August 21 - Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak is named for Zebulon Pike, an early explorer of the Southwest. Pike first sighted what he termed the "Great Peak" in mid-November of 1806.  He attempted to climb it a few days later, but heavy snows in the 10,000 foot area turned his party back (was he not expecting snow in November?).  A botanist who climbed many peaks in Colorado, Edwin James, ascended the mountain in 1820.  However, Ute Indians most likely scaled Pikes Peak to place eagle traps on its summit, a common practice used on high peaks in order to obtain ceremonial feathers.   Also, the Spanish were well aware of the mountain through numerous expeditions, especially that of Juan De Anza, who explored the region in 1779.

Some trivia about Pikes Peak:

• Pikes Peak rises to an elevation of 14,110 feel.  It is 31st out of the 54 mountains in the state over 14,000 feet, the highest being Mt. Elbert at 14,433 feet.
  
• When traveling up any mountain, ascending 1000 feet is like traveling 600 miles to the north. The temperature drops about 3.5 degrees, and different life zones are experienced. So, in general, the top of the Peak is 30 degrees colder than at the station in Manitou (the temperature on August 21 when we were at the peak was 42).
• The mountain encompasses four of the eight distinct life zones that exist in Colorado: Eastern Plains Zone (up to 6,000 feet) which is comprised of wildflowers and grassland and is home to many small animals like prairie dogs and rabbits;  Foothills Zone (6,000 to 8,000 feet) is composed of small bushes and trees such as scrub oak, juniper, sagebrush and pinion pine and is inhabited by raccoons, skunks, various squirrels, deer and an occasional bear and mountain lion;  Montane Zone (8,000 to 10,000 feet) has various wildflowers and small shrubs, but large forests of pines and Douglas fir, as well as the colorful aspen tree. Deer, elk, bear and mountain lions can all be found at this attitude.  Subalpine Zone (10,000 to 11,500 feet) where Englemann spruce, Douglas fir and bristlecone pine comprise the area’s dense forests. It is estimated that some bristlecone pine trees on Pikes Peak are over 2000 years old.  Alpine Zone (11,500 feet and above) is tundra composed of tiny flowers, mosses and lichen.  Denizens of the Alpine Zone are mainly the yellow-bellied marmot and the bighorn sheep. The marmot hibernates during the winter, but the sheep migrate to lower and more hospitable regions.

There are 3 ways to get to the top of the mountain; walk, drive, or the Manitou and Pikes Peak Railway.  We opted for the railway, which turned out to be quite a popular alternative that day.  All of the cars were full.

First of all, we couldn't have asked for better weather.  There were only wisps of high altitude clouds, light breezes, and 80 degree temperature.

Our guide up the mountain was a young woman named Mary.  It was the third summer she had worked on the railway and it was also her last day as she was returning to Colorada State to complete her senior year.  She was quite fun as she injected a little humor into her narrative. When talking about the wildlife on the mountain, she nonchalantly threw a Sasquatch in there with the big-horn sheep and marmots.  When asked if they had ever caught a Sasquatch, she replied that they had not only caught him, they had shaved him and taught him how to drive the train.

When explaining the safety features on the train, Mary explained that most cog railroads have 3 braking systems, but that the Pikes Peak railway has 4.  Should the 3 redundant systems on the car fail, there are springs at the bottom of the line to catch the train--Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs.

As an aside, the first cog (or "rack") railway was built in New Hampshire in 1869 on Mount Washington.  The Manitou and Pikes Peak Railway is the highest rack railway in the world as well as the highest railway in North America and the Northern Hemisphere.  It uses the Abt rack system to climb grades up to 25%.  The steepest cog railway in the world is the Mt. Pilatus Railway in Lucerne, Switzerland. It uses the Locher rack system to climb grades of 48%!  Katie and I have ridden all three.  

To put the ride in perspective with the cog trains at Mount Washington and Mount Pilatus, the peak of Mount Washington is 6,288 feet above sea level and the peak of Mount Pilatus is 7,000 feet above sea level.  The lowest point of the Manitou Springs and Pikes Peak Railway is 6,571 feet above sea level.  Our train ride started 283 feet above the peak of Mount Washington.

We took the above photo on our way up the mountain.  It is a working gold mine.

We saw a lot of wildlife on the mountain, especially above the tree line where is nothing to block the view.  There were Bighorn Sheep, Mule Deer, Yellow-Bellied Marmot (whistle pig), magpies and ravens.  We saw no bears or mountain lions.

Once at the top, everyone got to experience what John Denver wrote a song about, a Rocky Mountain High.  The air is a little thin at that altitude.  Katie didn't weather it well, so spent most of her time sitting in the coffee shop after a few photos.  I made an effort to walk around slowly and breathe deeply, but still got light-headed.  I'm not sure I could ever grow accustomed to it.  When buying coffee in the Summit House, the guy in front of me had run up the mountain (about 13 miles).  Oh to be young again.

The views at the top were great and the ride down was as much fun as the ride up, though a little warmer when we got back to Manitou.

Tomorrow, a little about Fort Carson.