The "money shot" from Garden of the Gods...
The biggest drama for this trip occured the night before, when I was decided whether to make this trip or not. After hiking Conundrum with Chris on Saturday, he dropped me off at Idaho SPrings, where I drove up the Mt Evans road to check out Mt Evans from Summit Lake. It was "no-fee" day, which saved me $10 (and is the reason I planned to visit this weekend). The drive up was long, with decent exposure on guardrail-less roads, and I managed to get stuck behind a slow car. My eye was constantly on the sky, wondering if the many clouds would dissapate enough to get a decent pic of Evans.
When I reached Summit Lake, the sun broke out, and I wondered how long I had. I prepped my bag, snacked, and switched shoes, for a walk up Spalding's ridge. By the time I got going, the sun was gone. I made my way up the ridge, takes pics at the hint of sunlight, constantly eyeing the clouds for patches of blue sky. I climbed ~500' before deciding I was high enough, and just waited for some light. A mountain goat further up was checking me out, keeping distance with me as I moved up or down the ridge. I got sporadic sun on parts of the mountain, and ended up starting my descent, only to hike back up when a large opening appeared. In the end, I scrambled up and down several times in my effort to achieve the best pic, before heading down, content with my "catch", and pondering my next pursuit.
Should I head down to CO Springs, and try to find a spot to sleep in my car for the night, to get a sunrise pic of Pikes (and maybe climb Pikes)? Or head back to Fort Collins, and relax with a comfy house with Wendy? I felt tired and lonely, but ended up making the drive to CO Springs, determined to get at least a pic of Pikes for my collection, and likely head back to Ft Collins in the morning. I drove south in the evening, with several monstrous storms to the east, and saw 3 rainbows staggered across the plains. I wanted to stay the night in Garden of the Gods, but the website says the park closes at 11pm, and I didn't know if they'd let me sleep in a parking lot there. I stopped in Castle Rock to use some internet, hoping to research a place to park for the night, and checking the weather. It was supposed to be cloudy tomorrow, but the morning looked salvageable for sunrise. It was now past sunset, and I'd need to find a place to park in the dark. I continued south, and found a signed for a "Park and Ride" at the next exit (Monument). I decided to check it out, and park there for the night, 15 miles north of CO Springs. There were restaurants/shops nearby, so I bought a $5 footlong sub, washed up in the bathroom, and crashed for the night ~10:45, laying out in my trunk, in the noncrowded side of the large parking area off the highway. I passed out quickly after my exhausting day.
I woke up 10 minutes before my 5:15 alarm, and hopped into the front seat to begin my drive south to Garden of the Gods. I arrived just before sunrise, and drove around the park, looking for the most scenic spot. The sun rose, but I couldn't find the pic I was aiming for, until I retreated back to the closed visitors center, just east of the park on a hill. The lot was close, so I parked my car at the gate, grabbed my camera, and walked up to the building, to look out across the red arches, with Pikes illuminated beyond. BINGO! After 10 minutes of photo-taking, it was 6:15am, and I was ready to head back to Fort Collins, OR give Pikes Peak a go. The trailhead for Pikes was ~1hr away (on the other side of the mountain), but the skies were clear, so I decided to give the 11.5 mile, 4200' hike a try, after all, I wanted a good workout today.
The "money shot" from Garden of the Gods...
Pikes from the road leading towards Crags Campground (located on the opposite side of Pikes)..
I filled up on gas on the way ($2.49/gal), and prepped my bag while the tank filled. The dirt road up to Crags Campground was rough but easy in my passenger car. I parked at the new lot and trailhead (must have opened this year), just before Crags Campground. I knew snow was minimal on this hike, so left my snowshoes/crampons/axe in the car, and was on the trail through the forest at ~7:35pm. I was greatful to met a park official at the campground, who told me info about the new trail, and to take a right at a fork ~.8 miles ahead, which might have otherwise been confusing. The trail was smooth and fast, slicing back and forth (and sometimes up) the broad ridge, first through forest, then above it, over biege grasslands with scattered rock and snow. I passed a couple parties on my way up to the ridge crest.
Pics from the trailhead, leading up to the ridge crest. Nothing too spectacular, so not leaving comments. I decided to leave my polls in my pack, and work the legs more, though I eventually took them at 9am, after ~2200' gain, to help keep me moving at a good pace.
I made it to the top of the ridge at 9:10am (1hr, 35min from start), with over half of the days total elevation gain in the books. I looked across the broad saddle area to see the long ridge leading to Pikes. Pikes Peak road sliced across the mountain arm, leaving a scar. There was minimal snow visible. I continued at a good pace, under the cloudless skies. More pics...
Pikes Peak is left of center...
Pikes Peak...
The biggest snow patch of the day...
Devil's Playground Trailhead (12,700') was getting some work done, and failed to live up to what I had imagined something as cool sounding as "Devil's Playground" should be...
The trail then followed a short ways off the road...
I was shocked to see a cloud bank covering CO Springs to the east. It had been clear there this morning...
Pikes ahead...
Makes you feel really "high" to be staring down at the clouds...
The final ~800' climb to Pikes ascended a beautifully laid trail up the boulder field to the summit. It was often like climbing stairs, though required a discerning look to find the next cairn at times.
The summit is in view!
I reached the summit at 10:50am, 3hrs, 15 minutes from the start. It was 5.75 miles, and ~4100' gain on the way up...
A friendly hiker, Bob Thompson, who climbed Pikes for the 35th time, took my summit photo. I stopped inside the gift shop...
The glazed doughnuts are famous, but I didn't bring any money. I did throw away some garbage, use the restrooms, and drink up from the water fountain...
The cog-rail train was up, which meant the summit was crowded...
Clouds are dissapating to the east. Beautiful day on the mountain. So much for "mostly cloudy skies" forecast...
A look down the ridge I ascended...
The trail just below the summit... The hikers trail starts at the elbow in the road. The pic below marks the elbow, and the beginning of the boulder descent...
Impressive cairn...
Saw a wiener dog on the trail, which I somehow created a perspective to make him look relatively big (he was ~1 foot long tops)...
I started jogging stretches of the trail, even though it was flat, or even uphill at times above the ridge...
A view from the saddle, before descending towards the trailhead...
Last look back at Pikes, under some clouds...
Heading down...
I ran most of this...
Made it back to the trail head in 1hr 57 min from the summit, at 1:27pm...
3hrs 15min up, 45 min on the summit, 1hr 57 down. Beautiful weather, and a fast trail. Nothing spectacularly scenic, but exhilirating to be on the mountain non-the-less. Hiking Pikes via the Crags has plenty of bathroom break opportunities. A latrine at the trailhead, 2 port-o-potties along Pikes road, and flush toilets on the summit. A pleasant 14er #31.