Pikes Peak via the Barr Trail (Redemption!)

Enough bike riding!  It was time to lace up the hiking boots and hit the trail.  So, I decided this last weekend was time for my first 14er of the season. The winter snows have held on for far longer than normal throughout the high country, with the exception of the front range.  So, I decided that my target would be Pikes Peak.

For those familiar, there are two standard ways to get to the top of "America's Mountain" The first, is via the Barr Trail.  A trail cut almost 90 years ago by Fred Barr from 1914 to 1921. It is a popular 12.6-mile trail that climbs 7,300 feet from Manitou Springs to the top of Pikes Peak.  The second is via a smaller trail that extends from the backside Crags campground, through the "Devils Playground" to the top.

About 7 years ago, I tried to go up via the Barr trail.  I was hopelessly naive, and WAYYYY out of my league.  I quickly became exhausted, and quit after only 3 miles..... Until Sunday, that failure had always left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I arrived at the trailhead at 5:00 AM, and hit the trail at 5:09.  I made good time, and was treated to a very cool sunrise.  There was an eery cloudy fog layer that shrouded the city of Colorado Springs.









Soon after sunrise, I got my first good look at my quarry.

I made pretty good time, and I arrived at Barr Camp by 9:00

After Barr Camp, that's when it got tough. The grade got consistently steeper.  While it wasn't a big deal at first, the toughness of the Barr trail is that it NEVER lets up.  It maintains an average 14-20% grade over the course of 6 miles after Barr camp, in altitudes between 10,000 and 14,000 feet.  Trust me, you will discover what kind of shape you are in.






Here is your author on a high ridge - the city of Colorado Springs well below.











These were a group of people I met on the trail.  From the left are Angie, Jim and his wife Lorie.













Once above treeline, we found this little marmot.


















Once you get up high, you start seeing some amazing rock formations

 It's hard to really get a sense of scale, but this formation is literally 300-400-- feet tall

Finally at 3:14 PM we summited 

  

Okay!!  That's 1 down, and 9 more14ers to go!

ELEPHANT ROCK!!!

Well, today, all the training and preparation was put to the test.  My son Joe and I loaded our bikes onto the truck, and headed for Castle Rock.  Along with approximately 7800 other cyclist who came to participate in the largest biking event in the Rocky Mountain region.  For those familiar, the Elephant Rock race can be run many different ways.  There is a 100-mile century ride, a 62-mile "metric century", a 34 mile 1/3 century, a 25-mile mountain bike "fat tire" course, and even a 7-mile family ride.

I'm not a big fan of road riding, and I love mountain biking, so for us the choice was obvious: we chose the 25 (really 27) mile fat tire course.  After arriving at the Douglas County Fair Grounds -- the start/finish line, we parked; got our jerseys; and headed out on the course at 8:25 this morning.

The first 2.5 miles is all uphill as you climb to the ridge above Castle Rock.  While it's not too tough of a climb, it is a good way to get warmed up for the rest of the course.  Then after about another 2 miles of flat roads, we turned off onto the first dirt road.  Admittedly, this is one of the more fun parts of the course because you then have about 3 miles of downhill running.  It can be a little nerve-wracking going almost 30 miles an hour on dirt.  You know if you slide out, it's gonna hurt real bad.  After that, you turn into a Douglas county park trail for a couple of miles.  This was for the most part pretty flat - giving you a false sense of security for what lies ahead. 

Joe on the Douglas County park trail

After leaving the Douglas County park, you then prepare for the toughest part of the ride: Castlewood Canyon State Park.   Castlewood Canyon  is a natural deep ravine with large rock formations.  It's really stunningly beautiful.  The road going through it is a dirt road that climbs from the valley floor to a ridge the towers over the canyon itself.  It requires a climb of approximately 500 feet up a steep semi-hard (sometimes washboard) road.  Once we got to the top of that ridge, we found the aid station, where we filled our water bottles, ate some goodies along with the largest banana I've ever seen.  After the aid station, we had yet more climbing but once up top, the views were stunning.

Me on the trail overlooking Castlewood Canyon

Following that, there were still about 9 miles of rolling hills before we found ourselves again on the ridge overlooking Castle Rock.  At this point, you get about 3 miles of steep downhill.  God that section is soooo much fun.  I got up to 39 miles an hour -- on a mountain bike! Granted, had I fallen, I'd have been nothing more than a stain, but God that was such a rush!

After that, it was a quick mile or so back to the fairgrounds.  Total distance ‎27.1 miles (60% on dirt) completed in 2 hours 40 minutes (3 hours 18 minutes with stops and breaks). This was my third Elephant Rock, and far and away this one was my favorite. First and foremost, having my son with me was a memory I'll cherish forever. Secondly, I felt great during the entire ride. Definitely my strongest ride to date. As a result, I had fun during the entire ride. I looked around, and enjoyed the scenery. I got to appreciate the beauty of Castlewood Canyon, as opposed to simply staring down at the road while trying to get over that ungodly tough hill.

Joe and I after getting back home from Elephant Rock