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.
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 11th 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).
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.
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…
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!
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 4th
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 4th 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 15th 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).
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.
Let me start by saying these girls were prepared for this hike. They’d backpacked this trail multiple times before, and were even nominated by Search and Rescue to earn the Red Cross Lifesaving award for rescuing hikers on this trail on another occasion. They received that award. They also train for and participate in an outdoor survival skills competition every year. They are experienced, in great physical condition, “pumped” about going on the hike, and I know them and their personalities well. I trusted their abilities.
For those of you who worry, don’t. Everyone made it out ok without any injuries that needed more than moleskin and a few Tylenol.
As always the girls spent the night at my house the evening before the hike. They made blueberry muffins for breakfast the next morning, and stayed up way too late giggling. I checked the weather forecast for the next day: 83-90 degrees with no chance of rain. AWESOME!!! We’re always worried about thunderstorms above the treeline. We were so excited it wasn’t going to be an issue this time. We woke up at 3am and were in the parking lot by 3:55am.
The parking lot was pretty empty, except for two large passenger vans. As I was paying for parking I overheard a director surrounded by about 20 people talking about how they were all going to hike to the top today, and their goal was to do so by noon. He prayed for God to bless their bodies and journey. I thought a few things:How cool for a church group to hike Pikes Peak!
· They do NOT look prepared for a hike like this. They are in shorts and none of them look like “hikers”
· Making it to the top by noon was overly ambitious
· I wanted to get a start before they did because passing them would take forever!
I quickly paid for parking and ran back to the truck. We grabbed our gear, turned on our headlamps, and got going. I said a positive “Good Luck!” to one of the church ladies preparing to hike (she seemed confused when she noticed I wasn’t with her group), and we were on our way before 4am.
We’ve hiked Pikes Peak before, but this was the first time we’d done so with small packs carrying just water. We have always backpacked with 30lb packs, so this was a treat! We made great time! We hiked the first two miles in about 40 minutes (which is amazing, considering it’s all uphill). As always, we enjoyed the view. No matter how many times I try, I can’t capture the beauty. I need a special camera.
The hike up to Barr Camp was pretty uneventful. The first 3 miles of incline are the hardest, and then the next 3 are gently sloping. No long breaks were needed beyond shedding layers (it was getting warm, and we were sweating). We saw various new flowers that aren’t in bloom when we usually hike in July or August, as well as a caterpillar nest.
We made it to Barr Camp at 6am (6.5 miles in 2 hours) and had a heavy snack.
Most of the campers there were just waking up. One man came up to us and asked about the conditions of the trail. He said hikers came back yesterday saying the snow was up to their thighs in areas and they weren’t able to summit. They kept losing the trail and getting stuck in snow, but said you could get pretty far if you “kept going left” and asked if that sounded right?
I told him it made sense, but we had crampons, so we weren’t too worried. His concerned reply: “I wasn’t worried about you, I was worried about making it myself. Do you think I can make it?” I thought this was hilarious! I initially thought he was looking out for us, but he was really worried about himself and his abilities. Apparently we looked like we knew what we were doing. He was worried he wouldn’t be able to find the trail, so I gave him some pointers.
Around the 8 mile mark we saw patches of ice on the trail. Right in the middle of the trail to be exact.
It was 1 more mile to the A-frame, and at this point we were feeling pretty good. It was so much easier hiking with just water! We made it by 8:30am and took a look around. It was not as green as it usually is (probably too soon in the season), but otherwise it was cleaner than normal (kind of… still some trash here and there). We were met by a marmot living under the frame and a young buck! SO cool! We never see deer at 11,500 feet!
Just as we were getting ready to leave a man came down the trail. He looked like an experienced hiker, so we talked with him a bit about the trail conditions. We asked him if he’d summited yet, and he said he hadn’t. He’d been trying for the past 4 weeks, but there was always too much snow. Last week the A-frame had 4 feet of snow around it. He was hoping to summit today. He also said he’d seen the church group at about 6am near the top of the incline…it had taken them 2 hours to hike 2 miles. There was NO WAY they were going to summit today, but they still seemed to think they could. They had driven in from Oklahoma at 10pm the night before the hike. The girls and I had flashbacks of saving those hikers form Kansas, and mentally prepared ourselves to help if necessary.
We said our goodbyes and continued with our hike around 9am. Immediately after the A-frame we lost the trail due to snow. There wasn’t snow covering the ground completely, but huge piles of it covering large parts of the trail. We knew which way to go, but it was under too much snow to traverse.
We could see large switchbacks further up the mountain, so we decided to just head straight for those and continue with the trail there. Normally I am completely against going off trail and creating new ones, but we really had no choice: there wasn’t a trail to follow. We could see where other hikers had attempted to go up, and tried to follow their tracks where possible (all in the snow, so we weren’t trampling ground cover). If we found the trail we took it until it was buried in snow again. Many times we “made our own trail” over the previous one.
We got really good at confidently making our own solid tracks in the very slippery snow. You see, the problem was we had no way of knowing how deep the snow was. As you can see by the picture below, one step I was on solid ground. The next I sank to my waist, and was only able to get out because my right foot was in a stable position. There’s no telling how far I’d have sunk if I hadn’t had one foot in a solid position. Yes, I was scared the first time this happened!
Adding to this was the water. Water trickles down from Pikes Peak into rivulets and small streams, then continues past the A-frame down the mountain. Some of them run below the rocks, others above. These streams can be heard the entire time you’re above treeline. You can see them at points, but you can always hear them. We knew there was water flowing below us, but we never knew if it was under snow or rocks. We’d be in trouble if it was under the snow and we fell in!
There were times when I had to make our own tracks and could see hoof prints in the snow. I followed those tracks, trusting the Bighorn Sheep or Mountain Goat that had made them…
Did I mention the Marmots? We saw more marmots this trip than I’ve ever seen before, and they were quite fluffy…
There tracks were everywhere too… Adorable!
We eventually found a way to a switchback leading to the Cirque. Notice how hard I’m breathing? It’s really hard to breathe at 13,000+ feet!
Just after the Cirque we followed the trail until we found the 1 mile mark, where it completely disappeared. We could see the “16 Golden Stairs” sign, so we made our way towards it. At this point we had to completely abandon the trail and just hike straight up. There weren’t footprints to follow, or any sign indicating which way we should go. We knew how the trail usually bends, but due to snow were unable to get to those spots. We also knew we wouldn’t be damaging any groundcover because it was all rocks.
It was like rock climbing on ice! Except there were no footholds, so we had to make our own. And there was nothing to hold onto except for our hiking poles and the holds we made before lifting ourselves up. And there were a lot of unstable rocks hiding below the snow causing minor rock fall avalanches. It was really scary and slippery, but the girls confidently made their own trail. Oh, and crampons for the win! Those things are amazing!
We summited at 12pm. It had taken us 3 hours from the A-frame, the normal time is usually does, but not in the traditional fashion.
Side note: The man we met at the A-frame was with a group of about 10 male hikers. They followed our footprints, so basically we made the trail for them. They didn’t have crampons so they were unable to summit.
We summited about 20 seconds before a cog train arrived, so we booked it inside the summit house to grab a table. We got donuts!!! I’ve summited Pikes Peak several times, and this is the first the donut machine has been working. I celebrated!
We collapsed at a table to take a well-deserved break. That hike was insane! We were so proud of ourselves! We had never done anything like what we just did: blazing our own trail and climbing through ice and snow for 3 miles up the face of Pikes Peak!
We also noted how scary we must have looked to everyone else there arriving from the train: you know, the ones wearing makeup with their hair curled.
As we sat there a “Park Ranger” (I’m not really sure that’s an official title, but there’s always a guy in a park ranger uniform at the summit house) came up and asked us if we’d hiked up. When we told him we had, he said we were the first this season! Woot! He then asked us if we’d be hiking back down (instead of taking the train) and told us to be careful: The other day he had someone lose their backpack looking over the edge and it slid 1500 feet down the slope.
A bathroom stop was on the agenda, but the line for the bathroom was longer than the line for fudge (which had about 30 people in it) so we decided to book it down the trail and go at the A-frame instead.
We went outside for a few pictures. Everyone who talked with us was super impressed we’d hiked up the mountain. See how proud we are? The person taking the picture noted the awesome rain shower in the background…
We’d just been through a very intense hike, and came up without a proper trail. This time we were at the summit and knew where the trail down started, so we decided to descend using the trail as intended. The “park ranger” was standing at the edge where we’d summited, presumably discouraging people from taking that way down. All routes from the top looked impassable, but we knew if we could just get past the snow we’d be able to find our route down. After all, the snow wasn’t “everywhere” as there were patches of rocks in between, and we’d made it up, hadn’t we?
We hiked for about 40 feet and knew immediately hiking down was not the same as hiking up.
This is where I need to pause a moment and let you know how we got into the situation that put us at risk. I am a serious photographer (intense hobby). Much to the disappointment of my children I take pictures of everything. I am rarely seen without a camera in my hand, and indeed summited Pikes Peak this trip one handed (with my Canon Rebel in my left hand… yes, I got a scratch on the lens from a falling rock, but it was worth it). In addition, there was no room in my backpack to hold my camera, so I had to keep it around my neck.
Remember that picture from before where one foot was level, and the other sunk to my waist in the snow? Well, that happened just as we were descending, except instead of catching myself I was off balance (due to my camera) and slid one foot first, one sideways, 600 feet down the face of Pikes Peak. Things going through my head at this time:
· This is bad
· Don’t start turning! Do whatever you can to stay upright and don’t tip over!
· Don’t scare the girls! Keep calm. Talk to them as you’re going down to let them know you’re not scared and that you’re ok. “I’m sliding down, just wait a bit, ok?”
· Find a way to slow down!!!
· I’m not slowing down, try something else!!!
· This is really, really bad.
About 600 feet later I was able to slow myself down by making a large “V” with my legs and came to a stop just before a rock outcropping. I’d lost my hiking pole about 1/3 of the way down (my first attempt at stopping was to try and anchor myself… the hiking pole stayed where it was).
At this point I was scared. That “glissade” was NOT on purpose, and now I was separated by my girls by 600 feet. Not for long however, for they decided to follow me, and without thinking I encouraged them:
I hadn’t fully processed the situation when they started, and encouraged them on. I didn’t want them to know how scared I was, but I also realized there was no other way for us to make it down the mountain: we could not go up. We had to go down or stay where we were, which wasn’t an option.
Note: I don’t have pictures of everything from this point on because there were times when our safety was much more important than pictures, so I focused on getting us down safely. I needed two hands to navigate and steady myself.
The girls made it to me and we assessed our situation. We were in an awful spot! We couldn’t walk sideways because there was a rock outcropping too steep to traverse. In addition that “rain shower” had turned to snow above us (wonderful weather forecast, huh?) and the rocks were really slippery. The only way down was to slide on the snow another 200 feet.
So we did. The glissade wasn’t pretty, as the grade was too steep to do anything but dig your heels in to slow down your descent. The girls are all smiles in these pictures (I’ve trained them to smile on cue because I’m always taking their pictures), but I know they were thinking “I’m going to DIE!” In reality, that was a possibility if they didn’t control their descent. They were fabulous!
The first thing Tristina said when we got to the bottom was “I’m glad those rocks were there to break our fall!” It sounds comical, but she was actually sincere: the rocks provided us traction and gave us breaks from snow that kept us from sliding out of control. They also ripped a very large hole in her pants, right where you don’t want a hole. She used her sweatshirt to cover the damage.
I was seriously worried about our predicament at this point, but knew we needed to keep going to save ourselves. We were at an inaccessible spot on the mountain, no one was hurt, we were all together and we could make our way down. We just needed to be extremely careful and not make one misstep, or we’d seriously injure ourselves on the rocks. Or tumble and break something and be in serious trouble.
I knew I needed to be a leader for the girls, so I kept up a positive, encouraging attitude while inside being scared I was leading them into danger. For their part the girls were amazing! They trusted my decisions completely, followed my footsteps, and problem solved on their own when necessary. I went first and many times had to direct them on the right path from places they couldn’t see me.
From here on out we tried to avoid snow patches whenever possible, hiking up and around them as we could. We spent a lot of time navigating large granite boulders. One of my girls was in shock, and we were all on a serious adrenaline rush. None of us were hurt, but we all knew we should have been. I knew they were scared, but the girls didn’t stop: they kept hiking down.
The group of 10 guys who followed us up was now descending, so we made our way towards them. They weren’t using a trail, but hiking straight down. This making your own trail irks me, but in our present situation I totally understood. We bouldered and traversed straight down, using them as a reference point. It took us about 75 minutes to reach them. One of the guys in the group started talking to us: he said their group was being led by someone who placed 2nd in a very popular Pikes Peak run. Impressive!
We tried to stay behind the group of guys (remember that embarrassing hole in the pants?), but they kept slowing down and taking breaks. This didn’t make ANY sense! They were all very fit men who shouldn’t have had to take so many “breaks”.
Eventually we figured it out when they asked us if we were anywhere near the trail: They didn’t know where they were going! They asked us for help navigating back to the trail. We knew the general direction so we led the way.
At one point we came to a large expanse of snow there was no way to navigate around: we had to cross it. This time we did so more confidently. I went first, solidly sitting down and sliding feet first. The incline wasn’t as steep as at the top, so I was able to make a nice smooth slide. The girls quickly followed. This time glissading was fun!
I heard the group of guys shout “Wow! Those girls are badass!”
I shouted from below to the guys “feel free to use the slide!”
They enthusiastically accepted and we watched them get a running start, jump and slide, obviously having great fun!
Jordan was the one who eventually found the trail that led to the A-frame, and we were back in business! The guys continued down to Barr Camp, while we took a bit of a rest and assessed our current situation. We had just been through a very scary experience most people would have needed to have been rescued from. None of us was hurt, we’d made it out alive, and we were proud of how we handled everything! We considered this trip a very exciting win!
I am hiking the trail with another group next week, and we are staying overnight at the A-frame, so I “hid” my jacket so I don’t need to carry it up the trail next week. Then and used the facilities (although it was jokingly commented that might have already been taken care of accidentally on that first slide) and we hiked back down the trail.
The rest of the hike was uneventful. It rained a cold, biting rain the last 6 miles (once again, great weather forecast, huh? I almost wished I’d have kept my jacket). We were surrounded by rolling thunder but no lightening.
We talked with several hikers making their way to Barr Camp, intending on summiting the next day. They all had snow shoes, and said they’d gotten advice from someone on “14ners.com” indicating they were needed. We assured them they weren’t. The girls we met who were hiking up were all intrigued and started in on conversation, asking about trail conditions, etc. The men all seemed amused and acted like they knew better than we did. The conversation stopped with them there. Hmmm….
We also saw a hiker on his way up rather late in the day (6pm) with nothing but skis and a water jug. He looked extremely fit and like he knew what he was doing, but not prepared at all for sleeping overnight, which he’d need to do in order to reach an area with enough snow to ski.
We never did see that church group on the way back down, and their vans were gone by the time we made it to the parking lot, 13 hours and 26 miles later!
My final comments to the girls: Remember, you can do ANYTHING guys can do, one handed (I summited with a camera in my left hand), bleeding. Many times while wearing heels..
My girls call me Leader Laura. I have been privileged to be the Leader of Girl Scout Troop 931 in Colorado Springs since 2007, where I have seen these girls learn, grow, and mature into self confident young adults. These girls take cookie sales very seriously: They set high goals, achieve them, and enjoy their success by planning activities and adventures paid for from the profits of the sale.
Troop 931 has sold tens of thousands of boxes of Girl Scout Cookies, and used the proceeds to perform community service and go on some amazing trips. This year a few of the girls in the troop were interested in backpacking to the top of Pikes Peak. This 14,115 ft. mountain towers over Colorado Springs, and is a constant source of pride for our community.
The hike to the top isn’t for the faint of heart. The Barr Trail to Pikes Peak is the most difficult hike in the area. It is an advanced trail that gains 7,800 feet in altitude in 12.5 miles, not to mention the 12.5 miles back down to your vehicle.
Colorado weather is dangerously unpredictable. It can be extremely hot hiking the beginning of the trail, and the average temperature at the summit in the summer is forty degrees below the temperature at the base of the trail. Electrical storms and rain are daily events, and it is possible to encounter snow and ice even in the summer months.
Three girls in the troop were interested and able to go on the hike: Jordan, Rebecca, and Tristina, all who have been Girl Scouts since elementary school. All of these girls take honors classes, Jordan is active in Ice Hockey, Rebecca is captain of her High School Color Guard, and Tristina is in cross country and cheer.
In addition to being physically fit and enthusiastic about the hike, the girls train for the Girl Scout “Reach for the Peak” outdoor skills competition every year, where they compete in events such as emergency first aid, campsite set up, emergency survival, knots, lashing, outdoor cooking, etc., so they had the skills and training necessary to take such an adventurous trip.
We all met at my house Friday night. The theory being they would be able to go to bed as soon as possible Friday night and get up early for the hike the next morning. We put together our food for the trip (lots of nuts, dried fruit, cereal, breakfast bars, Ramen, freeze dried meals and water), and distributed necessary gear amongst the girls (tents, camp stove, water filter, emergency first aid and fire starting supplies). Then the girls used the computer to check the most recent weather forecast and trail conditions (50% chance of storms after 11am), printed a detailed description of the hike with landmarks and places to filter water along the way, and planned to get up at 3am to leave by 3:30am to get an early start on the trail.
Saturday morning we had a quick breakfast of coffee, cinnamon rolls, and sausage. The girls were excited and awake at 3am, even though they did not go to bed early as planned (they are all good friends, so I figured they’d be up talking most of the night, and they were). All 6 of us piled into my truck (the three scouts Jordan, Rebecca, and Tristina, Thomas (a brother and a Boy Scout who wanted to hike too), Liane the Troop co-leader, and I) and headed to the trailhead.
Barr Trail is located in Manitou Springs, close to the Cog Railway that travels up Pikes Peak. It was still dark as we parked at the base of the trail, along with many other hikers looking to get a head start on the trek. At 4:30am we donned our backpacks, head lamps and good attitudes, took a picture for posterity, and began hiking.
The girls had researched the trail, so we knew the first few miles would be a difficult uphill climb, but after about the third mile it would even out for a bit. At around 6.5 miles we would come upon Barr Camp, where many hikers choose to spend the night either before or after hiking the peak. There would be water to filter at Barr Camp, and emergency supplies to purchase if needed. Our research told us there would be a cabin about a mile past Barr Camp that sleeps 6, available on a first come basis, and a popular spot to stay in the summer months. After reaching the cabin the hike would get more difficult, especially once we made it past the timberline. The last 3 miles was supposed to be the most complicated, due to lack of oxygen and stress from the hike. It was recommended to summit and be back below the tree line before 1pm to avoid summer thunderstorms. It normally takes about 8 hours to summit (without backpacking gear).
It became obvious about half a mile into the trail the group wanted to hike much faster than Liane. We were worried we wouldn’t make it to the summit before the required time unless we hiked at a faster pace, but we wanted to stay together. Liane had quite a heavy pack, and after some discussion we decided to separate and meet at the cabin a mile past Barr Camp: She never planned on summiting, the trail was heavy with hikers, and we all felt confident she would be safe hiking “by herself”. So it was decided Thomas and I would continue the hike with the girls, Liane would hike on her own, and we would communicate every so often through texting.
The first three miles were indeed aggressive, but we pressed on knowing the trail would eventually get easier. It was dark when we started out, and along the way we had views of the night lights of Colorado Springs, hundreds of twinkling stars, and the bright lights that were Venus and Jupiter shining just to the left of the crescent moon. I took pictures with my camera, knowing they would never represent the true beauty of the night.
We stopped many times for a few seconds here and there to admire the view. At about the 3-4 mile mark the sun came up and we started seeing really cool red and white mushrooms. The girls identified them as Amanita muscaria, more commonly known as fly agaric. These mushrooms are poisonous to the touch, so we became concerned when we found some had been uprooted. We followed a stream for a while, and the girls took turns identifying several trees, mushrooms, and flowers (to get ready for the plant identification part of the Reach for the Peak competition in 2 weeks).
Around the 4 mile mark the trail indeed became a bit easier to hike, but only for about a mile. Then the incline picked up once again, and the five of us started stopping more frequently to rest. We were all hungry despite breakfast, and broke into our snacks earlier than anticipated. We were glad we packed plenty of food: it began to look like we were going to need all the calories we could get!
Tired but feeling accomplished with the hike so far, we arrived at Barr Camp at about 8am. Barr Camp has a nice stream running through the area, and we noted several places we could camp if the cabin a mile up was occupied when we arrived. It was at the cabin we planned to take a longer rest before tackling the second half of the hike. We knew the hike would get a bit easier from there, so we didn’t rest, but continued on up the trail.
We expected a gradual climb to the cabin. After about a mile we were discouraged by how steep the climb was becoming, and in our lack of locating our designated spot to rest. We went back to our notes, verifying the cabin’s location. We started wondering: Had we missed it? Was it hidden? We were getting pretty tired by this point, so we stopped to take a rest and have a snack (peaches!).
A hiker passed us, and we asked her if we were close to the cabin. “You mean the A-frame? That’s at least another mile” she answered. We were taken aback. She had to be mistaken. She indicated she had hiked most of the way to the summit on another occasion, but had to turn back because of a storm. However she did remember seeing the A-frame at Timberline, and obviously we were a ways away from that yet. We looked around, and indeed we were still in a heavily wooded area, nowhere near the timberline.
This changed things a bit. By this time we were at least 2 miles past Barr Camp (with our gear), and about a mile from where we had planned to meet Liane (the cabin I will now refer to as “A-frame”). We were pretty tired at this point. The group discussed the options we now faced: We could go back and meet Liane at Barr Camp, or continue with our hike and plan to sleep at the A-frame no matter what, knowing Liane wouldn’t go that far. We knew if we hiked back to Barr Camp we would not be summiting, and that once Liane found out how far away the A-frame was from Barr Camp she would stay at Barr Camp. Jordan indicated Liane had her own tent, sleeping bag, food, and stove in her pack, so we all decided to continue with our hike and text Liane to let her know our decision.
On we hiked. The mile more we had to hike to get to the A-frame took us quite a while. We were tired and sore, but with the knowledge the A-frame was located at the Timberline felt like we were on a mission.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, we saw about 15 people scattered on rocks, looking down at the A-frame below. It was beautiful. A small wooden platform covered on three sides with an open view of Colorado Springs below. It was situated in a small valley, with a stream running through the area and 3 or 4 obvious campsites directly nearby. This meant we would have a place to camp, even if the A-frame was occupied. The girls took off their packs, and despite their fatigue immediately began to inspect the site.
There were belongings already in the A-frame, but no one seemed to be around. It looked like the sleeping bags inside had been left by previous backpackers (they were old and worn), and the shelter was littered with trash. There was a fire pit directly in front of the cabin, so we would be able to have a campfire at night if it wasn’t too windy. A quick inspection of the area indicated there was no firewood so I made a mental note to try and collect some on our way back down.
The girls seemed to have a new sense of energy. At 9:30am we left our sleeping bags and tents in the A-frame (we would be ok without these supplies if they were stolen, but we figured they wouldn’t be), put on our packs with the rest of our supplies, and headed up the trail to finish our journey. We were at 11,500 ft in elevation at the A-frame, and needed to get to 14,115 ft. It was 3 miles to the summit, and more difficult than we could have imagined. The hike just kept getting harder and harder, the air thinner and thinner, and just when we thought we were at the summit, we would round a corner and see what looked like miles and miles of trail still ahead. The air was much colder here, and without the trees the wind was brutal. We could see storm clouds quickly curling over the mountain above us and forming into thunderheads. We put on our hats, jackets, and gloves, and trudged on.
Every hiker we passed on their way down would congratulate us, smile and say we had about half an hour to go. Every. Single. One. Despite the fact we kept advancing on the trail, for about 2 hours every hiker would tell us we had half an hour to go. It was maddening, but we made a joke out of it to help pass the time. At this point we could hear the horn of the Cog Railway, indicating passengers should board the train to head back down. To us it was a sign we were getting close. We saw several mountain bikers riding down the mountain, and commented on their bravery/foolishness.
When we had about a mile left on the trail, the hike was no longer “fun”. It was here we would hike 5 or 6 yards and need to stop and rest for a minute (or five) to catch our breath. I felt like I was a coach pushing the girls to “keep going” because we were “almost there!” They became each others’ cheerleaders, taking turns saying “We got this!” and “We can do it!” We reminded each other if this was an easy hike, everyone would do it, and that its difficulty built character. And awesomeness. On we trudged.
It was brutal. No one wanted to give up, but neither did we want to keep going (resting felt wonderful, and it was so hard to start hiking again). At long last we saw a sign indicating the “16 Golden Stairs”. We had no idea what those were, but they didn’t sound good. They ended up being switchbacks that were more like rock climbing than actual stairs, and vicious on our already aching legs. Rebecca announced this hike brought new meaning to the term “thunder thighs”. We all laughed, and kept climbing.
After the last “stair” we stopped to catch our breath (again), and saw we were about 200 yards from the summit. Although we would have loved to have run, skipped, or jogged those last yards, it just wasn’t possible. We lumbered the last few feet, and almost cried tears of joy as we crossed the cog train tracks and stepped onto the deck.
I asked the girls “Do you want to take pictures now or after we rest?” “Now!” was their answer because once they sat down, they didn’t think they would get up again. We took some pictures at the summit sign, walked in the door of the gift shop, and almost fell upon the nearest empty booth to the triumphant arm pumping cries of “We made it!” and “We did it!”. The girls were elated. We all were! It was 12:30pm, and it was snowing. We made it from Barr Trail up Pikes Peak in 8 hours, with full gear.
During our 45 minute reprieve at the summit we spent most of our time resting and commenting on how difficult the hike was and how awesome we were. The Summit House consists of a restaurant, gift shop, and deck area. It was extremely crowded with tourists milling about, waiting in lines to buy souvenirs indicating they had “made it to the top”. There were two guys in the booth next to us who had just hiked up as well, but were waiting to take the train down the mountain. The girls told them about some of our other Girl Scout adventures (our trip to Alaska, learning how to surf in Texas, heading to Wyoming for Frontier days, rafting, spelunking, rock climbing, etc.). They were impressed we were Girl Scouts, and one even indicated his 11 year old niece was “getting bored with dance”, and would love to do some of the adventurous things we did. He didn’t know “older girls” could be Girl Scouts too. I gave him information on joining a troop.
I text Liane, and she had just reached Barr Camp. She indeed decided upon hearing it was 3.5 miles past Barr Camp to the A-frame to stay at Barr Camp for the night. She already had an adventurous 6.5 mile hike up to Barr Camp and was equipped with plenty of food, water, and supplies. We would meet her in the morning at the campground.
We ate lunch (Ramen!), used the restroom, filled all of our empty water bottles, enjoyed a cappuccino, and bought some fudge to celebrate for dessert later that night. Then it was time to head back down to our campsite (hopefully before a storm hit).
Now that we were rested we took a few more pictures as we made our way back to the trail. I don’t know if it was our rest or the fact that the storm seemed to be coming over the mountain so quickly, but the hike down was much faster than the hike up. We could practically run down the trail without needing to rest (we walked). We heard a chirp-like barking sound, and were delighted to discover it was a Marmot perched on a nearby rock. The girls posed for pictures (it’s an inside joke for the troop: We love Marmots because the Troop won the “Marmot Award” five years in a row in the Reach for the Peak outdoor skills competition).
The hike from the A-frame to the summit took us 3 hours. We made it back down in about 45 minutes, stopping along the way to gather some precious firewood. There wasn’t much, but we collected what we could, knowing the night would be cold. We correctly informed hikers still ascending of the actual time to the top, and as we got closer and closer to Timberline became fearful for hikers beginning the hardest part of their trek with night coming.
As we descended I kept hoping no one would be there to greet us at the A-frame. It is a first come camping situation, and barely big enough for the six of us to set up our sleeping bags. I hoped our leaving sleeping bags inside the shelter would “claim” it for us, but was unsure as to the protocol for such a situation.
Then I heard voices. It seemed there were people at the site already, so I braced myself for the best way to handle the situation. I mentally told myself confident and positive was best.
As we rounded the corner and crossed the stream I saw what appeared to be a man wearing cotton sweats and a t-shirt crouched down beside the fire pit. Inside the pit were 2 branches that had obviously just taken off a nearby pine tree, complete with short green needles and sap oozing from the branches. He was holding a match under one of the green pine needles, trying to get it to catch.
I smiled warmly and shouted “Hello! We’re the ones sharing the site with you tonight. It looks like you could use some help. Do you mind if we help you start the fire?”
“Y-y-y-es, if you think you c-c-c-an do it” he stammered. “I’m f-f-f-reezing over here, and c-c-c-an’t get it lit.”
“Ok, give us 10 minutes. Ladies, start the fire.”
The girls dropped their gear near the A-frame and separated into two groups: One to start on the fire, the other to look for more of the scarce firewood (we hadn’t found very much, and would obviously need more). Thomas helped the girls gather wood, and found some tinder and kindling under a nearby tree.
I wanted to get to know our fellow campers better, so I began asking questions. Right away it was obvious something was wrong. He started babbling. It seem he had a gallon of water open and spill inside his pack 2 miles down the trail, but he kept hiking until he reached the A-frame. His clothes were soaked, and due to the cold water, powerful wind and dropping temperatures, he was having a bad reaction. In addition he had a terrible headache. His friend had one too, and was throwing up near the shelter.
I saw this as a dreadful situation but a wonderful teaching opportunity. “Girls” I said, “what do you think is going on here?”
They quickly assessed the situation. The young man was obviously suffering from hypothermia: His clothes were soaked, he had goose bumps all over his skin, he could barely walk, and he was chattering and stammering. He also had a mild case of altitude sickness, and his friend more severe.
The girls knew what to do: get the young man out of his wet clothes and into a dry sleeping bag. Did anyone have spare clothes he could wear? The wet injured party did. Apparently he was in shock as well, as he had been wearing his wet clothes even though he had dry ones in his pack. The girls got the fire started, and treated one boy for altitude sickness, while I continued to ask the young man questions to keep him awake as he was warming himself up in his sleeping bag near the fire.
They were in more trouble than I had thought. It seems they drove 8 hours from eastern Kansas (where they lived at 1000 ft elevation) the night before and arrived early that morning to hike the peak. Neither he nor his friend (the one throwing up) had made it to the peak. They were in High School, and had three other friends hiking with them, but got separated along the way. At one point between Barr Camp and the A-frame they were so exhausted they slept beside the trail for a few hours (another sign of altitude sickness).
These two young men took a wrong turn but ended up finally finding the A-frame, so they figured they were ok because they made it where they were supposed to end up. They had left their dinner (hamburgers) in the car, but at least they had water to drink (from the creek!). At this point I was seriously wondering who had authorized this trip for these boys when one of the missing three showed up. He had indeed also gotten lost, and was suffering from a pretty bad headache. The girls treated him as well, and then began bandaging their own blisters.
It was now starting to get dark. These boys had no food and no tents, but they were getting along pretty well with the girls. Well, the two who were awake with headaches and hypothermia were talking with the girls; the other boy had passed out inside a sleeping bag, and we all figured that was the best thing for him at the moment. The girls set up a bag near him in case he needed to vomit again anytime soon.
Troop 931 made the decision to share the A-frame and what food and filtered water we had with the boys. Our new friends had been hiking all day with no food, and would need to eat something if they planned to hike down the mountain the next day. The girls talked them out of hiking to the summit and taking the train down in the morning. We got our freeze dried food, and brought out the backpacking stove to heat some water. Just as we were finishing dinner their other two friends showed up.
These “friends” were actually an adult male and female who were “supervising” the boys on the trip, but none of the party of 5 were related. They had 5 apples and 5 brats in their bag, which was better than nothing but nowhere near enough in our opinion. They also had a 2 man tent, which the two went to set up at a site nearby. They seemed amused when the boys told them they left their food and gear in the car, and thanked the girls for treating the boys.
About half an hour later the woman cheerfully came back to the A-frame. She had heard the girls were Girl Scouts, and wondered if they could help them start their fire. They had a lighter and had been trying for half an hour, but couldn’t get it going. At this point I need to mention the girls didn’t really pack much in the way of fire building materials. We hadn’t expected a fire ring, and only brought a few supplies in case of an emergency. The man was eager to help the Girl Scouts with the fire: “Just tell me what I can do to help and I’ll do it!” he said, then asked them how to keep it going.
The girls quickly got the couple’s fire started as well. As we were sitting there, I heard the woman say she didn’t know Girl Scouts did outdoor stuff, or that you could even be a Girl Scout in High School. She thought Girl Scouts was just about selling cookies. She also said she was “definitely buying lots of Girl Scout cookies” the next time she saw girls selling, and sincerely thanked the girls over and over again for their help.
Back we went to the A-frame. The girls re-assed the boys conditions, and noticed the ones who were awake were improving. The other boy was still sleeping, but didn’t have a fever. The girls decided to practice some Yoga to stretch their sore muscles from the climb and to prepare for the descent tomorrow. We shared the fudge and celebrated our success as we watched the sun set and stars come out. Together we pointed out landmarks and reflected on how awesome the whole experience had been. We had to be the luckiest people alive to have this view at night.
Just after the sun went down, two soldiers from a nearby Army base came up to the A-frame. The two had decided over breakfast to hike the peak, and headed out that afternoon. They wanted to know how far it was to the summit. We strongly encouraged them to hike in the morning. It was snowing on the peak, not to mention at least a 3 hour climb through difficult trail to get there. “Well, we aren’t really convinced we can’t make it tonight” one of them said. They didn’t seem to believe us, and kind of smirked when we told them of the difficulty. We wished them luck and warmly let them know they were welcome to set up a tent anywhere nearby if they’d like.
One hour later they were back from their attempt and setting up their tent (they had gone a little ways, began to believe us, and decided to turn back). However, they couldn’t start their fire. The girls were happy to help yet again!
Back in the A-frame things were starting to get fun. The new friends were discussing books, High School classes and sports, and college prospects. It was now about 10pm, and starting to get windy. We put our fire out, and with one side completely open to the elements it immediately got very cold inside the A-frame. This was not good for the boy still chilly but recovering in the sleeping bag, or anyone else for that matter: It was supposed to be in the 20s on the peak that night. The girls used their knot tying skills to attach a tarp over the opening, which kept out most of the wind, but unfortunately took away the view of the city below, and also the light. The girls took the notorious water jug and attached a flashlight to the top, making the small light into a wonderful lantern, and brought out a deck of cards.
The group of teenage girls and boys were getting along pretty well. At this point, I thought they were getting along a little too well. Realizing I was the only real adult in this whole situation, and that most of their parents would be upset with the kids “sleeping together” no matter the extenuating circumstances, I decided to put my foot down with sleeping arrangements. The girls had their sleeping bags set up where their heads were facing one wall of the cabin, the boys on the other. I was in the middle. While I was really tired, I knew I should stay awake while the teenagers were awake, so I listened to them talk and have a really fun time comparing Kansas to Colorado until 2am, when they finally got to sleep. By this time I was freezing, and unable to sleep myself, so I listened to the wind howling outside the shelter. 4am came, and along with it, some pretty powerful wind gusts. One gust tore the rivet off the tarp, and with a loud and obnoxious crumpling and flapping sound started flailing noisily in the wind. I am proud to say the knots the girls tied remained in place, even though the tarp had torn. The tarp was replaced, and luckily that seemed to be the worst of the wind for the night.
The girls set the alarm for 6am so we could watch the sunrise, eat breakfast, pack up and go. The two boys with headaches were doing much better, and wanted to pose for pictures with the girls. The boy who had pretty severe altitude sickness was better but still miserable (he would be until he descended the mountain), and planned to sleep for a few more hours. We briefed the adults on what to do for altitude sickness, gave them some supplies, and told them if the boys ended up getting sick in the near future to research Giardia. They were very appreciative, thanked the girls over and over again, and let them know if it hadn’t been for them, they “probably wouldn’t have made it through the night.”
The A-frame had been filthy when we arrived, so being Girl Scouts we decided to clean it up before we left. Since it is quite a hike to reach the shelter from both the top and bottom of the trail, it is unlikely others would come to clean up the mess. Luckily we had brought some trash bags along in our packs (in case of intense rain they work well as ponchos). We filled the bags with empty water bottles, dirty plates and utensils, empty fuel canisters, socks, and other “trash” and decided to carry the bags from the shelter 9.5 miles down the mountain.
It took us about an hour to hike down to Barr Camp, where Liane was waiting for us, ready to go. She had a fabulous time talking with dozens of hikers she met along the trail, and a peaceful night sleeping in a tent by the stream, watching a campfire of her own. We had quite a few stories to share with her on the way down. We couldn’t believe how many unprepared hikers we encountered. They all agreed “someone should write a book about this trip, or make it into a movie!”
We had 2 more miles to hike when Thomas yelled back to us “Come quick! Ms Liane fell down!” We rushed back up the trail to see that she had indeed taken a pretty hard fall, and was lying face down in the dirt. She had lost her footing and was off balance due to the pack she was carrying (which gave momentum to her fall) and fell face forward down the trail. We were all afraid she had broken something, but she assured us she had just fallen quite hard, landed on her nose (ouch!), hand, and knee, and while she was shaken up, nothing seemed to be broken. Bruised pretty badly, but not broken. Liane was a brave and excellent role model through the whole experience. She handled the fall like a champ, didn’t complain, kept positive, and after cleaning her cuts we were on our way back down the trail, a little more cautious this time.
We made it to the parking lot at 11:30am, took a celebratory picture by the Barr Trail Sign, and headed home. We were all exhausted, dirty, and smelly, but so proud of our accomplishments!
The whole way home we would look at Pikes Peak and say ‘We were just there!” and “We climbed that!” Every time we look at Pikes Peak we will think of the adventures we had this weekend, and how we conquered the mountain.
Mt San Antonio, 10,064 ft. 3904ft
elevation gain in 5.1 miles
To date, this is by far the most
difficult hike I’ve ever done. It isn’t
the tallest summit in Southern California, but the exposure and elevation gain
were brutal. It’s also the most fun I’ve
had on a hike thus far, and I came back with some really cool stories to tell! The total hike was somewhere around 11 miles,
but as you’ll see, that’s approximate because we got lost…
Mt San Antonio, affectionately referred
to by locals as Mt Baldy, is the most easily seen summit from most of Southern
California. On the rare instances it’s
covered with snow it’s breathtaking. I’ve
taken many hikes around the base of this mountain, and was eager to make the
summit.
We woke up very early and drove up to
the trailhead, stopping first at Denny’s for an early breakfast. After signing the trail register we were off
around 6:30am.
The trail seemed to follow a service
road, and probably a ski run during the winter.
Check out this awesome yucca!
Beautiful!
We watched the sun rise around the mountain
as we hiked. It was cool watching the
shadow on the mountainside lower as the day went on.
Even though it’s July, there were
several patches of snow along the trail. I found this interesting, since I hadn’t
seen snow on Mt San Gorgonio last September, or much on Mt San Jacinto last
year, and this mountain is lower in elevation.
I didn’t know there could be snow at 9000 feet in July?
As I said before, this hike was
brutal. The elevation gain of almost
4000 feet in 5 miles was a killer! I had
to keep stopping to rest, and couldn’t help but think there had to be an easier
way.
However, summiting felt amazing! Someone had properly placed an American flag
at the summit.
Because it was only a 5 mile hike, we summited
early in the day, and had the rest of the day to “play”. I took advantage of the rare site of Southern
California snow.
Check out these Bighorn Sheep! They were grazing at the summit. I tried to get closer, but as soon as they
heard me the entire herd bolted to the right.
I was shocked and amazed to watch them run directly over this cliff and
about 1000 feet straight down, out of site!
Wow! Amazing animals! They didn’t come back the rest of the trip.
We only saw one other person on the peak
that day. He was wearing a full backpack,
which seemed odd as he was obviously on a day hike. As he approached the summit we greeted
him. He took off his backpack and
unloaded about a dozen cantaloupe sized rocks.
He smiled sheepishly and said “I’m training for backpacking. I get these rocks from the wash at the base
of the mountain, and unload them when I reach the summit. I’m going to
seriously confuse some future geologist some day. Can you imagine what they’ll think when they
find these here?”
Around 3pm I set up the tent near what
appeared to be a rock wall and decided to take a quick nap before making dinner
and exploring again.
I was only in the
tent for about half an hour when I awoke to a loud buzzing sound. I opened the tent flap and quickly realized I
was surrounded by a swarm of bees! I
dashed outside of the tent and drug it to safety. Apparently these bees lived in the rock
wall. They’d been gone for the day doing
their thing and had come back to rest for the night.
I found a better place to set up
camp. And check out those views!
The sunset was by far the best one I’ve
seen to date.
We were completing a loop, so the next
morning after breaking down camp we headed west down the Devil’s Backbone,
aptly named.
Somewhere along Miner’s Bowl we lost the
trail, or it disappeared on purpose? Even
after studying the map several times I’m not exactly sure which, but I could
tell where we were, so we descended the obvious ski slope until we found the
trail again.
All in all, this is my favorite hike so
far. It was intense, but summiting early
allowed me to really enjoy the mountain.
I’m so glad this wasn’t just a day hike!
Wild Wanderer 