barr trail – Page 2 – Wild Wanderer

11th Summit of Pikes Peak

I had no intention of hiking Pikes Peak again this year. I’ve already hiked it 10 times, and my last hike was my best one (I hope your last one is your best one). But a couple of days ago my mom told me Granny loved wildflowers, and we should plant some in her honor. I just happened to have about ¼ a pound of Rocky Mountain Wildflower seeds sitting around at home. These were nowhere near enough to scatter and make a huge difference on a roadway, but they were perfect for lining a portion of the trail along Pikes Peak. The best time to disperse seeds is either October or April, and since there is no way I’m hiking Pikes Peak in April under several feet of snow I decided to go this week.

The weather Friday looked perfect! All forecasts indicated it would be in the 80s in Colorado Springs and 42 at the summit. That’s GREAT weather! Especially for the end of October. There was also a picture I’ve always wanted to take but for some reason spaced out on the past two times I’ve summited, so I planned a Friday hike.

Up at 2 am I started the coffee and got a spoonful of peanut butter as a snack. I ended up finishing the coffee on the way buy only had about half the spoonful of peanut butter. I just wasn’t hungry.

I made it in good time to the trailhead but there were 4 cop cars and a fire truck at the entrance to the parking lot. Nothing seemed to be going on (no accident/bystanders/victims) so I was a bit intrigued. One of the cops moved his cruiser and waived me on. There were 2 other cars in the parking lot. It was a nice 53 degrees. I saw a hatchback enter the parking lot as I began my hike at 2:58am.

Today I was in no hurry to summit. That doesn’t mean I hiked slow, but I wasn’t pushing myself as I was still sore from the hike earlier this week. I saw no one the entire hike up the mountain. I didn’t trip once (something that often happens in the dark because of all the loose rocks and roots). I didn’t see any animals except a rather large rabbit. I did hear what sounded like a large bird flapping in a tree but didn’t see anything when I shined my flashlight in its direction. When you hike at night eventually you get pretty good at identifying creatures in the dark by the sounds they make. I could tell it was a bird (not an owl because I wouldn’t have heard an owl) and its size by the sound it made. I can also tell if it’s a rabbit or a raccoon even before seeing the animal as different sized animals make different sounds.

There was no one visible at Barr Camp as I passed it in the dark. No tents set up on the outskirts of the camp either. The cars must have belonged to someone staying at the A-frame.

I made it to the A-frame at 6:19am. It was still dark. No one was about but the tarp was in place so I assumed someone was sleeping in the A-frame. I passed and walked about 100 yards before waking the kids up for school (I call them to make sure they’re awake. They usually are…).

As I reached treeline I could immediately tell I wasn’t going to get the picture I’d wanted to get. It required a good sunrise and despite the fact it was supposed to be 80 degrees and clear there were lots and lots of clouds on the horizon. I wasn’t going to see a sun this sunrise. It was still beautiful:

I now had 3 miles to go to reach the summit and seriously considered turning back. I had no real reason to summit as this was a last minute trip and I wasn’t going to get what I wanted out of the rest of the uphill part of this hike (picture). I went back and forth for a few minutes in my mind and eventually decided to keep at it. Hey, maybe those clouds would miraculously go away in the next hour? While it was highly unlikely I kept hoping and watching east.

Here’s where my mood turned sour. I was sore and tired from the hike earlier this week, and while I’d made fantastic time this far it was obvious I was slowing down. I don’t know why that depressed me but it did. I could tell I was hiking “slow”. I was upset I wasn’t going to get that picture. That meant I’d need to at least TRY to hike again this year, and because of the type of picture it is I’m going to have to get up at 2am and hike for 10 miles in the dark to get it. Despite what I’m sure you’re all thinking, I don’t actually enjoy hiking in the dark alone. It’s quite scary. I’m not a fan of the dark. I don’t get the mail after dark or go on night walks by myself. I’ve been known to run from room to room when the lights are off. Hiking in the dark isn’t something in my comfort zone: I just do it despite being afraid because I like the end result.

I’d ben hiking with my good camera instead of my hand held. It was heavy, cumbersome, and now unnecessary. In addition, I hadn’t seen any wildlife on this hike. My 11^th hike on Pikes Peak and I’ve yet to see a bear. That was upsetting in itself. The lack of the sunrise I’d anticipated meant I was going to have to hike in the dark again, risking the cold weather, shadows, and my fears.

This type of thinking on my part wasn’t typical and I became cognizant it must be due to low blood sugar. I hadn’t eaten anything yet and I’d hiked about 12 miles at this point. My stomach began to tighten. I told myself food was just going to have to wait until I reached the summit because I wasn’t making good time.

Check out the ice coming out of the mountain. Ah, geology at work, even without snow.

I summited at 7:54am. Not my best time, but not bad. I was hiking about 15 minutes behind my usual pace. Much to my surprise there was a man in a bright blue winter coat standing in front of the old summit house with his back to me. He was probably in his mid 20s, hunching out of the wind putting his pack together. I said hello and sat in the shelter of the window next to him to block the wind (as the summit house still wasn’t open).

I assumed he’d come up the back way from the Crags (a mere 6 miles and starting at about 10,000 feet, so it’s a much easier route to summit Pikes Peak). Eager to get started again he asked me if it’d been windy on my ascent. I told him no, it just started getting windy as I reached the summit. He told me to “enjoy my time” (mountaineering talk for the time spent on the summit before hiking back down), and was on his way, presumably the same way he came because he didn’t take the Barr Trail down. I

wished I’d engaged him in more information about his trip. He obviously knew what he was doing. I found myself wanting to know more details. Not for romantic reasons but personal: Which route was he hiking? What other hikes are available to me, how long do they take to hike, and are they worth it? He only had on a daypack, so he wasn’t backpacking… oh well.

I’d worn 2 pairs of gloves after reaching treeline, but took one pair off to eat. I had about 12 pieces of dried mango and my fingers were quickly turning numb. The wind was picking up and it was getting COLD quick. I put on my extra pair of gloves, took a picture facing southwest of the Junkins Fire, and started hiking down. I’d only spent 5 minutes at the summit.

This is where the wind became intense. Forecasts stated 20-25mph wind gusts, but these were sustained winds of at least 40mph. I was blown sideways several times. The wind made it miserably cold, and to top off my bad mood my right shoelace became untiled about 20 yards into my decent. Great. I had no use of my fingers at this point because they were frozen solid. I made a pathetic attempt that took way too long to tie the laces. I did a miserable job but it would be functional for a bit (hopefully I’d de-thaw soon and try again). About 100 yards later they became untied once more. I decided I wasn’t going to get far with this and just tucked the laces into my shoe so at least I wasn’t going to trip on them. This lack of support was going to slow me down.

My mind once again took a negative turn. I pulsed my fingers to keep them from getting frostbite (I have Raynauds) and thought about the hike this time. Why had it been so negative? I was upset about so many things I couldn’t control. I hadn’t seen any wildlife besides that rabbit. Not a bear, deer, marmot, pika, bird, or bighorn sheep. Nothing. What bad luck was this???

I knew my bad mood was self-caused but I couldn’t stop it. I’d thought it was due to low blood sugar levels, and indeed, eating did help quite a bit until the wind picked up, then the negativity returned. I’ve never regretted a hike up Pikes Peak. I may not have wanted to start out, but I’ve always been happy I went.

But this darn wind wasn’t letting up! Although my hair was in a bun it was hitting me in the face, as was the strap on my pack. The strap actually hurt. And I was cold.

The wind didn’t stop until I made it past the A-frame, where it abruptly ceased and warmed up at least 20 degrees. Wow. That mountain is brutal! I didn’t stop at the A-frame as I could see its inhabitants waking up and starting their day, preparing their hike to the summit.

As I dethawed I began seeing people. All asked me what it was like on the summit, to which I replied “very windy, and very cold”. They looked confused (forecasts predicted 42 degrees and light wind) but thanked me for the information. My mood brightened as I warmed up. I just needed to change my focus. No, I didn’t get the picture I’d wanted, but hadn’t I started this hike for Granny? Wasn’t scattering seeds for her the real reason I was taking this trip? Not to summit or see wild animals.

Ok. That was it. From here on out this hike was going to be about Granny and I was going to think positive. I took some “better” pictures of the downed trees along the trail. This is seriously insane and goes on for miles!

Just after MM6.5 I heard the sound of running water and my mind immediately cleared. I don’t know what it is about running water that has such a calming effect, but as I heard it I took a deep breath and smiled. This is why I hike.

Some of the trees were even happy to see me…

My mind cleared and I mentally planned where I’d scatter the seeds. I know enough about wildflowers to know they don’t grow just anywhere. Yes, I could have scattered seeds on the peak but it wouldn’t have done any good: they wouldn’t grow there because the growing season is too short. You can’t just plant seeds and expect them to grow. I needed seeds indigenous to the area not only so they would sprout, but also so they wouldn’t become an invasive species. The seeds I chose were specific to regions of the Rocky Mountains between 6000-9000 feet. In other words, they should grow here without harming the environment, and hopefully will contribute some happiness to hikers. Personally, I know I love seeing wildflowers while on a trail.

With that in mind I decided to spread some seeds near the aspen grove at Barr Camp where there was already a bench for weary hikers to sit and enjoy the view of the peak. These wildflowers will probably grow here. I hope they do, but because I wasn’t 100% certain they’d take I only planted a few tablespoons and saved the rest for another area. I also re-tied my shoe. While I was doing so I noticed someone sleeping in a sleeping bag about 40 feet from the trail. Stay warm my friend!

This is the area (below) I picked to scatter wildflower seeds in Granny’s name. I chose it for several reasons. Between MM3-3.5 is a well traveled area of the Barr Trail. I know wildflowers grow here because I’ve seen them in the past. There’s a lot more grass than flowers, but the potential for wildflowers is great. I’d like to see more grow here.

The hillside is facing the sun and has a great
view:

I plan on hiking back next year (probably in
July) to see if they take. I’ll know if they do because I only scattered
them on one side of the trail and I know what grew here before (mainly brown
eyed Susan’s, wild roses, vetch, and columbine).

The last 3 miles of the trail seemed really
slow. I was tired and sore but my mood was elevated, and while there were
a lot of unexpected clouds the weather was warm but not too hot. It
certainly didn’t feel like 80 degrees, but the clouds blocking the direct sun
probably contributed to the good weather. Did I mention it’s October in
Colorado? The mountain mahogany seeds were fun to watch!

I saw this guy too. This interestingly
enough is apparently a popular landmark on the Barr Trail. I’ve never
seen it until today, but last week someone on the trail asked me how far they
were from him and I couldn’t answer because I knew nothing about it.

I made it back to my truck at 12:27pm. 9
hours 29 minutes. Not my best time, but honestly not bad!

When I got home Emily
and I planted more wildflower seeds in front of our house and on the side by
the maple tree. We hope to get a lot of flowers, and bring them inside to
enjoy them during the summer. We’ll be reminded of Granny every year! (Side
note, we still plan to scatter more seeds on a grander scale, but wanted to do
something immediately while we had the chance).

Mountain Mahogany

Mountain Mahogany, Cercocarpus ledifolius, or curl-leaf
Mountain Mahogany, is not a true mahogany.
This shrubby, slow-growing tree belongs in the Rosaceae, or rose family;
the common name derives from the dense, heavy wood of this tree, which sinks in
water; additionally, the leaves tend to curl. The scientific name for the genus
is Greek and means “tailed fruit.”

The flower consists of a small tan tube from which protrudes
a long, plumelike style covered in luxuriant tan hairs. The flowers are
arranged inflorescenses of up to 3. The fruit is a hairy achene one
half to just over one centimeter (0.2-0.4 inches) long. This plant grows on low
mountains and slopes.

It has a great many medicinal uses for various Native
American groups. I captured this image
on MM2 of the Barr Trail, descending from Pikes Peak.

Pikes Peak – Sunrise and Fall Foliage

I woke up at 2am a bit confused. Why was I getting up this early on my first
day off in over a week? Oh yeah,
hiking! I rolled out of bed and looked
out my front window at Pikes Peak. As
usual, the weather forecast for the peak was wrong. It was supposed to be a clear day, but I
couldn’t see the summit house light, which meant the peak was covered in clouds.
Drat.

I went online to check my favorite Pikes
Peak weather forecast (because it’s the most accurate). It was last updated at 1:30am and said it
would be windy after 10 am with a 20% chance of snow before 10am.

I gave it some serious thought. I don’t
function well in the cold, but it’s almost October: this might be my last
chance to summit all year. And it wasn’t
really supposed to be cold, just windy. Whenever
I can’t decide I decide to go. I’ve
never regretted this decision, and always give myself the authority to turn
around if it becomes too dangerous to continue the hike.

My camelback was already packed with
water, sunscreen, gloves, and snacks. I made
some coffee, skipped on breakfast, and drove the 35 minutes to the
trailhead. There weren’t any other cars in
the parking lot. This made sense:
Manitou City Council just announced they were raising the fee to park at the
Barr Trailhead to $20 per day, effective immediately. Obviously people got the message and are
staying away. I feel sorry for the
caretakers at Barr Camp: They’re going
to lose out on a lot of revenue. But I
digress.

I began at 3:04am. While I couldn’t see the peak, I could see
the crescent moon and several constellations in the night sky. The air was crisp and the stars
twinkling. I’m not a huge fan of hiking
at night without a full moon. My
headlamp works wonders, but it doesn’t do much for depth perception. The first few miles of the trial are always
visually stunning at night on Barr Trail.
The lights of Manitou and Colorado Springs are mesmerizing. Crickets sang as my mind wandered.

This will be my 9^th summit of
Pikes Peak (7^th this year alone).
I’ve always wanted to see a bear while hiking the Barr trail. I know they’re out here, as I’ve seen pictures
of bears on the Incline. I also know
they’re a nuisance in the city, so at some point I should come across one. Around MM2 I turned the corner and was
shocked to see two eyes looking at me from about 6 feet in the air. I immediately thought that was strange
because the parking lot was empty. No
one else should be on the mountain. I
shook my head and looked again. This
time the eyes were on the ground, shifting back and forth.

Yes!
I was finally seeing a bear! I
reached for my camera and thought sarcastically: “Great, the first time I see a bear on the
trail and it’s too dark to take a picture!
Oh well, I’ll just enjoy the experience.” I moved my head again, and as I watched a
large pair of antlers came into focus. It wasn’t a bear but a very large buck
standing about 12 feet away from me. His
head came up again and he stared me right in the eyes. He was much larger than me, so I decided to
just wait him out. He tilted his head down
and forward and I thought “OMG! He’s
going to charge me!” He honestly looked
like he was contemplating the action.
Then he slowly walked a few steps into the brush. As soon as I couldn’t see him anymore I heard
him rushing through the underbrush, quickly bounding away.

Well, that was a fun experience! From that point on for the rest of the hike
in the dark the shadows played tricks on me.
Each shadow I saw was another creature lurking. I didn’t see any more glowing eyes, but there
was a lot of rustling.

Did I mention the wind? It was fantastic! It felt like I was living an experience out
of Sleepy Hollow. There I was, the first night of fall, hiking
miles away from civilization, in the dark, with just my headlamp to guide
me. I could hear the wind snaking its
way through the canyons for miles before it reached the nearby trees and I
could feel it encircle me. Aspen leaves
fell and swirled like snow in the glow of my headlamp.

I made the decision on this hike not to
hike for time, but to just enjoy the experience. It was still dark when I passed Barr Camp at
5:33am. For the first time ever I saw
the kitchen light was on and was reminded I was hungry. I’d skipped eating breakfast as I wasn’t
hungry at 2am, and I don’t get hungry while hiking, but at this point my
stomach was rumbling a bit. Maybe I
should re-think the skipping breakfast thing.

I passed in silence and continued my way
up the trail. The wind was pretty
strong, so I kept my head down and just kept walking forward. I’m really glad I’ve done this hike so many
times before: twice I walked off the trail by accident, but was able to realize
my mistake before walking more than 10 feet off the path. Once near the turnoff
for the bottomless pit, and another time about a mile from A-frame. I don’t recommend taking this hike for the
first time in the dark.

At about this point I realized the sun
was going to come up soon. If I hurried I’d be able to see it from the A-frame! I now regretted my decision not to hike at a quicker
pace. I was going to have to book it to
make it before the sun came up! So I
started hiking faster. I made it to the
A-frame at 6:43am, about 5 minutes before sunrise. No one else was there, so I sat on the ledge of
the structure and looked west.

The next 15 minutes were the most
visually stunning of my life. I’ve seen
a sunrise before, but not like this. I
sat alone with the knowledge I was the only person on that mountain and watched
the sun rise like a fireball in the sky, inch by glorious inch over Colorado
Springs. The colors were amazing. I
tried in vain to get a good picture/movie/selfie, and in the end just sat back
and enjoyed the experience.

This is why I hike! This is why I got up at 2am to hike 26 miles
on a trial I’ve already conquered. I was
so glad I made the decision to get out of bed and go experience the
mountain.

The wind started picking up and the
temperature started to drop. I put on my
heavy duty ski gloves and set out to tackle the summit. As I made it above treeline I noticed the summit
was covered in roiling, fast moving clouds.
The wind was intense, almost knocking me off my feet several times. I was no longer in a hurry, but still anxious
to make it to the top.

I summited at 8:22am, the first hiker up
the mountain. The clouds were so thick I
couldn’t see much, let alone the view the summit is famous for. The summit house was open and there were a
few workers getting ready for the first cog of the day (9am). I felt like someone alone at a McDonalds at
4am, with just the workers there. I didn’t
talk with anyone as I warmed up and quickly headed back down, as I wanted to
leave before the cog arrived: I’m not a
fan of crowds.

About 5 minutes after I started my trek
down a large gust of wind blew all the clouds off the mountain. It was warm and sunny on the peak for the
rest of the day, and I was only about ¼ of a mile from the top, but I wasn’t
interested in summiting again today. The best part about that gust of wind was the
view it gave me of the mountains below. The aspen trees were changing from a
dark lime green to a bright mustard yellow, and from 13,000 feet up the view
was amazing!

I stopped at A-frame for a few minutes
to take some landscape photos, then was on my way again. Here’s where it really got interesting: the fall colors were amazing! I’ve lived in Colorado since 2007, and have
never seen such vivid greens, yellows, oranges, and reds on the trees. I took dozens of pictures/videos, intent on
sharing my experience with those who couldn’t make the 26 mile hike.

There’s a small bench outside of Barr
Camp, and this morning I realized what that bench is there for: The view of Pikes Peak behind a grove of aspens
is something I could sit and enjoy for hours.
I took a few pictures and continued on my way.

Pikes Peak was only in view for a little bit, but beautiful.

Another sighting from along the trail:

I couldn’t help but think once again how
pleased I was with myself at taking this hike.
It’s not like I HAD to take it, as I’ve hiked Pikes Peak many times
before. But no matter how many times I
make the trek, it’s always different.
Today I experienced the most visually stunning sunrise I’ve ever seen,
as well as the changing aspen leaves in all their glory.

Life is good.

Summiting Pikes Peak 9-10-2016

This time when we made it to the parking lot at the base of the trail it was halfway full. Apparently there were a lot of hikers this weekend!

Even though I’d asked them to go before we left the house, one of the girls needed to use the restroom before we started. I’m not a fan of trail restrooms, and encouraged her to wait a bit because it was probably dirty, but she insisted. So while I paid for parking she used the restroom. When she got back she said it was pretty clean, but there was a homeless person sleeping outside. Facepalm.

We started the trail at 3:06am. There was no moon to guide us, so we got a great view of Manitou and Colorado Springs as we hiked.

The girls made pretty good time. We made it to MM2 at 3:59am, which meant they were hiking a little over 2mph.

Around MM4 it got really, really cold. I’m not sure why (I’m guessing it’s due to a shift in topography) but MM4-6.5 of Barr Trail are always really, really cold. It felt like the temperature dropped at least 20 degrees. I’m guessing it was in the high 20s. It got so cold my hands started to swell and I lost feeling in my fingers. Luckily there was no wind, but I honestly felt colder than I had a few weeks ago when it was snowing. I put on my gloves, but that didn’t really help. I kept encouraging the sun to rise over and over again, knowing that’s what I needed to warm up.

We made it to Barr Camp at 6:05 (still hiking about 2mph), and about 15 minutes later the sun began to rise and we began to thaw out. The colors on the mountain in the morning are absolutely amazing! There is so much light it’s really hard to get a clear picture, but that didn’t stop me from trying:

I was really surprised at how much red was in the light this morning

Added to the red was the changing yellow of the aspens.

We made it to A-frame at 7:35am. The A-frame was occupied by an older man and his adult children. They’d hiked Pikes Peak 18 years ago and were back to hike it again. It looked like they were set up to camp all weekend.

We also learned there was a special hike today: The Pikes Peak Challenge.

The Pikes Peak Challenge is the Brain Injury
Alliance of Colorado’s flagship fundraising event.
Participants have the opportunity to raise funds by climbing Pikes Peak. We were told there were about 400 participants, but not to worry because we were hours ahead of them. Also, this wasn’t a race, they’d just be hiking.

After A-frame we saw challenge volunteers at each of the three remaining mile markers. They were all really nice and supportive, even though we weren’t participating in the event.

I tried to take a selfie with 3 marmots…

The girls were getting pretty tired when we had about 1.5 miles left to go. They were doing great, but lacking a bit in motivation. We made it to the cirque and some volunteers gave them dum-dum lollipops and they were excited once again!

We took a bit of a break at the 16 Golden Stairs. Volunteers from El Paso County Search and Rescue were there, preparing to assess Challenge hikers. We talked for a bit, and they encouraged me to sign up to join EPCSAR. It’s honestly something I’ve been thinking about, but not something I’ll have time for until Emily graduates High School.

On we trekked. This is where my “motivating” the girls kicks in the hardest. Lots of life lessons are learned at this point in the hike. It’s a fine line between encouraging them and making them hate me for making them continue. They told me later I did a great job…lol!

We made it to the summit at 9:59am! That’s just under 7 hours, and a great time for the girls!

They were exhausted, and opted to sit for a while before taking pictures. I asked them if they’d ever done anything harder in their lives, to which Julianna replied (and Lakin agreed): “The only thing harder I can think of is cookie sales”. Spoken like a true Girl Scout! They would know, they take cookie sales seriously! They’ve each sold thousands for years in a row, and know what hard work it can be.

I was proud of them, and told them they could take an extended break. A summit spider joined us for donuts…

It’s really hard to breathe at 14,000+ feet: Your body is working overtime just to breathe, and time can get distorted. When I told the girls we needed to get going because it’d already been 45 minutes they didn’t believe me. They swore it had only been 5-10 minutes. I had to show them the time to convince them!

We took a few summit pictures and began our descent.

Here is where the hike got really fun! The girls were super proud of their accomplishment, and wanted to encourage the Challenge hikers on their way up the mountain. We high-fived ever hiker we saw on the way down, and the girls would shout out words of encouragement: “You got this!" "Trust me, I’ve been in your shoes, just think positively!" "With a positive attitude there’s nothing you can’t do!”

Those girls are amazing! The other hikers thanked them for their enthusiasm, which was much needed at this point in their hike.

When we made it back to the 16 Golden Stairs we were offered more candy. This time I took a Werther’s (an indulgence I haven’t had since I was 12). Instant memories came flooding back. It totally made my day!

About a mile above treeline we had a hiker point and tell us: “See that man in the red jacket? That’s Robert Downey Jr." I was intrigued, but didn’t much believe him. That didn’t stop me from catching up to the man in the red jacket to find out for myself. Unfortunately, it didn’t look much like him: His hair was the right color, but he was a bit overweight and sported full facial hair so I couldn’t much tell if it was him or not.

We said "hello” as we passed him and kept hiking down, enthusiastically high-fiving everyone along the way.

Back at A-frame the man and his kids were still there. It didn’t look like they planned on hiking at all today. Quite a shame for other hikers hoping to snag the A-frame for themselves tonight. There were a lot of hikers around the A-frame, filtering water and milling about before tackling the hardest part of the hike.

We only rested there for about 15 minutes, then once again started hiking down. The girls were practically running at this point (it is MUCH easier to hike down than up). We saw many more hikers there to complete the challenge, all hiking up the mountain. We never saw anyone else hiking down.

We stopped at Barr Camp for another 15 minutes to use the restroom and for a snack. The girls were still all smiles!

For the rest of the hike down the girls kept up a fast pace. They still high-fived everyone they passed, but we didn’t see many more challenge hikers. In fact, the only ones we saw were those returning down the mountain because they weren’t able to summit.

When asked we told hikers we’d hiked all the way to the summit and were on our way down. Everyone was impressed, and one (very fit) woman remarked: “Wow! You all made it? Those girls are more hardcore than I’ll ever be!" The girls took that as quite the compliment!

We made it back down to the parking lot at 3:40pm, and once again the restroom was needed. This time however it was flooded.

Seventh Summit of Pikes Peak

This was a last minute trip.
It wasn’t until about 10pm the night before I realized hiking the 26
miles up and down Pikes Peak would even be a possibility. When I discovered I had some time in my
schedule I immediately went online to check the weather forecast. As usual, each forecast was different, but
they all agreed there would be storms and possibly snow in the afternoon. One even predicted thunderstorms starting at
10am, but most stated there would be “fall like weather”.

I’ve missed several opportunities to hike the mountain this
summer because I listened to weather forecasts that turned out to be false, or
materialized later in the afternoon than forecasted (meaning I’d have already
hiked and been home before the storms started).

I asked Rebecca her opinion and she said yes I should go! She also said she’d look for me if I didn’t
come back tomorrow night. And by ‘look
for me’ she meant drive to the trailhead and yell. So I packed up my gear, prepped coffee just
in case, and decided to “decide” in the morning.

My alarm went off at 2am and I looked out my front window to
evaluate Pikes Peak and my chances for a successful hike. I couldn’t see the light from the summit
house, or, more importantly, Pikes Peak at all; It was covered in low lying
clouds.

So I went outside. It
felt warm (low 60s). I went back and
forth in my head on whether or not to attempt the hike for about 5 minutes
(seriously, which is a long time for someone who usually makes quick
decisions). In the end I decided to
go: I could always turn back if the
weather got difficult, and I’ve never regretted taking a hike when I didn’t
feel like hiking. I made sure I had my
ski gloves and set out on my way with the rest of the gear I’d packed the night
before.

I didn’t get to the trailhead until after 3am. There were only 2 cars in the parking
lot. The dashboard of the car read 63
degrees outside. I figured the cars
belonged to backpackers at Barr Camp, paid my $10 parking fee, and started
hiking at 3:12am.

I usually check the time as we hit different landmarks/mile
markers, but never actually write them down.
I’ve got a pretty good idea of how long each segment should take, but this
time I wanted to keep close track of my progress.

I love hiking Pikes Peak.
I’m super appreciative of hiking buddies and I’m glad to hike with
anyone who’d like to hike with me (quick caveat: they must be in good health, have no heart or
lung problems, and WANT to hike the peak), but I find when I hike with others
we take a lot of unnecessary and sometimes lengthy breaks. These breaks are probably necessary for them,
but I’ve always wondered how quickly I could hike the peak if I only stopped
when I was tired. So this time I was
keeping a trail log on my phone.

I started hiking to the sound of crickets. The first three miles of the hike are the
most difficult and require you to ‘power’ through them. The redeeming factor to this stretch of the
trail are the city lights. You can see
Manitou and Colorado Springs glowing in the distance. I’ve tried dozens of times to get a good
picture, but have come to the realization the only way to enjoy the view is to
actually be there.

Strangely I wasn’t able to see the summit house light. It’s a very bright light I can usually see
from my house, and I’ve always seen while hiking the peak in the morning. I’d thought I’d have been able to see it
through the clouds, but I couldn’t. I
hit MM1 at 3:31am, MM2 at 3:53am, and MM3 at 4:14am. I’d hiked the first 3 miles in 61 minutes and
had taken several stops for pictures (none of which came out really well). That’s great time! These are the hardest miles of the hike, so I
consider hiking 3mph basically climbing up stairs a win!

At this point I began noticing the sound of crickets had
silenced. In fact, I couldn’t hear any
bugs or the sound of the creek I knew I was paralleling. I made a mental memo of it and kept hiking.

Side note:
headlamps are NOT useful when you hear a noise in the woods. Your head automatically turns towards the
sound, but you have to swivel it side to side to look for creatures (or beady
eyes). A flashlight is much better
suited for this purpose.

Around MM4 I saw a large reflective rectangle in the
distance and was intrigued. I wasn’t sure
exactly what it was until I was right upon it, when I realized it was a sign
noting miles to the top. This is not a
permanent fixture, and was probably put there for the race this past weekend. I saw them every mile to the top, and
seriously hope the person responsible for putting them there ensures they are
properly disposed of.

MM4 came at 4:36am, MM5 at 4:57am, and MM6 at 5:21am. Even though the trail was evening out and
getting easier to hike I was gradually hiking a bit slower. Totally ok, but funny to note.

All along the hike I kept waiting for the sun to rise and for
it to get lighter outside but it just wasn’t happening. I thought to myself I was glad I’d hiked this
trail many times before. It’s a very well-marked
trail, but in the dark with just a headlamp it’s easy to lose the trail when you
come upon a bare section not lined with some sort of foliage. I kept thinking “I could see how someone
could get lost here, and here, and here”.
I was also noting the lack of animal noises. Usually I hear a lot of rustling and chirping
from birds, run into spider or caterpillar webs, and hear small creatures
scurrying in the dark. I saw two rabbits
quietly sitting on the trail before me at different points, but that was
all. No other sounds.

Well, I did hear a bear once, or what I thought was a
bear. It startled me in the quiet. I didn’t stop, but kept on hiking. You see, I was actually really, really scared
to be hiking out there by myself. I wasn’t
afraid of anyone attacking me: there
were only two cars in the parking lot, and honestly, anyone who’d made it this
far out didn’t have the intention of hurting someone at 5 in the morning. They’d be sleeping. No one was crazy enough to be hiking in the
dark (ha-ha) so it wasn’t likely someone was ‘lying in wait’ for someone like
me to hike along.

No, I wasn’t worried about another human being, or even a
bear, but possibly a Mountain Lion. I
kept noting how unusually quiet it was, and figured I’d be able to hear just
about anything except a predator (meaning a Mountain Lion, as those would be
the only predators in this part of the forest).
I mentally prepared myself to use my hiking stick to defend myself and ‘go
for the eyes’ if attacked.

So I scanned my headlamp left and right as I hiked, looking
for eyes in the shadows. When I heard
the growl I was seriously scared. It
made me jump a bit, but I didn’t see anything.
I thought it had to be a bear, as it was a rather loud noise and a
Mountain Lion would have just attacked from behind. It happened again and you’ll
probably never believe me, but I realized it was my stomach! Honestly!
I didn’t feel hungry at all (my core was aching right about now), and in
fact I couldn’t actually feel my stomach.
The second time I heard the growl my tummy moved at the same time, and I
audibly noted the hilarity of the situation and sighed in relief. I kept
hiking.

Usually by MM3 or MM4 it’s fully light outside, but I passed MM6
and Barr Camp at 5:23am to an eerie darkness.
Apparently there aren’t any lights at Barr Camp, something I’d never had
the opportunity to notice until now. Through
my headlamp I saw the railings and porch swing by the river indicating the entrance
to the camp, but opted not to stop because it just felt wrong. The fog around the campsite added to my
unease. Everyone was obviously still
sleeping, and I felt like an intruder.

Just after reaching Barr Camp a very light snow began
falling. I could see it through my
headlamp. It was more of a light mist of
snow, but snow just the same. I reached
the yellow ‘summit sign’ that lets you choose between the Bottomless Pit and
Pikes Peak at 5:46am, and it wasn’t until 6:01am when I was able to turn off my
headlamp.

A realization hit me:
I had just hiked for 9 miles. In the dark.

Through the forest.

By myself. Scared.
There was no moon to guide me, as it was lost in the cloud cover
above. I’d survived one of the scariest
things I’ve ever done, and was seriously proud of myself for sticking to it and
continuing to hike in the dark! Rock on
sister! Let’s do this!

I reached the A-Frame at 6:22am and took my first ‘rest’ of
the hike. Kind of. You see, I call my kids to wake them up in
the mornings for school between 6:20 and 6:25am, so now seemed like the perfect
time. Yes, I had cell service (I have it
at just about every point on the trail, even at the summit, although I can’t
usually post to facebook or Instagram while on the trail). I called Emily, wished her a wonderful day,
and took a look around. The tarp was
pulled closed over the A-frame, and when I peeked through the gap in the
curtains I thought I saw a jacket hanging from the window, so I quietly turned
around and started hiking again.

There were a couple of squirrels chattering, so I took a
video (I say chipmunk in the video, but knew they were squirrels: It wasn’t worth a second video).

Before reaching the trail I saw two bucks! They stood there and let me get a picture.

It was then I realized the squirrels weren’t chattering at
me, but at the deer:

I’d turned off my headlamp about 20 minutes ago, but it was
now that the sun actually began to rise. There is no way to describe or take a
photo of the sunrise from Barr Trail to do it justice, but here are a few
attempts:

It was about now the snow began falling harder, the wind
began to pick up and the temperature began to drop. I was now hiking into the clouds.

I switched my cotton gloves for my ski gloves and trekked
on. I reached the ‘2 miles to the summit’
sign at 7:05am, and the Cirque (about a mile from the summit) at 7:32am. I was above treeline, and still hiking at
about 2 mph! That’s entirely amazing, as
it often times takes an hour to go a mile on this part of the trek.

I was now hiking in snow, and saw prints I’d never seen
before. They were really small rodent
footprints, bigger than a mouse but much smaller than a marmot. Then I saw one! I’d never seen one before, but I was pretty
sure this was a Pika and the owner of the paw prints. I
tried to get my camera out for a picture, but by this time my fingers were
frozen and I wasn’t quick enough: The
Pika ran away before I could get a picture of him, so I took a picture of his
prints.

I kept the camera in my hand, and kept looking for another
Pika for a ‘Pika-ture’ (yes, I actually said this out loud).

That last mile was grueling only because it was so cold and
the wind whipped the ice and snow into my face.
It wasn’t bad enough to take refuge or turn around, but it was seriously
annoying. I saw this cairn about 50 feet
from the summit and thought it looked cool.
I still had the camera in my hand so I snapped a quick photo.

I reached the summit of Pikes Peak at 8:05am. It had taken me 5 hours and 7 minutes to
reach the top! That was absolutely
amazing! I was hiking at an average
speed of over 2.5mph: UPHILL! I knew
from reading Backpacker Magazine the
average hiking speed of any trek usually sits around 2mph, so I considered this
a serious win!

I reached the summit at the exact same time a cog pulled
up. Several workers jumped out of the
cog as it stopped, dressed in working overalls, shovels in their hands. They quickly began clearing the walkway.

The men were exceedingly nice, and asked about my hike up
and if I’d seen any animals? We
discussed what I’d seen and the animals they’d seen on their way up (mainly
deer as well). I (sadly) noticed the
Summit House was closed, so I asked one of the men shoveling when it would
open. He didn’t know. “Maybe in half an hour, maybe not at all
today because of the snow”.

Great. I was quickly turning
into a popsicle and decided to just head back down immediately. This ended up being a very wise choice.

I waved goodbye to the men shoveling, and as soon as I began
hiking back down they jumped back into the cog and were on their way back down
themselves. It was cold.
I mean VERY COLD. The wind didn’t
help. I was guessing it was about 20
degrees before wind chill. Hiking kept
me warm; stopping froze my sweat and my muscles.

About 50 yards into the descent I saw another Pika, and
luckily still had my camera in my hand.
Here’s what they look like: Bigger than a mouse, but smaller than a
chinchilla.

I didn’t see any hikers until I was just about at the
A-frame, and surmised by the color of the jacket the man was wearing he was the
one who’d spent the night. I tried to
warn him of the rapidly deteriorating conditions after treeline, but he didn’t
seem to think I was serious. When I
reached the A-frame again the tarp was pulled back and no one was inside, so I
was pretty sure he was in fact the overnight occupant.

Between the A-frame and Barr Camp I saw about 10 other
hikers and stopped to talk with them all.
They all wanted to know about the conditions ahead, as they couldn’t see
the mountain from that point of the trail.
Once again I told them it was snowing, cold, the wind was howling, and
it just kept getting worse. I advised
them all to head back, but every single one of them “had a ticket back down on
the train” and needed to be there to catch a ride back down. I told them all the summit house might not
open, so if they were relying on it for warmth/shelter be advised it might not
be there. The cog might also not be
operating. They continued their hike
anyway, one of them in shorts and a t-shirt.
He told me it was a “good thing he’d brought a jacket”. I did a face palm and told myself I’d warned
them. I honestly don’t believe any of
them made it up to the top. It did
indeed get much worse as the day kept on, and they were at least 4 hours behind
my summit when I saw them (they had 4 hours at best until they reached the
summit). When I told my kids this after
arriving home they said it was probably because I don’t look like a “hiker” and
that I make hiking look easy. I’m
guessing they probably thought if I could do it so could they. Hmmmm…. I digress.

I was back at Barr Camp at 10:28am and saw my last set of
hikers: 6 women in their early 60s, very
fit, with a LOT of makeup on (maybe it was permanent?). They seemed to listen to me, and while they
continued ahead, verbally made a pact to turn around if at any time one of them
didn’t feel safe. They also regretted
not beginning their hike at 4am like they’d originally intended. High five to them for keeping their options
open!

I was back at my car at 12:18pm. I’d hiked 26 miles in 9 hours 6 minutes, and
felt absolutely amazing! I didn’t take
any breaks besides 3 minutes to call my kids and what was probably 3 minutes at
the summit, and it was at this point I realized I hadn’t eaten anything all day
either. I’d brought a lot of snacks, but
hadn’t opened any of them. All I’d had
to eat today had been the coffee I’d sipped on the way to the trail. Now I was starving, and ready to eat. But first I needed to head to work for a few
hours, pick up Thomas from school, search for a gyroscope, pick up Emily from
softball…

Trail Log:

3:12amTrailhead

3:31am MM1

3:53am MM2

4:14am MM3

4:36am MM 4

4:57am MM5

5:21am MM6

5:23am Barr Camp

5:46am Summit sign/ Bottomless Pit

6:22am A-Frame

7:05am 2 Miles to go

7:32am Cirque (1 mile to go)

8:05am Summit

10:28am Barr Camp

Trailhead at 12:18pm

Afternoon Storms

This right here is why I insist when hiking Pikes Peak to be back below the treeline before 1pm. Pikes Peak tends to create its own weather, and afternoon storms during the summer are very common.

You can see where the treeline begins. From there it’s about 3 miles to the peak. The first mile or so provides minimal shelter in the form of caves, but unless you’ve hiked the trail before and know where to look you won’t be able to find them in a storm.

Those 3 miles can take 3 hours to hike, so for those of you who think after you hit the treeline it’s only an hour or so to the top, think again. I talk to so many people hiking for their first time up Pikes Peak who seriously misjudge the hiking time (difficulty, necessity for water, etc.) and are astonished to learn this.

Good Luck Hikers! I love giving hiking/backpacking advice for Pikes Peak. Feel free to ask questions about Barr Trail!

This is where I fell

OK, you’ve all read the story, so here’s the picture I neglected to stop and take when I took my tumble. This is at about MM5.5 on the Barr Trail, and in this picture you can’t see the dirt/dust because it had just rained and settled everything down.

I was hiking down the trail (so in this picture think of someone walking towards you), rounded the corner, tripped over one of the larger rocks, and fell onto a smaller one. Then I kept going.

Sixth Summit of Pikes Peak

Last night Nathan came over to spend the night before our
big hike the next morning. Sure, he
could have just met us at the trailhead, but he’d of had to pay for parking ($10
per vehicle) and besides, I wanted to be sure he was prepared for the
hike. He seemed truly confused when he arrived at
7:30pm and Liam, Lana, and Mr. Rasmussen were there. His look was quite comical. We had
to explain a Girl Scout meeting had just ended.

I had a bunch of food out for the boys to make snacks (trail
mix, peanuts, popcorn, cheese-its, beef jerky, etc.), and asked them to each
make a snack bag to take with them. I
packed as light as I could. I took into
account exactly how much food/water I’d consumed on the last hike and tried to
bring the bare minimum to reduce pack weight.
I debated back and forth on whether or not to bring my windbreaker and
decided I’d never been upset I’d brought a jacket, and set it out with my pole.

I prepped them on the hike, asked them what they wanted for
breakfast (Thomas wanted to get up early to make eggs), and when they wanted to
leave. I set out all my gear and went to
bed around 9pm with the boys chatting in the living room watching movies. We
decided on waking up at 2:15am and getting to the trail as soon as
possible. That ended up being a really
good idea.

We began our hike at 3:20am.
The parking lot already had quite a few cars, which we assumed were from
people staying at Barr Camp. I was wearing a headlamp and took the
lead. Thomas had forgotten his
flashlight (well, he said Nathan forgot it, but it was really Thomas’
responsibility to make sure he had it). Nathan had a small flashlight so he took up
the rear.

There were more bugs than normal on this hike, all flying
into my headlamp (which means my face).
My mind started to wander and I came up with a new theory. I’ll summarize: You know how many of the
people who saw bats a long time ago were miners in caves? Well, those miners probably wore headlamps,
which attracted bugs. Bats are attracted
to bugs as a food source, so maybe the old wives tale about bats being
attracted to your hair comes from early miners’ experiences with bats trying to
catch bugs by the light of their headlamps.
I may research this theory at some point…

About a mile into the trail I saw someone hiking towards us
with a green and red headlamp. As he got
closer I noticed he was wearing bear bells.
I wondered to myself if he had just done the Incline or if he’d been a
night hiker when he said “you’ve got a lot of hikers ahead of you” and passed
us. Hmmmm. I guess those cars were from early birds who
got an earlier start than we did.
Unusual because we’re usually one of the first ones on the trail at 4am,
and it wasn’t even 3:30 when we’d started.

Small tangent: The hiker was wearing bear bells, but I saw
him before I heard him. Well before I heard him, and it was dark and
night. I’m not sure how effective they
actually are in practice. Maybe they
give off a sound bears can hear better than humans? At any rate, it’s the first time I’ve seen a
hiker in our area hike with bells.

As we hiked in the dark the summit light was quite
bright: more intense than I’ve ever seen
it before. At times I mistook it for the
moon, but I noticed there was no moon.
It must have set early or have been hidden behind the trees.

We took off our jackets about 15 minutes into the hike
because it was warm. Every now and then
we’d get a current of air that would pass us.
Sometimes it was cold air, others it was warm. With it came a change in scents as well. We could smell the pine trees, the scent of
vanilla, and smoke from the Hayden Pass Fire in Fremont.

As the sun began to rise we could see Pikes Peak (and the
summit house). There was a dusting of
snow on the mountain from a storm the day before.

Around MM4 it got briskly cold and we all put on our jackets
again. I wished I’d brought gloves, and
by Barr Camp I’d lost all feeling in my fingers. We made it there at 6:20am, which meant it’d
taken us 3 hours to hike a little over 6 miles.
2mph is an average hiking speed.
Not great, but not bad either.

I told the boys to make sure they ate something to keep up
their energy. Nathan informed me he hadn’t
brought along any food. I groaned
inwardly and offered him my trail mix.
He could have anything but the mangoes… they’re a vice of mine.

We set out again to hike towards the A-frame. We met a lot of hikers along the trail. One man told us this was his 4^th
14ner in the past week! Wow! That’s commitment! We stopped and talked with a few hikers who
said they were from Canada. Apparently
they were with a group of 75 hikers, all from Canada. Their post is in Colorado Springs and they
make this a yearly activity. For most of
them it was their first time, but a few had summited before.

I talked to every single person we passed (or who passed us),
and made sure to tell them this was my 4^th time hiking Pikes Peak
this month. Thomas corrected me and said
in the past 5 weeks (apparently month sounded like July only, and since it was
the 15^th that statement wasn’t true). He then asked me why I was bragging so
much. I admitted that yes, I was
bragging, but that wasn’t the only reason I mentioned my hiking success: I wanted to give the hikers something to
remember me by. If something happened to
us and we got lost or hurt, etc. they would remember our group by my statement just
as I remember the hiker who’d hiked 4-14ners was wearing a blue shirt and
orange hiking shoes. He’d given me something
to remember him by, and if asked, I’d be able to recall where I saw him on the
trail and at what time. It’s a survival
technique for hikers. The boys didn’t
seem too impressed with my reasoning.

At about mile 8 we saw a really cool Sphinx Moth. It was very big, and looked like it’d just
emerged because it was fanning its wings as if it were drying them out. It was also walking up the trunk of the tree
while doing so. Very cool!

We made it the 3 miles to the A-frame at 7:50am, which meant
we were now hiking at 1.5mph. That’s not
a fast pace. As long as we kept moving
forward we’d be fine. The boys wanted a
break and I let them have one. Thomas
wanted a 2 hour break, to which I said that was unreasonable. We stayed at the A-frame for about 20 minutes
(way too long for me, not nearly enough time for him). You’d think Thomas would have wanted to sit
for his break, but instead he was throwing snowballs.

The area looked really cool.
Yesterday’s storm had brought hail mixed with snow and it had frozen
overnight. It was all very pretty.

This part of the hike took what felt like forever but I’d
told myself to be patient and let the boys have as many breaks as they
needed. We didn’t see as many marmots as
I’ve gotten used to seeing (maybe 2 or 3) and even though there was a dusting
of snow I couldn’t hear the usual running water below the rocks or see the
small streams that usually followed the trail.
We stopped for a bit at the Cirque and enjoyed the view. They also ate the rest of my trail mix
(Thomas had run out before making it to the A-frame and was now sharing with
Nathan).

Thomas and I summited at 10:40am, just as a train was
arriving. I gave Thomas money to run
ahead and buy donuts while I waited for Nathan.
He wasn’t far behind us (probably 30 steps or so), but once that train
unloaded the food line would be horrendous.
Thomas also bought a Gatorade, Nachos, and French fries.

As I waited for Nathan a man walked up to me and asked if I
was with the Canada group. He was giving
the hikers from Canada water and snacks when they summited.

“No, but I passed a bunch of them on the way up” I
replied. This seemed to tick him off
royally, and he walked away in a huff and proceeded to ignore me for the rest
of my wait. I honestly hadn’t meant to
offend him. Canadians. Eh.

We sat at a booth outside (they run the heaters inside the
summit house so hot it’s unbearable) and people watched for about 20
minutes. There are always a
disproportionate number of Mennonites at the summit. Pikes Peak must be on the “top 10 list of
things for Mennonites to do” because they always seem to be therein large
numbers. They never make eye contact or say much, and you can tell they make
their own clothes. They never look
happy.

I reminded the boys to fill up their water bottles at the
drinking fountain, used the restroom, and we were on our way. It’s not a good
idea to spend too much time at the summit:
It’s hard to breathe so your body is working very hard even if you’re
resting. We also needed to get down
before afternoon storms hit. So we took some pictures and began our
descent.

Unfathomably, Nathan was hiking slower down than he had on
the way up! It was maddening so I put
him at the front of the group. He walked
a little faster, but not much.

The miles had me thinking:
I get frustrated with hiking slow, and with slow hikers in general. I know it’s not a competition to get to the top,
but to me everything tends to be. I’m
trained for a hike like this, and not many people are. I don’t need to take breaks or slow
down. I just keep going. Whoever I hike with is going to be slower
than I am. I need to take this into consideration
and just be happy I’m on the trail. This
is what I’d told myself before even setting out today, yet here I was
internally grumbling because I was with a slow hiker(s). I understood at the time it wasn’t fair for
me to be upset with him, yet I was having a hard time letting go of the
frustration I was feeling at our hiking speed.

Once again my mind turned to thought: Was I burning as many calories hiking slow
as I was fast? I didn’t think so. Hiking
26 miles in 11 hours had to burn more calories than hiking 26 miles in 16
hours, even though it was the same distance.
I’d need to look it up and do the math problem when I got home. I was pretty sure the net calorie burn would
be more while hiking fast even though hiking slower would mean I’d be hiking for
a longer period of time. I felt I was
cheating myself out of burning calories and wasting time doing so.

I made it a point of talking to every group/person we saw
hiking up as we were hiking down. I didn’t
mention my previous summits, but did give them realistic expectations about timing
and difficulty of the hike to the peak, and made sure they all had enough
water. It’s an intense hike. That mountain kills people, and I wanted to
be sure they knew what they were in for.

We made it back down to the A-frame at 1pm. It had taken us over 2 hours to go 3 miles. Downhill.
I was used to practically jogging this part of the trail, and here we
were hiking slower down than we had up!
And now the boys wanted another break.

We took one and looked at the weather. There seemed to be a storm rolling in. The clouds were building quickly, and you
never quite know if it will storm or pass you by. After about 20 minutes I encouraged them to
get moving again, and against their wishes they did.

The pace didn’t improve.
I asked Nathan if he wanted pain killers, to which he replied “yes but I
just ran out of water so I can’t drink them down.”

Ugh! We still had 9
miles to go! He’d neglected to fill up
his water bottle at the top. So had
Thomas (he had enough to make it down on his own and didn’t refill). Once again I shared with Nathan. I mentioned it would take us 9 hours at this
pace to make it back to the car, and that seemed to get him hiking a little
faster.

At 3pm we made it to Barr Camp. The boys crashed by the creek.

They were hungry and ate the nachos Thomas
had bought at the summit. I hadn’t
packed more food because honestly I’d thought we’d have been back at the car by
now. Two weeks ago when I went hiking
with Tristina we’d started an hour later in the morning, and even with my
injury had made it back to the car by 3pm.

Here we were with over 6 miles still to hike and it was
already 3pm. When the boys asked me how
much longer it was going to take I told them it would depend on them. They were hiking slow and taking very long breaks. No one else on the trail was taking breaks,
let alone sitting down for 15-20 minutes at a time. I wondered what bad habits the Boy Scout
leaders had let them get into at Philmont, and told them they needed to start
really hiking in order to make it back at a reasonable hour. Besides, we couldn’t eat until we made it
back. Yes, I was hungry and cranky. I wasn’t mean, but I’d honestly expected with
our early start to have been much closer to home at this point

This seemed to get them going. Nathan picked up his pace, and besides Thomas
“crashing” at MM4 we made pretty good progress.
In fact, I’d wished we’d hiked this fast he entire trip! Food seemed to be an appropriate motivation
technique.

We found some wild strawberries along the way (I encouraged
the boys to try some), and lots of Pinedrops (which Thomas seemed to think were
mushrooms because of a book at Grammies house.
I assured them they were not).

I took a picture of the boys once we made it back to the
trailhead at 6pm. They were exhausted
but glad to have made it! They
immediately went to the back of the truck, looking for the cooler of
sodas. They apparently forgot to bring
that as well. It was sitting on the
counter when we got home.

We saw an ambulance in the parking lot when we arrived at
the trailhead. It turns out two people
at Barr Camp had called in for help due to exhaustion. We must have passed them
at some point, but hadn’t recalled anyone who looked like they may be in need
of help anytime soon. One could walk out
but the other had to be carried out on a litter. Had they not read the sign?!?!?!? They were 6.5 miles in on a trail that wasn’t
passable by vehicle and wanted help because they were tired? Wow.

Both boys immediately fell asleep as soon as I started the
truck. Once we got home and for the next
few hours the boys sat on the couch and ate (watermelon, pizza, etc.). I ended up going to bed before Nathan left
(they and Rebecca were deep into band stories when I fell asleep).

Trail Trouble

I was in desperate need of new hiking boots. Seriously.

Let me start at the beginning (kind of). I’ve had the same hiking shoes for the past… um… well, since… I’m pretty sure I bought them the summer of 2003 but it was so long ago I can’t really remember.

They’ve been on many adventures and treks. I’ve worn them on all of the highest peaks of Southern California (Mt. San Gorgonio, Mt. San Jacinto, Mt. San Antonio) as well as mountains all throughout Arizona and Colorado. I wore them at the Santa Rosa Plateau for many years, hiking 5 miles a day. Basically whenever I’ve gone hiking I’ve worn them.

Except for Pikes Peak. Since there’s often snow at the summit I’ve traditionally worn my Sorels. They are great boots, but very, very heavy. I usually have bruises from where they wrap around my ankle by the time I’m done hiking. Still, they’ve been worth it because they keep my feet warm and dry (which is a serious concern of mine).

This time I didn’t want to wear the extra weight. We were doing a day hike, there was no snow (or very little), and I wanted to go light. I so I wore my trusty hiking shoes.

This ended up being a really bad idea. From the start I could tell the traction had worn off to the point where they provided no resistance against slipping. I was slipping and sliding even while hiking uphill. I decided to be careful and promised myself I’d invest in some quality hiking boots as soon as I got back home. I’ve been saving up for some anyway. Now seemed like the perfect opportunity.

We summited in record time and headed back down. The entire way back down my shoes were slipping and sliding on the small pieces of granite littering the trail. Numerous times I caught myself before falling. A few times I narrowly escaped a fall by steadying myself with my hiking pole.

About half a mile after Barr Camp (mile 20 or so into our trek), I slipped and went to catch myself with my pole. However, the pole collapsed upon itself and I went flying into the dirt. Immediately upon impact I knew it was bad. I picked myself up and kept walking/limping/hopping forward. My hiking partner Tristina looked at me like she was scared I’d really injured myself, and I told her to “just keep going just keep going don’t stop”. I may have said it a bit harshly and apologized later.

Since I knew it was bad and we were still about 6 miles from the end of the trail I just needed to keep moving forward. I know the proper thing to have done would have been to stop, assess the damage, clean the wound, etc. but I didn’t. I told Tristina that’s what I should have done, and it’s what I expect the girls to do during Reach for the Peak, but in this instance I needed to keep walking. I was seriously afraid if I stopped I wouldn’t be able to start again (lactic acid after such a hike can stop you in your tracks and I didn’t want to get stuck).

I focused on trying to suck out the small pieces of dirt and sand that had lodged themselves into my palm. I was pretty sure I was going to have to cut the extra skin off so they wouldn’t get stuck in there when the skin grew back. In case you were wondering, I kept slipping (due to my shoes) but I didn’t fall again.

About a mile and a half down the trail I paused for a second, stayed standing, and took a look at the damage through the gaping hole in my brand new Colombia Trekking Pants. Yes, it was bad. There were 3 puncture points where I’m assuming I was impaled by granite pebbles, as well as abrasions along my knee (a full blown skinned knee). There didn’t seem to be any rocks still under my skin, but there was quite a bit of blood. And white blobs about ¼ inch thick I was assuming were subcutaneous layers of tissue folding near the puncture points. I was hoping the blood would coagulate while I was walking the trail. What was left of my pant leg was covering potential dirt/dust from the trail, so I kept it on and just lifted it up every 100 feet or so to keep it from sticking to the blood.

Yes, I was in pain, but I still had another 5 miles to go so I didn’t stop. I also didn’t drink water. I know what you’re thinking: that’s stupid while you’re hiking! You need to drink! Yes, but I was also in a bit of shock and didn’t want to throw up (that’s what happens when you give shock victims water: it comes back up). Interestingly enough, I wasn’t craving water anyway.

We made really good time the last few miles, despite my injury. We were even passing people on the trail. We reached the trailhead and I took off the lower part of my pant leg (they zipped off below the knee). Yes, there was a lot of blood but it looked like it’d stopped bleeding. A couple of people noticed and asked if I needed help, to which I replied no. I had this. I just needed to get home and clean it up. I was pretty sure I’d need a couple of stitches.

We got in the car and began the slow drive back home. It was a Saturday afternoon and we were driving through Manitou Springs. Basically what I’m saying is it took about 30 minutes to go 3 miles.

As we neared the freeway I made the mistake of looking down at my knee. It hadn’t looked too bad while I was standing, but when I sat it must have opened up the wound(s), because now it was bleeding. Not normal bleeding where dark red blood runs down in like a teardrop, but thick, contained, bright red blobs of oozing blood contained around the puncture site. Wonderful. That meant the punctures were deep. It also threw me into a deeper state of shock. I actually felt like I was going to throw up and had to move over to the side of the freeway to steady myself and breathe deeply for a few seconds. Don’t get me wrong, I’m ok with the sight of blood. What set me off was thinking of a doctor putting a needle into the wound to numb it before giving me stitches. That I couldn’t handle. I have a pretty creative imagination, and it went in circles from there.

I told myself to “cut it out” and formed a plan. I needed to get home and clean the wound before I could make any judgments about treatment. I was able to walk wasn’t I? And I was driving. I knew nothing was sprained/broken. I drove home slower than I should have, but knowing I was in shock I wanted to be extra careful and didn’t want to cause an accident. 55mph in a 60mph zone isn’t my normal routine, but I was being cautious.

Yes, I hit every red light, and no, I didn’t plan it that way.

I pulled into the driveway and slowly crawled out of the truck. I’d come up with a “plan” on the drive home I was hoping would have some success: My neighbor is a Green Beret. A medic to be exact. Maybe he had some of that super glue stitching stuff they use for wounds on the battlefield. It was worth a try, so I limped over to his house. He wasn’t home. Drat.

On my way back down the driveway Rebecca drove up, saw me limping (and the blood), and her eyes got wide. I just walked inside. She asked me how it happened and I said I slipped on the trail. She asked me if it was because of the shoes. Apparently she’d had the same issue on the hike last week (yes, we share shoes). She’d been slipping all over the place as well. That gave me somewhat of a better feeling. I was legitimately able to blame it on the shoes and their lack of traction and not my hiking abilities. Rebecca had independently confirmed the fact the traction on them was terrible.

However that didn’t solve the problem. I needed to clean the wound, and I figured the easiest way to do so would be with a bath. I’ll spare you the details, but 45 minutes later the wounds were clean and I could see the damage. Indeed I had 3 puncture wounds, but only one needed stitches, and only one or two at that. Due to the skin fold caused at the puncture site I was pretty sure stitches wouldn’t help much and the skin would probably need to be cut which would make stitches impossible (I was going to have a fun scar either way), so I resolved to just treat it myself.

I bandaged it up, took some pain killers with a beer, and went about the rest of my day cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry before falling into bed early.

The next day I went about my usual routine. Yes, I went to the gym and ran 6 miles. Well, I ran 5, tried to get on the bike, was unsuccessfully able to move my knee in the manner necessary to pedal, and ran another mile to make up for it. You see, my knee was fine in the walking position, but not so much in the bent position riding a bike requires.

I talked with my yoga instructor, and she agreed I could go to class as long as I did some modifications. I was seriously surprised with how well I did… it may have been the Vicodin.

Side note: I still have most of the Vicodin prescribed to me by my doctor from all 3 of the c-sections I’ve had. I don’t want to become addicted to medications, so I just took the minimum necessary to get me through the pain, then I stored the rest. Yes, 17+ years later the medication still works. Don’t let anyone tell you medication like Vicodin “goes bad”. It doesn’t. They just want to get you to buy it again (or throw it away so it doesn’t get into the wrong hands).

OK, I know you’re probably thinking “why don’t you just rest?”

I need my knee to heal, but I need it to heal in the way I’m used to using it. If I just sit around all day I’ll go insane for one, but my knee will heal stiff and I’ll have to “work it in” again. Notice I’m not completely crazy: I wasn’t able to exercise on the bike and I stopped. I’m not going to make my body do anything it can’t, but I’m not going to let something like this stop me from being active. Remember, it’s not sprained or broken…

Anyway, I went out and bought new hiking boots. There’s no way I’m going to let myself get into such a situation again. I truly believe the shoes caused the problem, and knowing the cause meant I needed to fix the problem. Salomons were highly recommended by several thru hikers, and one even told me he stood in ankle deep water in them for some time and came away with dry feet (they are waterproof). So now I’m wearing them everywhere to break them in before hiking again next week.

BTW, my knee and other various cuts and bruises from the fall are healing fabulously. It’s actually kind of fascinating watching the body heal so quickly, as well as the various stages of healing (but that’s another post for another time). Yes, if I end up getting an infection I’ll go in to see a doctor.

A close up view… still bleeding/weeping, but healing nicely

OK, let the comments commence…

Summiting in the Clouds

I wasn’t sure I’d be hiking at all. I didn’t have a hiking buddy and the weather forecast wasn’t stellar, so I was debating back and forth on going. Then on Friday night Tristina text me and asked if I still wanted to go. I looked at the weather forecast (not great, but no thunderstorms), and said sure!

We woke up at 3am and were on the trail at 3:50am. We saw this Columbine growing out of a barrier at about MM2. I thought it was pretty cool, and at first didn’t think it was a real flower, but it was growing this way, and bloomed just at the opening.

We made really good time. Tristina and I hike at a similar pace, and we both intended to hike quickly. We made it to Barr Camp at 6:30am (that’s about 6.5 uphill miles in 2h 40m).

We talked to a lady I’d seen the past couple of times on the hike. Her name’s Dana. She hikes to Barr Camp in the mornings before her grandkids wake up at 9am. After some chatting, she seems like a potential hiking partner in the future. She’s summited over 40 times, and always by herself. She asked me if I knew “Larry” (I didn’t, but apparently he’s a frequent hiker too).

We could tell it’d rained last night, which made hiking a bit easier. The dust on the trails wasn’t present, and there were dew drops on the Aspen leaves.

We made it to the A-frame at 8am. It was foggy and surprisingly “green” compared to my last visit 2 weeks ago.

Our usual view of Colorado Springs was lost in the clouds…

We took a break at A-frame and then headed out again. The clouds just got thicker, and at times it began to rain. It was surreal hiking with such limited visibility. We had a hard time gauging exactly where we were on the hike. At times we’d pass a landmark and be surprised we’d reached it so quickly! I’m not sure if it was the lack of beating sunshine, lack of visibility, or lack of stopping for slower hikers, but we hiked much faster than normal.

Here’s a picture of the Cirque, a 1500 foot drop you can’t tell it there with the fog… could be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing!!!

Here’s a view of the hiking conditions:

Last time we hiked this rocky area was all under snow. It’s interesting to see what it looks like sans snow. You can also tell why we had difficulty finding our footing and experienced a lot of mini rockslides…

I had to get a video of this! It’s not great quality, and kind of hard to see due to the fog and poor visibility, but this is where we “glissaded” the first time we summited this year. I plan to get another video next time the weather’s better, but this gives you an idea of how far we went.

Here’s a picture of where we slid…

Here’s where the rain really picked up. I was so glad I’d brought my rain jacket with hood! We reached the summit at 9:57am: That’s our fastest time yet! Usually it takes about 3 hours from the A-frame to get to the summit, but it took us less than 2 hours! Total, that was over 13 miles uphill in under 6 hours. Awesome! We got there just as a train was pulling away.

When we went into the summit house it was deserted. This is the first time I’ve been there when it hasn’t been ridiculously full. We attributed it to the poor visibility at the peak, and the fact a train had just left. The only people at the Summit were those of us who’d hiked up. There were two men who’d run up (and were looking for a car-ride own), and a father son duo who’d hiked up the “easy” way (the backside, which starts at 10,000 ft elevation).

We stayed for about half an hour, then decided to hike back down. The fog was beginning to lift and while we couldn’t see Colorado Springs we were able to see further distances. I love how green it is!

We saw a few deer on the way down, right on the trail…

and one of my favorite mushrooms! They are so cool to see on the trail (no touching though)

I wasn’t sure how it would be going with just one other person, especially since she was one of my Girl Scouts and we have an adult/scout relationship, but it ended up being really enjoyable. We hike at similar speeds, and didn’t run out of things to talk about on our 11+ hour hike. I was thankful to have a hiking buddy, and to have been able to hike the peak again!

The only downside was my hiking shoes… due to lack of traction they kept slipping. They’ve lasted me 20 years, but I think it’s time to get a new pair.