PIKES PEAK
14,110 ft.
September 2, 1980
By Tim Briese
(Note: For another trip report on a more recent climb I have done of Pikes Peak, see the More Climbs page.)
Colorado Springs, which is located at the base of Pikes Peak, is a special place. Its half million residents can gaze up at the lofty grandeur of this famous mountain whenever they like, and find inspiration in its majestic beauty. My wife Teresa and I moved to this wonderful city a few weeks after we were married in the spring of 1980. From our apartment in the Cragmor section of town we had a splendid view of the mountain above the city, and we admired it often. Like many other residents of the area, we gradually became enamored with the idea of climbing to its summit, and over the course of a few months formulated a plan to do so.
It was easy to find people who wanted to join us on this adventure. Our new friends Steve and Kathy who lived in our apartment building wanted to join us, and so did Dallas and Mary, our friends from Wyoming who had a bent for outdoor activity. We planned to climb the mountain by hiking up the Barr Trail from Manitou Springs over the Labor Day weekend. This ascent is long and arduous, requiring 25 miles of roundtrip hiking and over 7000 feet of elevation gain, so we decided to spread it over three days by backpacking up to Barr Camp midway up the mountain.
We drove to the trailhead on Ruxton Avenue in Manitou Springs on a sunny Friday morning and struck off up the trail. Most of the members of our party had done little or no backpacking before, and were only marginally well equipped, but we made up for inexperience with youthful enthusiasm. The trail quickly tested our endurance, as it switchbacked upward and gained about 2500 feet of elevation in the first four miles. Dallas, who was the outdoor expert in our group, showed us how to straighten each leg momentarily with each uphill step to rest the leg muscles for better endurance. Teresa tried the technique but unfortunately strained a muscle in her leg while doing so! The strain was not serious, though, and did little to impede her progress. It was interesting to note the vegetation zones that we hiked up through in those first few miles, from the Gambel Oak hillsides at the edge of Manitou Springs to the pine forests two or three thousand feet higher.
After many rest stops we eventually conquered this brutal portion of the ascent and reached an area at about 9200 feet where the trail flattens out for a few miles. We now had our first good look through the trees at the lofty summit of Pikes Peak which lay before us. It was surprising how far away it still was, for the great length of this route is not evident from down below in the city.
We met many other people on the trail, for it is a very popular one. An older gentleman about 60 was jogging down the trail and stopped to visit with us. We were incredulous when he described the annual Pikes Peak Marathon that he often ran in, in which runners go up and down the mountain in as little as three or four hours. That sounded like a superhuman feat to us.
As we hiked along Dallas pointed out various flowers and trees, and other interesting features of the landscape. It is nice to have a nature expert along on a hike. Later in the afternoon we reached Barr Camp, our destination for the day. Barr Camp lies about halfway along the trail, at 10,200 feet, and serves as a convenient rest stop for wayfarers. There is a cabin in the woods there that serves as a residence for a permanent caretaker who can assist hikers in need, as well as other cabins and lean-tos that can be rented for overnight stays.
We selected a spot to camp in the timber a short distance away and proceeded to set up for the night. There were several sore shoulders and raw feet in our party from ill-fitting backpacks and hiking boots, so it felt nice to sit and relax around our warm campfire that evening.
Some of us were still a little sore when we arose in the morning, a sure sign that this was a bona fide adventure. After eating breakfast in the woods we proceeded to head up the trail. It was certainly nice to leave most of our gear at camp and carry only the minimal weight of our daypacks. Dallas, however, being more fit than the rest of us, elected to carry his full pack on to the heights above. As we neared timberline we found the relentless uphill grades quite tiring. Steve and Kathy were dragging behind somewhat, with blisters on Kathy’s feet giving her considerable grief, and they presently announced that they were going to abandon the effort and return to camp.
The four of us who remained continued on and soon reached an interesting ghost forest of dead trees at timberline, whose grotesque stumps and branches provided a fascinating foreground for scenic views of the city far below to the east. The sky clouded over as the morning progressed, hinting at the threat of rain later on.
The Barr Trail up Pikes Peak is a very nice trail compared to those found on most 14ers. It is generally wide and smooth, and grades are kept gradual by innumerable switchbacks. These fine qualities allow for relatively rapid progress up the trail in spite of its grueling length.
The air became noticeably thinner as we hiked upward on the rocky eastern slopes of the Peak, and we found it necessary to pause for frequent rests. Dark clouds were rapidly building around us and thunder soon began to rumble in the distance. The air became quite chilly, too, so we stopped to put on warmer gear. As we climbed the last few hundred feet up the final switchbacks called the 16 Golden Stairs, lightning began crackling around us and a light rain started to fall, along with a few flakes of snow. At one point Dallas stood on a rock above waiting for the rest of us, and I was concerned that he might become a human lightning rod. We, like countless other novice climbers in Colorado’s mountains, did not fully appreciate the seriousness of the lightning danger at high elevations.
The summit was engulfed in foggy clouds when we climbed up the last few feet and stepped on top early in the afternoon. We were chilly and damp, and the summit house was indeed a welcome sight. We jostled through throngs of tourists who had driven up the Pikes Peak Highway as we strolled inside and warmed up. Teresa and Mary went into the bathroom and dried their wet socks using the hand dryers there. Pikes Peak is the only 14er that affords this luxury!
The thunderstorm soon moved away but the clouds remained as we began our descent. The descent was rapid and smooth, with the greatest challenge being to pick up our tired feet and put them back down without stumbling. We were quite exhausted by the time we returned to camp late in the afternoon. Steve and Kathy had a cheerful fire going, and it was quite a pleasure to plop down beside it and rest as we filled them in on the details of our adventure that day. We crawled into our tents early and sleep came easily that evening.
We packed up camp the next morning and headed down the trail in the warm sunlight. It was a strain for out tired muscles to carry the weight of the full packs once again. I don’t remember observing much along the way, because I was quite tired and my attention was focused primarily on getting back to the trailhead.
Around midday we tramped back to the parking lot at the base of the mighty mountain, concluding our grueling but rewarding adventure. From that day on, whenever we looked up at the lofty summit of Pikes Peak, we could recall with great satisfaction that we had hiked all the way to its top.
