COLORADO 14er! Hike to Pikes Peak Summit! (12.6 Miles Via Barr Trail) - September 5, 2002
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(6:10 a.m.) I started at the Barr Trailhead
at exactly 6:10 a.m., but didn't take pictures
of the lower part because I wanted to move through that beginning area at a swift
pace. CLICK HERE to when Lisa and I hiked this early stretch of Barr Trail. |
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(7:39 a.m.) About four miles into the trail, I brought out the camera. The eastern sunlight reflected on the building at the summit. |
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(7:56 a.m.) I drew in the approximate zig-zags of where the trail goes. Keep scrolling down! :) |
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(7:59 a.m.) Aspens surround the trail. |
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(8:38 a.m.) The halfway mark of the 13-mile trail! :) 9,500 feet in elevation |
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(8:39 a.m.) What's notable about this middle section
(besides some relatively flat spots) is just how close one seems to approach the summit. Yet
at the same time, the summit still appears way above up in the sky. From here I asked: Am I actually go to climb up that miserable thing? :O |
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(8:57 a.m.) Barr Camp at 10,200 feet. Hikers can rest, refill water containers, use a bathroom or camp. |
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(9:00 a.m.) I did rest for a few minutes. That's all the water I carried along with me on the hike. (Two 1.5 liter bottles and three smaller bottles.) It was very heavy at the beginning of my hike! I also ate a bunch of those power bars and granola bars. ;) |
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(9:04 a.m.) Only six more miles to go ... Hooray! |
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(9:20 a.m.) Great shot! Slowly and continuously I went up, anticipating the inevitable! |
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(9:30 a.m.) The squirrels way up there in 10,500 to 11,000 feet range were not scared of me at all. In fact, this one posed for the camera quite well! |
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(9:34 a.m.) The "Bottomless Pit" is the bottom of the very steep northface of Pikes Peak. Let me tell you, there was no way that I was going to go off the main path after hiking this far up! 4.8 miles baby! |
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(9:42 a.m.) Leaves turn yellow a bit early at 11,000 feet! :)
My other Pikes Peak stuff:
Pikes Peak Highway
Fun Atop Pikes Peak
Steve Frolicks on Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak Donuts
Marmots & Elk Park |
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(9:50 a.m.) It was at about now that I took pictures of anything and everything just so that I had an excuse to stop and rest. :) |
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(9:55 a.m.) I swear, that trail just kept going up and up and up, with one switchback after another. |
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(10:13 a.m.) Orange leaves are fairly rare in Colorado. A good excuse to stop! :) |
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(10:21 a.m.) Close to timberline, lots of trees looked really "sickly," and the view was amazing! |
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(10:35 a.m.) Timberline! Three miles to go and 11,500 feet in the air. Notice how dwarfed the pine trees look. That's because most trees and plants can't survive without a certain about of oxygen. Above treeline, it's all rocks, as if you were on the moon or another planet. :) |
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(10:38 a.m.) Notice how stunted the trees are! |
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(10:40 a.m.) Lots of interesting-looking rocks up there! |
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(10:43 a.m.) Let me tell you, I was so happy to reach timberline. From there, I got a major psychological boast from knowing I was going to make it! (Not that I really doubted much, but hey!) :) |
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(10:45 a.m.) Special thanks to Kristin of Palmer Lake, whom I met and hiked with starting around this point. We had some good conversations as we slowly trekked up. |
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(10:50 a.m.) I'll never forget this: Looking straight up to the summit, it really did not look very far, but uhhhhhh, my vantage point was very deceiving! |
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(10:52 a.m.) And then, somehow, Kristin and I (in our talking) veered off the trail and wandered upward on the rocks. We knew to continue going up, but it was quite unnerving. Getting lost at altitude 12,000 feet with the sun mercilessly beating down on my brain was not in my plans! Nevertheless, we kept hiking up and trusting we would hit the path! |
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(10:53 a.m.) One shot to give some perspective. That dark area to the left has some brownish plants that only grow in arctic climates (from what I'm told). |
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(11:15 a.m.) Kristin and I kept hiking when I finally "stumbled upon" the trail. I was very happy and relieved! :) |
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(11:16 a.m.) I think Kristin was just as happy as I was. (Great background view!) |
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(11:22 a.m.) Doesn't that look like a brain?
Other area (and much easier) hikes:
Waldo Canyon, The Crags
Williams Canyon, Mount Cutler
Red Rock Canyon, Queens Canyon
Red Mountain, Garden of Gods
Palmer Park, Manitou Incline |
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(11:28 a.m.) One last shot of Kristin. I told her all about this web site, but I don't know if she ever visited, or if she knows that her picture is on my web site! Does anyone know where she is? |
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(11:28 a.m.) We hiked and hiked and hiked, and it looked like we were really close to the top. Then I saw this sign and LOST IT! Two more freakin' miles? Are you kidding? This path goes on forever! >:O |
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(11:33 a.m.) I gotta tell you,
this hike was one of the most rewarding hikes of my life! |
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(11:49 a.m.) And I'm not kidding you, this switchbacks go on forever up there! |
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(11:57 a.m.) There's a long stretch that goes from right to left all the way across the big arch. Notice how small the hikers look in this picture. Also, notice how below those green mountains appear way below. That's the Rampart Range and yes, we really were that way up! |
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(12:03 p.m.) Mount Almagre is the mountain in the middle. Just a great view! |
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(12:04 p.m.) Another perspective shot. I love this picture. That's Cheyenne Mountain way out there to the right. The flat land in the upper left corner is Colorado Springs. |
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(12:11 p.m.) I know some of these pictures are redundant, but hey, I had to soak it all in! :) |
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(12:15 p.m.) The one mile marker! HOORAY! No matter how much pain I was in, I knew if I just kept my legs moving that this hike would eventually be over! (I felt quite okay for having just hiked 11.5 miles, but let's just say my state of mind wasn't the sanest!) |
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(12:20 p.m.) The summit house is looking bigger and closer! Yippee! |
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(12:29 p.m.) It really looked like I was walking on another planet up there! |
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(12:35 p.m.) On my occasional glances down, it was very fascinating to see the switchbacks below that I had walked on. |
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(12:45 p.m.) I was warned about the 16 Golden Stairs, but as painful and steep as they were, by then I had some adreniline going because I knew the hike was almost over. (By the way, I counted the switchbacks to the top and I it wasn't 16 ... it was more like 27 or 28 staircases. GOOD GRIEF!) |
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(12:54 p.m.) One more glance down at those switchbacks! |
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(12:54 p.m.) Okay, last time! |
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(1:00 p.m.) Fred Barr is a Colorado hero. Imagine creating this trail over 100 years ago! |
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(1:04 p.m.) Look how close the Summit House looks now! |
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(1:11 p.m.) Friends, this can be done! Thousands of people do it every year. All you need is to be in reasonable shape, be mentally prepared and carrying the right things with you (water, sun lotion, food, etc.). |
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(1:31 p.m.) Pikes Peak Denise and her two delightful kids were there to drive me down the mountain and back to Manitou Springs. What friends! (And what a cute picture!) |
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(1:32 p.m.) That's all the food I ate at the top! I was really hungry after munching on granola bars all morning! With my body feeling
a little queasy and a pounding, nasty headache coming on, I was quite
ready to leave the summit as soon as possible. Ha ha ha!
The lack of oxygen was frying my brain! Thank you for
reading all this! I LOVE YOU! |
