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Author: Laura M Clark
Laura has summited over 500 peaks above 13,000' solo, including being the first woman to solo summit all of the Colorado 14ers, as well as the centennials. After each hike, she writes trip reports for each one and publishes them on her blog, which is read by fans all over the world. Author of Wild Wanderer: Summiting Colorado’s 200 Highest Peaks, which is available to purchase on Amazon.
I didn’t want to embarrass Thomas, but I really wanted to hike the incline with him and Troop 2, so we came up with a plan: I’d drive us both there, and while the group was getting ready to hike I’d take off first and meet everyone at the top. This way I didn’t embarrass the boys (who were slower hikers). It’s never fun to be shown up by a mom!
We got there at 7:55am for an 8am hike. It was CROWDED! I’ve never seen so many people there! It was a nice day, and 8am on a weekend, so I’m sure that added to the popularity. I usually hike the incline when it’s cold or very early in the morning on a Friday, so it isn’t very busy. I can only imagine the insanity in the summer!
It seemed like it took forever for Troop 2 to get ready: Everyone had to assemble, use the restroom, make sure paperwork was done, apply sunscreen, use the restroom again, etc. It was driving me mad, and eventually I said goodbye to Thomas and just started hiking.
My goal for today was not to stop: I could hike slow, but no stopping, just to see if I could make it to the top without stopping. About ¼ of the way up I heard trekking poles hitting the ground behind me. Those poles eventually started making me crazy, so I let the guy with the poles pass. He was from Norway, and thanked me for setting a great pace. His intended goal was Barr Camp, and maybe Pikes Peak today. He passed me for about 40 steps, and then I passed him again. I hate to play leapfrog with other hikers, but luckily he never passed me again and I stayed in the lead.
I was able to hike to the top of the incline without stopping! I made excellent time, and just a few minutes after I summited I was surprised to see Thomas making his way up as well!
He summited in 38 minutes! That’s a great time for his first time up the incline!
The hard part came next: waiting for the rest of the troop to make it. There was a lot of waiting! About 10 minutes after Thomas made it Max summited, and about 20 minutes after that two of the younger boys made it to the top. We waited almost 2 hours for the rest of the troop to summit. That’s long enough I could have hiked the 3 miles down and hiked back up the incline before they made it to the top! Oh well, I met a lot of fun people at the summit who were thrilled with their success (and tons of dogs too! For a “no dogs allowed” hike I counted over 10 of them).
After the entire troop made it to the top I took a Troop 2 picture of the excited boys.
Thomas and Max had been waiting over an hour and a half, so as soon as the picture was done they sprinted down the Barr Trail. I followed after them (a few minutes after, so they wouldn’t be bothered with me) and ran the entire way down as well. So that’s three firsts for me today: Hiking the incline without stopping, hiking the incline with Thomas, and running the entire length of the Barr Trail back down to the parking lot.
Today the weather was absolutely beautiful, but I had limited time (Cookie Booth at 2pm). I met up with Dave at the Red Rock Open Space North Lot for a hike through Red Rock Open Space and the Palmer Loop. I’ve hiked Red Rock Open space several times, usually sticking to the Quarry Trail. I knew it connected with Section 16 trails, but I wasn’t sure exactly how.
We started on the Mesa Trail, and took it to the Intenman / Section 16 trail connection. From there we followed the Palmer Loop for 5.5 miles, diverting only once to take the Waterfall Trail (out and back). The waterfall was completely frozen. I love frozen waterfalls!
The Loop eventually connected with Lower Gold Camp Road, which I found very interesting. I’ve been meaning to explore Gold Camp Road for some time now. We only hiked a small portion of the road, so I’ll need to come back to explore more. It’s fun how you can hike for miles and miles, only to end up on a road and near a parking lot, then get back on the trail to head back to the parking lot you originally parked in. I feel more familiar with the ‘other’ Red Rock Open Space and Section 16 trailheads.
Parts of the trail (those in the sun) were completely dry and warm, which made for lovely hiking. Other parts, however, were in canyons and covered in shade. Those areas were icy, slippery, and very cold. Beautiful though!
The final part of the trail took us on a hill with great views of Colorado Springs (and the landfill…)
I hiked part of the Heizer trail earlier this year when I was a bit rushed for time, so today I decided to hike it all the way to the Barr Trail.
I parked just outside of Cascade Park (the ONLY place you’re allowed to park to hike this trail).
And began by walking down the street and up the hill to the left. Once at the top of the driveway, the trail starts to the left.
I began at 7am. The trail conditions varied from completely clear, to covered in snow, to covered in ice. I never needed microspikes, but they would have come in handy crossing a couple of small streams (I had them but didn’t want to take the time to put them on: I just looked for a safer route and slipped a lot but never fell).
The trail had awesome signs indicating which trails were which. I LOVE these kinds of signs! There was no ambiguity: I could have hiked this route without a topo map.
I hiked up the Heizer Trail, over Cascade Mountain (9387’) and down to the Manitou Reservoir and Trail 638. This is where I lost about 2000’ in elevation (to be gained again on the way back). There were tons of signs letting me know I was in a watershed area and to hike off trail. From here I crossed French Creek and saw a rock painted like a fish. I’m assuming this part of the creek usually has more water…
Shortly after crossing French Creek I came to some amazing views of Pikes Peak! It’s wonderful how many different views this mountain offers!
The view never gets old!
From here signs indicated it was another 2.5 miles to Barr Trail, but it seemed much, much longer than that. I got in a lot of good thinking. After what seemed like forever I was deposited onto the Barr Trail. Here:
Immediately I thought: NO WAY!!! This CANNOT be where I’m supposed to end up? I thought I was supposed to connect close to Barr Camp, and I knew just by looking at where I was it was still miles away! I decided to hike up Barr Trail to the nearest mile marker sign. They’re placed every half mile, so the most I’d need to hike to get an accurate accounting of where I was was only half a mile. I hiked almost half a mile and saw this sign: MM5!!!
I didn’t really mentally calculate the distance I’d be hiking today, and it wasn’t until I hit this part of the Barr trail it hit me just how long this hike actually was. Hiking in from Heizer Trail added on 3 miles each way to Barr Camp… that meant this was an 18 mile round trip hike! Hmmm… Barr Camp was still almost 2 miles ahead of me. I looked at the time: I still had an hour before I had to turn back, so I had plenty of time, but when I looked up and saw those clouds moving in I knew I had to turn back: those were snow clouds, and forming rapidly.
I sighed inwardly: Oh well, I’ve been to Barr Camp over a dozen times. My main goal today was to find out where the Heizer trail connected with the Barr Trail, and I figured it out: at about MM4.5 I still had a minimum of 3 hours of hiking ahead of me, and needed to get a move on to stay ahead of that snow.
The hike back seemed shorter than the hike in, but it still went on forever, through the woods and over several mountains. Here’s a view of Pikes Peak on the way back:
The 2000’ in elevation gain on the way back didn’t hurt as much as I’d anticipated, and when I got to Cascade Mountain I saw something I hadn’t on the way in: A small piece of paper under a rock on a boulder. It was a Chinese Drawing. I left it there for whomever it was intended and began my hike down the Heizer Trail. That part of the hike seriously took forever! Those switchbacks never end!
About halfway down the mountain I saw a couple with a dog, headed to Hurricane Canyon. I’ll probably head there next, as it looks interesting! They were the only people I saw all day (besides a runner along the Barr Trail heading to Barr Camp).
I made it back to my truck at 1pm, just as the first snowflakes were beginning to fall. I’d made the right choice to turn back when I did! Soon it was a whiteout, but I was in my truck, so all was well.
So today I hiked 15 miles in 6 hours with 4300+ feet of elevation gain. Here’s a map of my route:
My intent this morning was to hike the incline twice: one to see the sunrise, and again for the exercise.
I woke up at 5am, got a cup of coffee, and opened my front door to look at the mountains: fog/clouds were covering them. I couldn’t even see the light atop Pikes Peak. That settled it: I was going back to bed.
I woke up briefly again at 6:50 am to get the kids off to school, then snoozed until the cats woke me up at 11:10am. I looked outside: no serious clouds over the area I intended to hike.
I quickly made a quesadilla and downed it with a glass of milk (those of you who know me know what that means) and made it to the incline in record time. As I was driving up Ruxton Ave I saw someone I’d met at the 14er Happy Hour, offered him a ride the rest of the way, but he declined (presumable because he was on a date).
It was frosty but not too cold (around 30 degrees) when I started. I began at 12 noon and decided to take it slow, mainly because I intended to do this twice today.
I trudged along, leap frogging with Eric for a bit, and then finally hiking on my own for the last quarter mile or so. I summited in 40 minutes, which was slow for me but reasonable since I’d intentionally paced myself. I took a summit selfie to prove I’d made it, and continued back down (after chatting with the girl hiking with Eric: she and I made it at about the same time… he was a bit behind).
The entire 3 miles back down the Barr Trail I debated if I should actually hike the incline again? I wanted to, but I was worried I was short on time. I needed to be back for cookie appointments, and a shower was essential beforehand. I could just go home and run for 40 minutes or so on the treadmill, but wasn’t that why I was out here today? Because I didn’t WANT to run the treadmill? I wanted to hike outside…
The trail was covered in snow… I was wearing microspikes and kind of walk/jogging my way down. (Note to self: get tighter pants, my yoga pants kept falling down as I tried to jog).
The last part of the Barr trail has a very small incline up about 15 steps. I hiked up them and thought: “Nope, I’m done for the day, this hurts” and continued towards the parking lot.
I made it to my truck, realized it was only 1:30pm, and knew I had PLENTY of time to do it again. So I did. Why run on a treadmill when I could hike in the mountains? I told myself I wouldn’t worry about time: I’d just trudge on and see how long it took me. I kept a slow and steady pace, and it was actually easier the second time. Maybe because I’d warmed up? Or maybe because I wasn’t worried about my time. I met lots of fun people along the way, and summited in 42.57 minutes (we’ll go with 43 minutes). Not too bad, considering it was my second time up today!
I again took the Barr Trail down, and when I was about a mile from my truck started texting my kids about pick-up, after school clubs, etc. Emily actually wanted to stay an extra hour and a half, so I had plenty of time. I mentally congratulated myself for making the right choice and hiking the incline twice. All in all, today I did 4200’ of elevation gain, and just under 8 miles in 3 hours. Woot!
I’m thinking this would be a proper 14er comparison if I could bump it up to 4 rotations. Next time maybe I’ll try 3…
I didn’t really care what the weather looked like today, I was going hiking. The only problem is I had appointments starting at 11am, so it needed to be quick and close to home. It snowed a bit overnight (unexpectedly) so I made sure I dressed warm and brought my microspikes.
I met Dave at Memorial Park in Manitou Springs and we carpooled up the Incline lot. I’m totally ok with parking there for $5 in winter (and think that’s a reasonable year long rate). I was the only one in the parking lot when we got there, but it was obvious from looking at the trail others had been hiking already this morning.
Someone from maintenance shouted up at me, asking if the road conditions were ok. Of course they were, I had my truck (but it was really icy to walk on the pavement: I’m sure cars without 4WD would slip).
We started at 8:22am, and it quickly became apparent we hiked at different speeds. I kind of anticipated this, but after about 2 minutes we separated and I continued hiking up the trail while Dave stretched a bit and told me he’d meet me at the top.
I looked at the route before me: It felt like I was the only one there. It was quiet, peaceful, white, and green. I took a deep breath and thought to myself again: THIS is why I go hiking!
The incline is quite a workout, so even though it was 21* outside I quickly became warm. I couldn’t see much ahead of me due to the low lying fog (that turned into snow). I’m pretty sure the fog and the lack of depth perception it caused made the hike go much faster than normal. I didn’t stop quite as often, and I wasn’t getting tired.
Even though there was a layer of snow on the steps it wasn’t slippery. I did see a few people running down on my way up, but probably only 2 or 3. No one passed me. Every so often I’d look back and see a few people on the route. One lady had brought her dog (ugh! No dogs allowed!) and when I saw it initially I thought it was a black bear (it was the same size and ambling and dogs aren’t supposed to be on the trail, so it was an obvious assumption).
Just as I reached the top the sun started to come out.
I summited before 9am and enjoyed the ‘view’ for about 5 minutes before the clouds rolled back in.
That’s when it started getting cold. I waited at the summit for another 30 minutes before Dave arrived, but kept warm by walking around in circles. I actually didn’t mind much because I was still getting in some exercise, and I got to talk for a bit with those who summited after me. I got the impression the people I talked to do the incline every day.
We put on our microspikes and took the Barr trail back down to the parking lot, talking about ourselves most of the time. We’ve never been hiking together, and only met once briefly, so there was a lot to review and not much dead space. It was a bit awkward talking back and forth to each other though, since we weren’t hiking side by side it was difficult to hear and we had to keep repeating ourselves.
All in all it was a beautiful morning for a hike, and we picked the perfect time because it just got colder after we headed back down.
I know this trip report won’t sound like a big deal to most serious 14er hikers, but I have Raynaud’s, which means my body completely shuts down in the cold. My fingers and toes turn white, they lose function, and I can’t walk, talk or use my hands or feet. No, foot/hand warmers don’t work. Neither does layering. The fact I was able to complete a winter 14er, even an easy one in an easy year, was a huge accomplishment for me. Here’s the trip report:
Devil’s Playground – 13,070
Little Pikes Peak 13,363
Pikes Peak 14,115
Elevation Gain 4300’
RT 14 miles, 7.5 hours
Starting from Crags Campground
Brought microspikes but didn’t use them (I probably should have though). They will be useful in the next few days.
I’ve been trying to do this hike for months, but the weather forecast is always terrible in the winter at the top of Pikes Peak (today said 55mph wind gusts and -10* wind chill). However, last weekend I used a new jacket my mom got me, and while I was hiking I was actually hot and had to take it off, so I figured even though the weather was terrible it was a great chance to see what this jacket could do!
Also, I’d just picked up a pair of men’s work gloves (fleece) at Walmart for $6 that indicated they worked even in the worst of weather. I was seriously skeptical but willing to try anything: my fingers are always the first to lose function, and I can never get them warmed up again until I go back down in altitude (kind of like altitude sickness for my extremities).
My goal was to hike to Devil’s Playground, and possibly hike up Little Pikes Peak. I was thinking I’d check a couple of 13ers off my list (I know they aren’t ranked, etc.) I had no intention of hiking Pikes Peak today. I’ve hiked it 12 times (from Barr Trail) and had no need to do it again. I just wanted to see what this jacket and pair of gloves could do.
I used the Crags Trailhead. The gates were open but the 3 mile dirt road was covered in a layer of packed down snow.
I arrived at 6:45am and was the only one in the parking lot. The bathrooms were locked (presumably for winter) so I got my gear together and started at 7am. It was 21*.
The trail was very well marked (I love that!). It was also easy to follow, even with the snow. It looked like someone had tried to cross country ski in the area. I’m pretty sure it didn’t end well.
I took trail #664A for what seemed like forever before making it to treeline. I mean forever! The entire trail was covered in about 3-6 inches of packed snow (more in the drifts) and while I could hear the wind the trees blocked it from reaching me. It was slow going because the snow was a bit slippery and I had to watch each foot placement in the rocky areas. I had microspikes but didn’t use them because I didn’t think they’d make me any faster/more secure.
Here’s a photo of the trail as soon as you get above treeline: It’s straight up a mild, well maintained, snow covered drainage/gulley. This is where the temperature dropped and the wind picked up. It didn’t stop until I reached this point again on my way back down.
I continued hiking around some large rock formations and then areas of heavy snow.
The snow was beautiful, and had a sound. I’d say it sounded like glitter, but since that’s not possible I’ll instead say it sounded like very small chards of glass bouncing off the floor. But to me it had the sound of glitter.
I wasn’t cold yet, but I wasn’t at a high elevation either. I was at 11,500 feet. Eventually I got to the Pikes Peak Highway. I crossed the road and this is where the wind really picked up. I could see it blowing from the west, up and over the ridge.
It was phenomenal to watch! I could see the wind as it ascended the basin, and follow it as it blew up and over the ridge. I knew when to brace myself for impact, which was important because it knocked me over a few times.
A scarf was necessary. The only place I was cold was where my skin was exposed (woot! High five for the jacket and gloves!). I had to tuck my scarf into my jacket because the wind kept causing it to unravel. Wind was probably 25mph here.
Devil’s Playground was dry of snow except for when the wind blew… It was about 15* here (without wind).
The trail following the Pikes Peak Highway was easy to follow because of the snow drifts. I either avoided them or sank into them and trudged on. I was miserable due to the wind, but I was doing this!!! Still not cold!
The highway was completely devoid of snow, and curiously there was someone with a plow going up and down the road. They stopped twice to watch me, presumably because I was CRAZY to be out hiking in this WIND. I figured they weren’t taking any chances with icy roads either in all this wind. This also told me they were opening up the summit house today. Woot!
The pictures just don’t do this wind justice. It was intense and insane (and mostly invisible).
Here’s where the wind became intense for the first time. Gusts were about 55mph and sustained. I’d stand there for 30 seconds waiting for the ice intensity to pass. The wind made it cold, but not so cold I needed to stop.
Here’s a view of Pikes Peak (center) and Little Pikes Peak (right). Little Pikes Peak was the reason I was taking this hike. There’s no path to the summit, so I’d have to just find a route and follow it. Here’s where I made my first mistake.
I was coming from the North, and could only see one side of the mountain. I picked a route that looked hikeable and followed it. I stopped to breathe for a bit and take in my surroundings and realized I’d almost hiked to a place I couldn’t hike down from! The snow was heavy, and I’d have to say if there’s any avalanche danger (yes, I know it’s small) it’d be here. This snow was loose and I was in a precarious position, jumping from rock to rock: If I missed one I’d be sliding for quite a ways! I quickly hiked back the way I’d come and decided to scout out a better route up.
I found a much drier route to the south and made it to the summit of Little Pikes Peak after falling through and hitting just a few small boulders hidden in the snow (no big deal, I kind of expected this to happen). Here’s a summit selfie of me trying to smile (my lips were frozen). Moral of this story… summit Little Pikes Peak from the South! That side had snow, but no where near as much as the north side (I know, common sense…)
I sat on the summit and looked at Pikes Peak. It was much closer than I’d assumed. It couldn’t be much more than a mile or a mile and a half away. I was intrigued. For some reason I really wanted to summit from this route. I’ve summited 35 peaks solo, but Pikes was my first summit and I did it with a group and on another route. I kind of wanted to be able to say I’d summited this peak solo as well. And I’d never done a winter 14er (several winter 13ers, but no 14er in winter). The only problem was I could tell the toughest weather was ahead of me. I knew the temperature would drop as I ascended, and that wind blowing snow looked insane! I was already cold (but not as cold as I’d anticipated). I hate regrets, so I decided to go for it: I could always turn back if it got too difficult, right?
I stashed my trekking pole and began the final push to the summit. I was right, this was the most difficult part of the hike: The temperature dropped and the wind picked up. Here’s what it looks like just as the wind and snow hits you at -10* and 55mph…
Unfortunately, the wind didn’t come in gusts: it just kept coming. I’d brace myself, look for a cairn, note its position, put my head down and trudge towards it with the wind blasting me from the front. It was miserable and slow going but I had a plan. And while I should have been a popsicle in this weather I wasn’t! This was doable!
The cairns were extremely helpful since the route was covered in snow. I knew others must have hiked this trail in the past few days, but as I looked back at my tracks they were quickly covered by snow blown by wind just seconds after I’d passed. This meant I had to watch every step forward because I was kind of ‘breaking trail’ and didn’t know the best route. The rocks were slippery and again there were times I’d misjudge and my shin would get bruised from falling through snow and hitting rock. I thought about but didn’t use my microspikes yet again.
The wind didn’t stop, but as I gained the final pitch the ice and snow was taken out of the mix. This was a nice surprise! I summited at 11am. I still couldn’t feel my lips but was able to force an awkward smile for a summit selfie!
The summit was disappointingly dry for winter, but I’m pretty sure that’s normal for a summit (due to wind). Almost no one was there (3 cars in the parking lot?) so I walked across the parking lot and into the summit house. I briefly thought to myself it was cheating to go inside and get warm, but my water had frozen on the hike and I wanted a drink from the water fountain. The pipes had frozen in the summit house as well so I bought a Gatorade and immediately started feeling overheated. This was not good. It was way too hot in there and I was getting a headache. I had to get back down that mountain. I remarked to the cashier how I was shocked they were open today. Her reply told me she’s obviously had other plans besides work today and was surprised as well.
I met a group of three guys from Texas who’d driven to the top. They were impressed to hear I’d hiked up in this weather, and confused when I told them I was heading back down: “That’s the only way to get back to my truck”…
I bundled back up and headed outside. My path back down looked amazing.
The wind was constant during the hike back down, but the jacket and gloves had done their job: I still had full function of my fingers! Success!
The hike back down seemed much longer than the hike up. I kept thinking to myself it was crazy I’d hiked all this way straight up! I like elevation gain and tend to forget how much uphill I do on the way up until I’m on the way back down…
I marveled at the south side of Pikes Peak, and totally understand why they want to make this area into a ski area: It would totally work (if we forget about destroying tundra and wildlife).
Just before making it back to the trailhead I noticed prints that looked like bear tracks. They were obviously not fresh, but I was pretty sure that’s what I was seeing and they’d been created within the past few weeks or so. Hmmm… it seems someone woke up early and hopefully went back to bed. This doesn’t surprise me, due to our unseasonably warm winter and the fact I was hiking near a campground.
The last 3 miles of the hike I was roasting. I wanted to take off my jacket but was too stubborn to stop, so instead I took off my hat, gloves, and scarf while I was hiking and just carried the items. I was curiously pleased I was so warm in 30* weather I was taking off accessories. I made it back down at 2:30pm, making this a 7.5 hour hike. Slow for me, but I blame the wind…
All in all today’s adventure was a total success! The weather was brutal but having the right gear made all the difference. I wasn’t nearly as miserable as I’d anticipated I’d be. I learned a lot about my abilities, did a reality check on things I already knew but ‘forgot’, and can now say I’ve hiked a winter 14er! Woot!
Note: This hike is difficult. The elevation gain is intense and the trail difficult to follow.
I’ve wanted to take this hike for years, but it starts at the Barr Trail parking lot, which has been having fee issues (as in $40 per day parking fee issues). There’s the incline lot that charges $5 for a maximum of 4 hours directly adjacent to the Barr lot, but I wasn’t 100% sure I could do the hike in 4 hours and the signs warning you’ll get towed if you stay there longer than 4 hours are daunting.
Today the forecast for the high country (anything over 12,000’) was 10-20 degree weather with wind gusts of 20-25mph (read feels like -5 degrees), so while it was beautiful outside, I wasn’t hiking any 13er or 14ers. It was a shame because it was such a beautiful day!
The weather in Colorado Springs was forecasted for high 50s-low 60s: it was just too good to pass up, so I did the math, and figured I could probably hike the 9 miles in 4 hours.
I made it to the trailhead at 6:51am and was hiking at 7am.
To get to the trailhead, you park at the incline lot, and then backtrack back to Ruxton Avenue and hike west through a street lined with houses, go left around the locked gate, and continue on the road until it comes to a dead end at a stream crossing. Cross the stream (on two separate bridges) and continue up the hill to the cog railway tracks.
You aren’t supposed to hike along the tracks, but luckily after about 10 yards or less you’ll come upon utility pole 044954. Just before you reach the pole the trail starts to your left. It continues up the hillside, paralleling the tracks for a bit before turning southwest up the hill.
I came upon a really big boulder outcropping that looked like a camping spot. The boulders were positioned in such a way that if you descended the tunnel about 15 feet you were in a type of boulder-cave. It was surprisingly clean, and I may come back later to visit again.
The trail continued up, up, and up, with just a little bit of snow until I reached Magog Rock. This rock is gigantic! Pictures just don’t do it justice.
There was some easy class 3 scrambling that required all 4 limbs, but once I reached the top the views were great!
I followed the trail west and over a ridge. This ridge looked like an excellent place to camp in the summer!
After the ridge I reached Gog rock and passed it by hugging the rock to the left (Yes, the rocks were named after the Magog and Gog in Ezekiel and Revelations… check out your Bible for details).
This is where the snow on the trail started picking up. It was over a foot deep in some places, and I could tell not many people hike this route, as I was breaking trail and it hasn’t snowed since last week. This was about the halfway point of the hike.
I passed a clearing that looked like another great place to camp, but also like it was an area that sees a lot of quads and motorcycles. It had a lot of open space, and a sign indicating I was crossing over into National Forest Land. Here I came upon a road and followed it for about half a mile. Unfortunately, the service road dropped in elevation (which meant I was going to have to make that up). I kept wondering if I was on the right path because it was taking me away from Cameron Cone, but I knew I was in the right area when I saw the Cameron Cone trail sign.
This is where the hike got difficult. There was quite a bit of snow on the trail, and the trail itself weaved in and out of the trees. If you’re not comfortable with a topo map and compass don’t continue any further: The trail kept taking me south, which I thought couldn’t be right (but it was) as it was taking me away from the summit. It turns out you need to summit from the South. The last mile or so of this hike is completely uphill with intense elevation gain: the mountain doesn’t relent, and by this point you’re already tired from the 3000+ feet in elevation gain you’ve already done. It was slow going with no clearly defined path and no clear view of the summit (since it’s treed).
I summitted at 9:31am: It had taken me 2.5 hours to hike 4235’ in elevation gain in 5 miles. Not bad, considering it was all uphill. I spent about 20 minutes on the treed summit taking pictures and enjoying the view.
I found the place where the summit marker should have been, and was upset to find someone had removed it. Summit markers are few and far between these days…
Now for the hike back down. The steep elevation meant I was slipping and sliding on all that snow on my downward trek. At times it felt as if I were skiing. Microspikes were not necessary, but snowshoes would have been useful. When I made it back to the Cameron Cone cutoff I had to take off my hiking boots and shake out all the snow and scree.
I made it back down to the Gog rock area and decided to do a bit of Yoga to stretch. I knew I should try to make it back down to the parking lot as quickly as possible, but I really wanted to enjoy this beautiful day (and see if they really would tow my truck if I wasn’t there on time… I had a feeling 30 minutes wouldn’t matter when there were less than 20 cars in a lot that would hold 200+).
The rest of the hike was pleasant and uneventful. I crossed the cog tracks and the stream (beautifully frozen in February)
I made it back to my truck at 11:30am, which meant the 9 mile hike took me 4.5 hours to complete. And my truck was still there! Woot!
I was invited a few days ago to go to CityRock tonight with a group and climb. My first instinct was to say ‘no’ because I don’t really like groups, but then I remembered these were really nice people and I needed to make friends.
Then yesterday I got bombshell news concerning my divorce and our next court date (I’ve been divorced for 6 years, yet it seems we’re always going to court). This news was pretty devastating, and I knew I’d be very occupied for the next few weeks, so I might as well have fun tonight.
Another reason I wanted to go: There was a guy I’d met at a 14er Happy Hour who asked if anyone was climbing at CityRock on Friday. Without thinking I let him know a group of ‘us’ would be there. He messaged me back to make sure it wasn’t a ‘family’ thing, and said he’d be there too. That kind of obligated me to go.
It’d been a busy day so I didn’t get there until 5:30pm. Immediately I noticed the bouldering wall didn’t have any climb holds. I guess they’re re-doing the wall. I was glad I’d successfully climbed that V3, but I was a little disappointed I couldn’t actually show anyone in person tonight.
Jen and Tim were there, and they introduced me to a bunch of their friends. I’m sorry, but I don’t remember who was who, but I’d recognize you if I saw you!!! I did a few auto-belays, and Tim belayed me a few times. I wanted to go over to the lower bouldering wall to get in some practice before my arms got too tired.
As I was heading back down to the climbing area I heard a girl shouting: “Mom! Mom! Mom!” She was about 14 or 15 years old, and at the top of one of the climbing runs. She was frantic, and realized once she’d made it to the top of the run she’d forgotten to clip into the auto-belay! She’d free-climbed all the way up to the top, and had no way of safely getting down.
This was a very scary situation, and one I never actually thought I’d see: There are signs all over the place asking you to check to make sure you were ‘clipped in’. This girl was definitely in danger. She was at least 50 feet up, and if she fell no one would be able to catch her. Several people wanted to climb up and help her, but if she fell she’d take them down with her.
She was scared, and having difficulty holding on to the wall. She tried holding on to the rope next to her, but that didn’t really work either.
Luckily CityRock had a solution: They clipped a carabineer to the auto belay and released it up to her. She was able to clip in and climb back down. She climbed back down, and didn’t jump (I don’t blame her). Everyone let out a sigh of relief when she made it back to the ground. I couldn’t believe how shook up I was, and I wasn’t the one at the top of the wall without security!
The adrenaline rushing though me didn’t let up for a good half an hour, and it wasn’t the good kind of adrenaline, but the kind that wipes you out. I continued to climb, but without the enthusiasm as earlier in the night.
I saw the guy who said he’d meet me there. He climbed a 5.12, and was super proud of himself. Since I hover around 5.9-5.10 I was proud too!
One thing I learned tonight I really don’t understand is that it’s ok to take breaks while rock climbing. I don’t mean it’s ok to just stop, but you can push yourself away from the wall and dangle for a bit and then resume where you left off. This seems like cheating to me. However, I guess it’s how a lot of people successfully ‘work the wall’. I’d feel better about myself if I did it without ‘falling’.
After climbing we went to a taco place downtown. It was small and there were a lot of us so we had a 30 minute wait. The tacos were good, but the party was split up so it was kind of like I was coupled with Tim and another couple. The conversation was good but not really what I’d been looking for. The tacos weren’t all that great either. Don’t get me wrong, they weren’t bad, but I’m into this ‘trying new things’ thing and they didn’t have anything that looked good enough to try, so I stuck with the carbonara tacos (pretty vanilla).
The last time I tried to summit this mountain I was unsuccessful (https://wildwandererlmc.wordpress.com/2017/12/09/north-cheyenne-canyon/ ) mainly because the trails had changed. The forest service had actually destroyed some trails, created new switchbacks and connections for others.
I met Tim at 7:30am and we drove the 13 miles of dirt that is Old Stage and Gold Camp Road. This time instead of hiking in through North Cheyenne Canyon and the 7 Falls trail we hiked in from Frosty’s Park.
It had snowed 3 days ago, but it was obvious no one had been in the area since. We were making the first tracks. There were a couple of frozen river crossings, but the Tundra did just fine.
We started at the 701 Trailhead at 8:40am, intent on hiking to Runs-Down-Fast Mountain.
This trail too was undisturbed. It was really cool to be breaking trail in 2-4 inches of powdered snow!
After hiking for about 2 miles we were able to see Runs-Down-Fast Mountain through the trees. Kind of. The area was densely treed and it was difficult to see any mountain, but we were pretty sure this was it.
There’s no trail to the summit, so we just headed north through 600 feet in elevation containing a lot of downed trees, boulders, brush, and snow. And the wind! It was insane! Gusts were supposed to be 55mph, with sustained 25-35mph winds. They weren’t kidding!
We reached a false summit and then continued on for about 20 more yards. The view from the top was lacking, as the summit was heavily treed at 11,048’
We walked around for a bit, and found an ok view from the north most part of the summit of Almagre. Pikes Peak was hidden in the clouds.
Since it was windy we didn’t stay long, but descended and once again found the 701 trail. I’d wanted to summit 2 or 3 more mountains, but with the recent snow the trails were hidden (or maybe they weren’t there at all?). We did see this plateau and decided it looked doable, so we headed up through the wind to its summit.
The slope up was all scree, but the good kind that is easy to find traction on. I tried to take a summit selfie but my camera kept getting knocked down by the wind!
When Tim made it to the summit we tried again. The camera kept getting knocked around, but I think we got a pretty good shot!
The views were much better from this summit, even though it was about 600 feet lower than Runs Down Fast. This point has no name (or written elevation, but it’s 10,000+)
It was super windy here, so we headed back down to the trail again. I wanted to try and figure out where I’d gone wrong the last time I hiked this trail (I never did find Runs Down Fast last time) so we continued on the 701, looking for the 720. We hiked all the way to the 667 and never saw it, so we turned around and decided to look more carefully. Check it out! We found the destroyed trail! They’d ripped up perfectly healthy trees, roots and all, to try and hide the existing trail.
We followed the 720 for a while, but eventually hooked up with the 667 again, which brought us to the 668 and around. I was confused the entire time, mainly because we were below treeline and the route didn’t match my map. I was freezing by this point. It wasn’t lost on me we’d hiked in about 5 miles and would need to hike back 5 miles to get to the truck. My fingers were numb (but at least my feet were warm). The trail kept descending until it reached about 8500’ and followed the creek.
We hiked the 668 and Ring the Peak trail following the Cheyenne Creek. There was a lot of snow here too.
This is where the elevation started to climb rapidly. We’d descended about 2500’ and needed to make it up again to reach 10,500’ where the truck was parked. Most of that elevation gain was in about a mile and a half. We passed an old cabin
And for the last mile we followed Bobcat tracks! They were really neat to see, clearly marked in the snow, and proof of wildlife. Unfortunately they were headed in the direction opposite of where I was headed, but I was able to follow them almost the entire way back.
The elevation kept getting steeper, so Tim and I separated for the rest of the hike. He said he’d just follow my tracks in the snow. Right about now it started to snow again. Not a heavy snow, but more of a sprinkling of glitter in the air. The wind had died down. It was quiet, calm, and peaceful. I was no longer cold, as my body was producing heat from hiking harder up the hill.
Take a look at this photo: It’s a stream crossing. Under that 2 inches of snow is another 2 inches of solid ice, spread out for about 20 feet. It was incredibly slippery, so I traversed around it and up the hillside. The one part of ice I couldn’t avoid sent me skidding for a bit, but I maintained my balance.
I made it back to the trailhead at 2:04pm. I’d say the hike was about 10 miles, with 3500’ of elevation gain total (up and down and up again).
I didn’t correlate a climbing gym to a regular gym in this way before, but apparently they fill up for the New Year as well with all those resolutioners: CityRock was packed!!! I got there at about 6:30pm, and I could tell it was filling up fast for the night. I checked in and stuffed my gear in the last cubby available.
I really wanted to start my night bouldering, but I could tell by the number of people already there I’d better start with rock climbing (again) because the auto belays were all going to be taken soon and I’d never get the chance to climb.
It was almost too easy today: I climbed about 6 runs, all between 5.7-5.10- . I climbed some because they were there, and others because I actually enjoyed them. I’m stuck on 5.10- and can’t seem to climb a 5.10+. However, I’m not sure how static those rankings actually are. I feel really solid on a 5.9, and that’s probably where I’ll continue climbing, but there’s a 5.8 I just can’t seem to get! Maybe it’s because it’s on a curved wall? In any event, I usually end up trying that one last, and by that time my arms have given out. Maybe I’ll start with that one next time. The 5.11’s require me to cut my fingernails, and I’m not that committed yet. In fact, I broke a nail tonight and it’s the first one I’ve broken so far since climbing. I’m pretty proud of that!
After getting my fill of rock climbing I headed over to the bouldering area. By this point my arms were a bit sore, but I was able to do the yellow curved V1 without much difficulty. I went to the V3 run I’d done last time, but couldn’t get a good grip. I noticed a kid (probably 13) watching me, and I said “it needs to be cleaned”. He assumed I wanted him to do it, and climbed up just to clean it off. I smiled inwardly: I was just making an observation not asking him to clean it! I forget the power adults have on kids when they make comments…lol!
He looked like a regular who knew what he was doing, so I asked him if he wanted to climb. Nope, he was taking a bit of a rest. So I tried the run again and was successful. The kid watched me the engire time and seemed impressed: he asked me a bunch of questions about how I did the route, and said that one took him forever to ‘get’. It was as if suddenly I was important in his eyes. I don’t know why, but it made me feel good to impress a 13 year old kid. Sheesh! I moved on (and didn’t ever end up seeing him climb anything that night).
I moved back down to the lower climbing area and saw a kid that was supposed to be at Boy Scouts. He sheepishly stated his plans had changed at the last minute (funny thing, his father was at the Boy Scout meeting down the street… I wonder if he knew?). At this point I was seriously tired. I tried the Yellow V1 run again and while I made a valiant attempt and held on for quite a while, I wasn’t able to push myself over the ledge. This happens after you’ve been climbing for a while and don’t rest. I was encouraged by the others sitting down how it was impressive I’d held on for so long. This is a common occurrence at the gym: everyone encourages everyone. I still feel uncomfortable in this sort of environment, so I thanked them and switched climbing areas. I did a few more runs with the auto belays and called it a day after only about an hour of climbing. I need to learn to either take breaks or build up my strength. In any event, it was a successful night of climbing! I didn’t embarrass myself by falling, and there wasn’t a run I’d been able to do before that I couldn’t do tonight. Now to work on those 5.10+ and V3’s!
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Wild Wanderer 