It is so cold, I am sitting at the picnic table with my sweatshirt on, shoes and socks, and wrapped in a blanket. If I had gloves I would put them on as well as it is getting hard to type. Now I have moved into the laundry room to try to get warm. There is a ceiling fan that is making it cold in here and they have removed the chain so I can not stop it. The wall switch turns off the light as well as the fan; but it is better than being outside. Who knew!
It was a smart choice to go into the laundry room. Nice and warm compared to outside.
Up bright and early in Colorado Springs. There are mountains to climb and you need a reservation.
The one problem I have encountered in my journey is that I have a basic plan but I do not want to be a slave to the watch so that I can enjoy what I find. That however causes a problem with places like Pike's Peak where if you do not want to drive to the top you need to take the train. To take the train you need a reservation. I have plenty of those, just not the right kind to get on the train to the top.
The recorded message says that there are tickets available for the first train at 8:30 AM and the train at 4 PM. Not wanting to waste the day by having to wait for the 4 o'clock train, it is up and off before 7 to get to the station to be there when it opens to be sure to get a ticket. I am at the station by 7:20 and am the 10th person in line. Thankfully there are still tickets available.
With ticket in hand we wait for the train to arrive at the station. While waiting I take in the surroundings - mountains all around. One of them has a strip of dirt that goes almost to the top, not Pike's Peak but a neighboring mountain. There are people visible and with the aid of the telephoto camera lens, I can see that they are hiking up a series of switchbacks to the top.
It turns out that strip of mountain is called the Incline and it is infamous. It has its own t-shirts that say "I survived the Incline". Okay then. We will leave that hike for a return visit.
The train is one of three in the world Cog Trains. There is a third middle track with teeth that a cog under the train with teeth to match rolls in. This is what propels the train up the mountain. There are two 25% grades and a couple of 12% grades that the train has to traverse to get up and down the mountain. A 25% grade means that for every 100 feet traveled an elevation change of 25 feet occurs. This equals the steepest grade that any of the cog wheel trains traverse. It is an experience being on the train while moving over the 25% grade.
While climbing to the top the inevitable talk is given by the conductor explaining how the train works and extolling the virtues of the cog wheel. They also have given names to some of the rocks. One of which is seal rock.
Other significant points of interest is seeing snow whenever you go up the mountain and not just in winter. The cog train is year round now since they acquired a snow plow. Some of the trains get scheduled due to the weather, but they do go up every day except in extreme snow storms where they can not clear the tracks.
On the ride up you do get a glimpse of the top through the trees - very exciting. And then even the trees disappear and all you see is rock. It is large chunks of rock. Not quite boulders but not gravel either. Although the conductor made fun of Texas by saying this is Colorado gravel.
The train cars are set-up with bench seats facing one another. One side has 3 seats and the other has 2 seats. All seats are assigned. But if you ever have the choice while making reservations for this trip, take the 3 seat side. There is much better scenery on this side of the train once you get up past the first mile or so. For the return trip the train does not turn around so you are on the same side going up as you are going down.
Some people take the train up and walk down. Which is a lot better than walking all the way up. :) Having the time, walking down would be fun. There are also vendors that drive you up and then you ride down on bicycles or coast down is probably the better way to explain it. I doubt there is much pedaling on the way down.
Driving takes as long to go and down as the train. There is also a charge to drive. I am not sure how much it is to drive, but the train is $33 round trip. You get about 50 minutes at the top. If you drive you can spend as long as you like, but the 50 minutes was about enough time. There is a gift shop at the top that I did not have time to go into, but my seatmates said it was just a normal gift shop - nothing lost by not going in.
Finally made it to the top. It was an exhilarating feeling. I wanted to go up, check out the view, see what it would be like to breath at 14,000 feet, how cold would it be, etc. But I was truly excited to be up at the top. Not sure why, but it was fun.
The weather was great. I took my sweatshirt but did not need it. There was a breeze, but not too bad. They say it can get into the 60's (it was in the mid 40's while I was there) and minus 40 in the winter. Might be fun to experience that knowing that you have a warm gift shop to go into and that you will only be there a short while.
I was visiting on a Friday. That Sunday was going to be the race to the Clouds as it is called. It was also called the Pike's Peak challenge at one point. There was a helicopter flying around the top of the mountain taking video shots for the broadcast (and probably the special DVD that you can buy) and a couple of the cars. It takes about 90 minutes by train or to drive up the mountain. The best time for the race is just over 10 minutes.
The times keep getting better as they keep paving the dirt portions of the road up. It used to be all dirt and now very little is dirt. But the biggest challenge is that there are numerous turns and switchbacks on the climb but no guard rails. You go too fast around a turn and you get to the bottom a lot faster than 10 minutes as a straight track is faster than a curvy one. That goes for the casual driver as well. No guard rails. They do not just take them down for the race. I would imagine that adds to the drive time by the causal driver.
There were a couple of makers at the top in various places. I have included the US Geological Survey marker.
While I was at the top, I decided to follow Andy Goldworthy's example and make a sculpture with the rock at the top. Andy has made some very elaborate art pieces using nature, but on the spur of the moment with very limited time, I put together what I could. I started to make an arch or a piece that would reside on two larger stones, but the excitement of making a piece and the altitude really caused a shortness of breath so I made a single statue. My short term structure entitled "A Gift of the Mountain".
I should have made it to be in sight of the web cam that is at the top so I could see how long it stood, but I did not think far enough in advance to work out all the fine details. I will just imagine it standing the test of time and lasting until the next snow melt in the Spring.
Ever wonder what inspired the song America the Beautiful? It could have been seeing the prairies, or the Statue of Liberty, or even the Golden Gate - but - drum roll please - it was the view from Pike's Peak. Katherine Bates visited in 1893 and wrote the words.
At the base of the mountain is the town of Manitou Springs. The town derived its name from the springs that sprung up around town of naturally occurring carbonated water. There are 5 public fountains where you can taste the water. Each one tastes a little different and one had a slight sulphur taste. The water seeps through a level of limestone which adds the carbonation and then it breaks through the surface to become springs at various places. There over 20 springs at one time which is how the town got its name.
There are a number of other attractions in the area as well as mountains and springs. One area is called Garden of the Gods. This is an area of red rock that has been eroded by the wind and water into recognizable shapes? The first one is the Kissing Camels. Why camels I do not know, but they do appear to be kissing. Then there is balance rock and steam ship rock. Like clouds, you can find all kinds of faces, buildings and other objects in the eroded red rock. After visiting the Garden of the Gods, I was seeing shapes of kinds with my travels through New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. Fun to do on a long car trip.
After a lunch of some excellent vegetarian food it was off to the zoo. This trip has been a lot of Denny's (because they are open 24 hours) and Subway sandwiches. It will be awhile before I eat at either once I get home. Thankfully they are both everywhere, but they are getting boring.
Thanks for going to the top with me. It truly was an exciting trip to make. I am still not sure why it was so exciting - probably a lack of oxygen. :)
See you at the zoo.
Michael
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