Pikes Peak

I did it!  I finally was able to hike Pikes Peak this weekend (Sat July 17)  thanks to Chris.  I would have preferred to have hiked with Chris, however, we could not figure out what to do with the boys – we did not think they would last on the hike, so that was not really an option.  Chris finally consented to let me hike alone and he would take the boys and meet me at the top in the car. 

We started the morning at about 4 AM – getting food and drinks ready for all of us.  Then we pulled the boys out of bed at 6 AM and we were on the road heading south to Colorado Springs by 6:20 AM. 

After researching Pikes Peak, I found 4 ways to get to the top:

1. Drive

2. The Cog Train

3. Barr Trail (12+ miles up one way)

4. Crags/Devil’s Playground trail (6+ miles up one way). 

I choose the 4th option – Crags/Devil’s Playground trail and Chris took the boys up to meet me via the Pikes Peak Highway/Toll Road.  We considered the cog train, but decided Kylan may not like that long of a trip. 

We arrived at the trail head about 10 AM.  The plan was that Chris and the boys would hike with me for a short time then turn around and go back to the car.  Here is the start of the trail where you cross a stream.  This is the area where Chris would bring the boys back to play after leaving me on the trail.

 

Ty was running up the trail excited – thinking this was going to be another one of our hikes. 

Kylan started walking, but had to be coaxed to keep going up – he wanted to return to the stream.  Finally, I put him in the backpack.  However, a few minutes later he was whining ready to get out.   I think he was just ready to run and play after driving for 3 hours.  Chris said he would head back with the boys.  Ty didn’t quite understand that I was going to do the hike on my own and became emotional saying he wanted to hike with me.  I had to convince him that it was a very long hike and he would have more fun with dad.  He finally decided he should join dad and Kylan.  And I began the hike on my own. 

The trail began with a nice incline and switchbacks.  About a half mile in, I left the Crags trail and crossed the stream over a small bridge to the Devil’s Playground trail. 

 

For the next mile or more, it was a nice hike in the trees straight up, but a nice gradual incline. 

I crossed the same stream 2 more times before hitting the area where the trees begin to thin out.  Then from this point until I got above treeline, the accent became steeper with some switchbacks.  Here is a view of the Crags as I made my way up.

As I got above the treeline, it became quite steep and a straight climb up the mountain until I hit the ridge. 

This was quite challenging – I attribute this to the 3 hours of sleep.  This was also a point that would have been nice to have had a hiking partner, but there were enough people coming down that cheered me on.  It was amazing to see how many people I passed coming down at ~11:30 AM.  I don’t know if they had gone all the way to the top of Pikes Peak or just to Devil’s Playground – but they had obviously started early. 

I thought I was doing really well to have made it to Devil’s Playground in just under 2 hours (12:20) – about 4 miles in.  Chris and I had planned on meeting at the top of Pikes Peak at 2:30.  With 2 hours left, I only had about 2.5 miles to go. 

This was my view when I made it to the top of the ridge. You can see the summit of Pikes Peak in the back ground.  The end is in view – yet still ~2.5 miles away.  You can also see the trail to the left which around and out of view is Devil’s Playground.  A sign explained that  it is so named because during rain storms, Lightening bounces from rock to rock like it is playing. 

(This is looking back at the nice flat trail after coming to the top of the ridge)

 

Approaching the long rock formation that is like an entrance to the Devil’s Playground.  You can see the summit of Pike’s Peak through the rocks.

Devil’s Playground – the Pikes Peak road and a view of the summit to the right.

I had a decent recovery walking across to Devil’s Playground and then the trail paralleled the road for about a half the way.   Here are some views along this part of the trail (you can see the road in some of them).

(Crystal lake down below which we found people fishing in as we drove down)

Colorado Springs down below.

Then the trail began to increase in incline again.  Finally I came to the last climb that would take me to the summit.  From the distance it just looks like a bunch of boulders ready to slide down the mountain any minute. 

 

Now that I was there, I realized that the trail was across the boulders – there were cairns guiding the way.  The rocks looked very unstable, but they all held their place.  I almost got off track once, because I could not find the next cairn.  Fortunately, there were a couple guys coming down and based on their path, I was able to finally get back on track. 

(A view looking back at where I had come from about half way up).

At 2:20 PM, just under 4 hours, I made it to the top of the summit.  It was great to have finally made it!  There were a lot of people there who had either driven up in their car or had come up via the cog train, but you could spot those individuals who had hiked up either via the Crags trail or Barr trail.  I came across a few groups who said they had started about 6 or 6:30 AM on the Barr trail and arrived after me at 3:00 – that was the 12+ mile hike up.  I was definitely happy with the shorter trail I took. 

I spent a long time wandering around the summit enjoying the view and swiping the horrible small flys away,  while I waited for Chris and the boys.  After leaving me at the start of the trail, Chris walked down with the boys to the trailhead and let them play in the stream for awhile.  Then they drove into Manitou Springs had lunch and then walked around looking at the shops.  He was not aware of the time and didn’t even start up the road until after 3:00.  So they finally arrived about 3:45.  We let the boys run around for a few minutes looking at the views and of course they were excited to see the cog train arrive.  All Kylan would say is “Train”  “All aboard”. 

The drive down Pikes Peak was amazing – there are some great views of the area – multiple lakes and cool rock formations. 

There were still patches of snow on different areas of the mountain as well.  As we headed down an afternoon storm set in.  I was glad I didn’t have to walk back down.