Ascending Pike’s Peak (part 1)

A few months ago Sara and I decided that we wanted to come out to Colorado to see family. Within a few days of talking with family, a family reunion was in the works. It’s been many years since Sara and I have been to Colorado in the summer so we decided that we’d do something we’ve been talking about for years, climbing Pike’s Peak.

I had climbed Pikes Peak when I was 18 years old. It’s one of 54 fourteen thousand foot mountains in Colorado. The famous Barr Trail is 13 miles long with an elevation gain of over 7,000 feet. It’s a long and hard hike. Sara and I began getting ready for our ascent. We joined a gym and worked on preparing for climbing this mountain.

Unfortunately, life has a way of getting busy. Sara started getting worried about being ready for the 13 mile ascent. I wasn’t willing to do this hike without her, so we decided to take a secondary and less traveled route up the same mountain. It’s only a 6 mile hike with a 4,000 foot elevation change. Sara’s dad and brother-in-law, who decided to hike with us, were fine with our change.

So, due to a small window of favorable weather, we decided to climb the mountain on September 15th. Afternoon storms are frequent in the Rocky Mountains so it was important to reach the summit as close to noon as possible. This meant an early start for us. Our plan was to begin hiking at 7:00 AM. A moderate pace should have gotten us to the top by 11:00 AM.

Since we were not doing the more difficult Barr Trail, I had decided to make the round trip. While Shayla, Sara’s sister, intended to pick us up on the summit (Pike’s Peak is only one of two 14ers that you can drive to the top), Sara’s Dad and I were going to hike back to the car and meet the rest of the family back at the house.

This was the plan. As you know, things don’t always go as planned.

Below are pictures of this hike along with directions from a website dedicated to hiking Colorado 14ers.