I’ve actually had the poster for a few days, but I didn’t have a frame, so this afternoon I went out and bought one. The poster looks much better inside a frame, even if it is a cheap one. I bought a simple frame at Walmart because I plan on opening and closing it several times over the next few years and don’t want to invest too much on something that will most likely break with overuse. Once it’s complete I’ll get a nicer frame for the poster. I hung it outside my bedroom door. Rebecca noticed it when she got home: “Oh, I see you already have your poster hung up.”
This 18 x 24 inch poster was designed as a kind of log of your 14er hikes. 54 of Colorado’s 14ers are represented from original paintings of the summits by Robert L. Wogrin. There’s a small rectangle below each peak for you to write the date you successfully summited each 14er. I plan to write the summit number in the boxes instead of the date, and I also plan to put a picture of me at the summit over each image as I progress. In the photo I’ll most likely be holding a cardboard sign indicating the name of the summit, elevation, and date. Yes, I know that’s a predictable and sort of following the crowd type of thing, but it’s what I intend to do. I’m open to other suggestions?
Another idea: Collecting a small rock (maybe 1.5 inches?) from each summit, then writing the name of the summit and elevation in Sharpee on the rock. If I’m successful, I’ll have 54 rocks from the highest points of Colorado.
This whole week has been unseasonable gorgeous. I’ve been itching to get outside and hike, but we’ve been really busy with cookie sales, Girl Scout Meetings, etc. I could probably have gone this past weekend, but I’m not a fan of hiking on weekends (too many people). This week I’m working from home, which meant I could probably work really hard and get all my work done and still find time to hike. Today’s weather looked perfect, so I decided to hike today.
I got up at my normal time and went to the gym, ran 5 miles, lifted for about 10 minutes, then did half an hour of yoga. I came home, took Emily to school, and was off to the Incline. I’ve only hiked the incline once before (back in October of 2012), but I frequent the Barr trail to hike Pikes Peak. I figured I’ve got this.
I could actually feel the adrenaline start pumping as I neared the trail head. I was so excited to take this hike! It’s been way too long since I’ve been out (November 8, 2016 to be exact).
When I got there I was surprised to find the Barr Parking Lot had increased their fees, and required reservations through an app. NOT COOL. I was aware last year they were considering this, but didn’t think they were foolish enough to enact a $20 per day parking fee. They did however, and took it one step further by requiring you to plan in advance. Do they know anything about hikers?????
…I digress. There was a cop in the parking lot monitoring to make sure everyone had a pass (there were 2 cars in the parking lot at the time… not even paying for him to be there). So I drove around and looked for another place to park.
Yippee! I found one at $10 per day, only to discover it was limited to 4 hours. I’d need to be back at my car by 12:01pm. I inwardly cursed (this meant I’d ONLY be able to do the Incline, and not head to Barr Camp as intended because 4 hours wasn’t enough time for the hike. I once again asked myself “What is Manitou THINKING?????” and hurried because now my time was seriously limited.
It was 8am, so not many people were at the beginning of the trail when I got there. I started at a steady pace, and I’m proud to say not one person passed me on the way up, but I passed dozens of people. For a Monday, there were actually a lot of people on the trail.
I’ve only hiked the Incline once before, a long time ago before they “fixed” it. I remembered it being difficult, and cursing the fact I’d gone to the gym in the morning. This time it was challenging as well, but i knew what to expect. The only “bad” part was people blasting their music as they hiked. As if enjoying nature is too much to ask? News flash: no one else enjoys your music. Wear headphones please.
I didn’t stop until I was about ¾ of the way up, then I would hike 100 steps then stop to take 2 deep breaths and begin again. It seemed to work! I made it to the top in 33 minutes 39 seconds!
I stopped to take a few selfies (something I rarely do) and contemplated the rest of the hike. It seemed a shame to be here, pay $10 to park, and not get the most out of it I could (I did’t want to waste ANY of that $10). So I continued hiking, and instead of turning left to take the Barr Trail back to the parking lot I turned right and headed towards Pikes Peak.
Patches of snow started around MM3, right where I’d scattered the seeds for Granny. I didn’t expect to see any flowers this early in the season (I’m thinking late May-August they should bloom), but I looked anyway. I did see a butterfly, which was awesome and odd because there were no flowers. Really cool though because they symbolize someone from heaven is watching you.
I made it to MM4 before deciding to turn back. I would have LOVED to hike further, but I heard hikers further up the trail (I didn’t want to play leapfrog) and I was cutting it close on time. So I took another quick selfie with the snow on the peak and headed back down.
On my way back through Granny’s area I saw 2 more butterflies and smiled inwardly.
I did end up seeing one flower on the trail. I was at MM2 when I saw a Pasqueflower. They are the first flowers to bloom in Colorado Springs. There’s usually a contest to see who can snap a photo of the first one to bloom every year. I’m sure my photo isn’t the first, but it was my first sighting of the year!
The entire hike I felt elated. This is why I hike! I could feel the sunshine on my face and smell the Ponderosa Pines. The wind felt amazing. I made it back down the trail and snapped a quick photo of the Incline, for my out of state friends who haven’t had the pleasure of taking the hike.
I’ll probably be back soon, but not too soon: that $10-$20 is going to limit my hikes. I’m thinking Red Rock Open Space is where I’ll head next (no fees).
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 9th summit of
Pikes Peak (7th 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.
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.
We started at the trailhead at 12:40pm, intending to take a 4.75 mile loop hike to visit the two remaining ponds at Mueller State Park I’d yet to visit: Cahill and Rule Creek Ponds. As you can see from the photo of the route we took above, we got a little off tack, but only for about 1/3 of a mile. The trails at Mueller are wonderfully market with numbers. Unfortunately the post for the switch off said Trail 17 went left and right. Since we were looking for 34 we were confused (until we came to 32 and noticed our mistake). The positive part of this blunder was I got an extra 2/3 of a mile in (making it over a 5 mile hike), and the way back was all uphill! Woot!
I don’t know much about the history of Mueller except it was Homesteaded in 1870, then passed through several families (cattle ranchers) until the Mueller Family bought it as a game preserve. It became a Colorado State Park in 1990. There were no clear signs indicating who this home belonged to, but it couldn’t have been that old as it had a concrete foundation and evidence of glass windows.
The building was dilapidated and had a “keep out” sign. It was obvious the roof had caved in some time ago (and was littering the floor, along with barbed wire. I didn’t go inside.
It was pretty close to Cahill Pond, so I’m assuming maybe it belonged to the Cahill Family?
Directly to the East of Cahill Pond is a large meadow. I couldn’t help but stop and take a picture of the grass and rolling hills.
There was another building located inside an Aspen grove just before the Cheesman Ranch trail. It looked to be an old hay loft and root cellar.
Rule Creek Pond lined Highway 67, and we came upon it almost accidentally. I’ve seen it from the road frequently, but never realized it was a Mueller State Park Pond.
The rest of the trail followed a service road. The trail was pretty to look at, but I noticed some of the leaves were already starting to change color! It’s only August 20th: way too early for the leaves to change!
Completing this hike means I’ve now visited all the ponds in Mueller State Park, most of which you need to hike at least 3 miles round trip to see:
Wild Wanderer 