6 hours, and kicking myself for forgetting to throw in a light. I increased the effort a little, and the trail actually mellowed out (but still climbing!) the next few miles, so I was making better time. Rudy even caught up to me after some smoother sections that included some downhill before we again hit some steeper rockiness that necessitated hike-a-biking and me pulling ahead. Being concerned about the altitude, and simply covering ~25 miles that starts with over 7,000' of climbing, I was diligent about taking a drink every mile and having a snack every hour. No stops for pictures on the way up, I just wanted to keep plugging along, expecting to have difficulty once I got over 10,000'.

The destination (photo taken on the way back down)

That altitude was surpassed about half way up with no noticeable issues. The mile markers stopped after 6.5 miles, but there was an occasional old metal sign indicating how many miles to the top, though the one at the bottom said 13 miles, so I figured there may have been some trail changes since those were installed...coming down I found the higher ones, at least, were pretty accurate. Three miles later was treeline at over 11,000' - still feeling good, though the breeze was mighty cold! Temperature was in the 30s, but only partly cloudy, so there was sunshine here and there, and my jacket went off and on a couple times. The upper half of the trail was certainly more technical and steeper, but still pretty manageable and I was staying under 25 minutes per mile until about the final mile. This was a lot more rock steps and boulders to navigate. I don't think the trail was terribly steep, but going up and over the rocks at 14,000' was definitely tough - my legs were feeling tired, my heart beating fast, and my breathing hard, but no concerning altitude sickness symptoms that I could detect, so kept on moving, though slowly and carefully. I was still able to cover that last mile in only half an hour, making the whole climb in under five hours (my Garmin had 12.3 miles). I spent only a few minutes wandering around the summit before my hands were worthlessly cold and I retreated inside the visitor's center (there is a road that goes to the top) to take advantage of the running warm water and air driers in the bathroom to get thawed. Just a quick snack, a few drinks from the fountain, a few pictures outside, then I started hustling back down the mountain.

I stood on the rock pile, looks higher than the summit sign by the building

Yep, amazing views

I was kind of trotting down, but being super cautious as I did not want to trip and fall up there! Almost a mile down I came upon Rudy pushing his bike up the trail! I cannot imagine making most of that hike with the bike - well, it would have been mostly pushing for me, Rudy managed to ride all but a few miles of the climb. He was doing well, though a little chilly - I let him know the next mile was hard, but he had made great time, and there were facilities at the top, and we both kept moving. The first four miles down took me over an hour, but the next few miles were a little more relaxed. Breathing, legs, and energy seemed good, my tummy was a little angry - and weirdly my eyelids felt so heavy - not really tired in general, just my eyes wanted to sleep? Soon I was back to the smoother stuff and feeling better, until I managed to go off onto another trail! Really, I only added half a mile and ten minutes getting myself off the Manitou Incline and back to where I wanted to be via the Ute Trail, but I hate when I don't pay enough attention to stay on the obvious main trail! The worst part was I missed a cool rock formation I was going to get a picture of - oh, and Rudy passed me in the final mile - I totally would have gotten to the end first if I hadn't detoured! Still, I was happy to be getting back well before dark, and did manage to take some pictures without worrying about time.

Cameron Cone?

Still some fall colors

Some cool red rocks out there - I think Garden of the Gods is to the right

The run took me a little under three hours - Rudy's bike ride down was probably an hour faster, and his climb up about an hour slower. After we unwound, ate some food, and filled all our water vessels (getting our $10 worth!) it was already getting dark and we headed to the hopeful camp spot. We wound our way up a nicely paved canyon road and were surprised to find a lot of activity at our destination trailhead. A lot of emergency vehicles - apparently an accident way out on one of the trails. We kept out of the way, but observed there was still some activity until well after 10pm. We just had some leftovers for dinner, a little reading, then precious sleep!