Tag: ManitouIncline

Christmas Morning Incline Hike

I was invited to ‘do the incline’ on Christmas day, and
since the invite was for 10am I figured sure! 
I tend to be an over-planner, so I left my house early and my pack
included microspikes (not necessary). 
The invite said we’d all meet at Manitou Park and carpool there.  I knew 3 people who’d RSVP’d, so I figured I’d
have friends. 

Well, when I got there the group chat started lighting up
with everyone’s whereabouts.  There were
a few people at the park, but everyone I knew was already at the incline.  Hmmm. 
I talked with the group in the parking lot, realized they were the ‘4
hour crew’ and thought it’d be better if I just drove up to the Incline parking
lot by myself. 

As I was leaving the park I saw someone I recognized from Villa
heading down.  He said there was plenty
of parking in the incline lot.  I met Tim
about halfway up Ruxton Ave and gave him a ride to the top.  Parking was only $5 (Woot!  I’d thought it’d be $10).  We met Jill at the bottom. She was super
excited her son gave her a Navy running set for Christmas. She’s so proud of
that boy!

Tim and I knew we’d have different speeds, so we hiked for about
30 seconds together before splitting off.  
The trail actually looks great since they re-did it (for the third time…).

About halfway up there was a decorated Christmas Tree

Even though it was brisk when I started, pretty soon it got
warm due to the exercise.  I was
sweating!  I knew from past experience
most people time their hike, which means it’s a personal competition to do
better each time than you did the last time. 
I was exhausted about half way in, but kept trudging on.  The most difficult part was breathing, which
I found curious?  My body wasn’t tired,
but I had to stop to catch my breath. 
This was maddening!  Hey, I’m used
to doing hikes above treeline, why was this so difficult?  In any event, my time was 35 minutes 35
seconds to summit, which is a great time! 
I’m proud to say no one passed me on the way up!

At the top there was a decorated Christmas Tree. 

I admired it (and the view) until Tim summited, and then we
hiked down the Barr Trail together.  I
drove home, and woke the kids up to celebrate Christmas!

This is the third time I’ve hiked the incline.  I usually avoid it on principle, but was
seriously glad I’d hiked today!  Being
social is difficult for me:  this was a
nice segway into socialization… lol! 

Manitou Incline – First Day of Spring

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).