On my last day in Colorado I opted to run up Pike’s Peak as far as I could. I didn’t expect to make it very far up based on trail reports that I had read.
The trail up Pike’s Peak is called the Barr Trail. It begins at 6600 feet of elevation. At the 6.8 mile mark hikers reach the Barr Camp which sits at 10,200 feet. From there it is another 5.8 miles to the summit (14,110).
I was surprised when I arrived at a full parking lot on Thursday at 7:30 a.m. Apparently, a large group of army reservists were running up “The Incline”. I set out up the trail and began making my way up the endless switch backs. Once the switch backs ended I began hitting patches of snow which became increasingly frequent until I found myself striding across packed snow. The conditions were better than I had expected, with no “post holing” and the ability to maintain a good pace.
Once at the top of the switch backs I made it my goal to make it to the Barr Camp. I wasn’t sure what to expect there, but I was delighted to come up to the cabin where I was greeted by three ultra-marathon runners. Two of them lived at the cabin there at 10,200 feet of altitude. They showed me the “bunkhouse”, served me some water, and informed me that for $5 I could join them there for a spaghetti dinner. Two of them were married and spend most of the year staffing the cabin and hosting the hikers that pass through. They both are experienced at running 100 mile races.
I also found out that the summit was accessible without crampons, snowshoes, or an ice axe. Too bad I was only wearing shorts, and with some high winds I didn’t want to be at the top in the cold. I had friends who were willing to meet me at the top, but I was afraid I might end up waiting for a long time. So I opted to make my way back down while exploring more of the trail in order to complete a 16 mile loop. A few miles from the bottom I found three geocaches, one which was perched on “The Eagles Nest” looking far out to the Eastern horizon of the Great Plains. The weather was perfect and as I neared the parking lot I encountered many hikers and trail runners.
I’m glad I chose this run for today. It was a great workout and by this time in the week I actually felt comfortable with the altitude.
The trail up Pike’s Peak is called the Barr Trail. It begins at 6600 feet of elevation. At the 6.8 mile mark hikers reach the Barr Camp which sits at 10,200 feet. From there it is another 5.8 miles to the summit (14,110).
I was surprised when I arrived at a full parking lot on Thursday at 7:30 a.m. Apparently, a large group of army reservists were running up “The Incline”. I set out up the trail and began making my way up the endless switch backs. Once the switch backs ended I began hitting patches of snow which became increasingly frequent until I found myself striding across packed snow. The conditions were better than I had expected, with no “post holing” and the ability to maintain a good pace.
Once at the top of the switch backs I made it my goal to make it to the Barr Camp. I wasn’t sure what to expect there, but I was delighted to come up to the cabin where I was greeted by three ultra-marathon runners. Two of them lived at the cabin there at 10,200 feet of altitude. They showed me the “bunkhouse”, served me some water, and informed me that for $5 I could join them there for a spaghetti dinner. Two of them were married and spend most of the year staffing the cabin and hosting the hikers that pass through. They both are experienced at running 100 mile races.
I also found out that the summit was accessible without crampons, snowshoes, or an ice axe. Too bad I was only wearing shorts, and with some high winds I didn’t want to be at the top in the cold. I had friends who were willing to meet me at the top, but I was afraid I might end up waiting for a long time. So I opted to make my way back down while exploring more of the trail in order to complete a 16 mile loop. A few miles from the bottom I found three geocaches, one which was perched on “The Eagles Nest” looking far out to the Eastern horizon of the Great Plains. The weather was perfect and as I neared the parking lot I encountered many hikers and trail runners.
I’m glad I chose this run for today. It was a great workout and by this time in the week I actually felt comfortable with the altitude.
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