"You see that mountain over there....one of these days, I'm gonna climb that mountain, mountain, mountain" Alabama
So we took on Pike's Peak on Monday.....a four am wake up call and an hour's drive down to Colorado Springs and we hit the trail.
We started out looking "cool" and it was a little chilly outside. Brad and Louie looking cool as we start our ascent. Unfortunately we took the wrong path and hiked for about an hour going the wrong direction. Not a good thing when you need to reach the summit early in case of lightning storms...
We still had an amazing view but eventually realized we were on the wrong path and got headed in the right direction.
The forests here on the back side of the mountain were so lush, There were no Pine Beetle damaged trees to be seen and everything was so green. The typical route up the peak is the Barr trail (26 miles round trip) on the East side of the mountain, but we took the trail from the Crags on the West side which is half as long (11.5 miles round trip).
Brad and I taking a breather. It was all uphill and not an easy hike, but we're still smiling!
Life is brought down to the basics: if you are warm, regular, healthy, not thirsty or hungry, then you are not on a mountain. . . . Climbing at altitude is like hitting your head against a brick wall - it's great when you stop. Chris Darwin ,The Social Climbers
As we left tree line, the 30 mile/hour winds kicked in. As we saw others coming down the trail in full rain/wind gear we knew we might be a little unprepared for the weather at the top.
This is a view of Devil's Playground. It is named this because during lightning storms the lightning bounces around between the rocks. Not much protectin offered if you get caught. The skies were still pretty clear, although clouds were rolling in.
We made it to about 12,375 feet and turned around. With the hour scenic detour we had taken, we were all feeling pretty tired and cold. We decided to name the hike Pike's Peek - because in the photo above you can see a peek of the summit.
I had to sit and take a break while Mia ran back and forth between us...if only we had the energy of that dog! She probably ran twice as far as any of us!
On the way down we stopped for some snacks. The warm protection of the trees felt so nice!
All in all it was a good day and any day out hiking with friends, regardless of reaching the summit is a good day. We were sad not to make the top, but motivated to go out and try it again and make it to the summit next time.
"The best climber in the world is the one who's having the most fun." — Alex Lowe.
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