Pikes Peak, CO: In "Fourteener" Heaven

OMG - Today we drove to the summit of Pikes Peak. It is a spectacular 19 mile drive with unimaginable views in almost any direction. Pictures hardly do it justice although I tried; I shot over 100 photo's today. The great thing about shooting pictures with a digital camera is the photographer never makes a mistake, not as long as you can find the delete key.

Colorado has more mountains over 14,000 feet than any other state in the continental US. In fact Colorado has 56 mountains that are referred to as a "fourteener". The summit of Pikes Peak is 14,110 feet in elevation. Unbelievably grand and majestic vistas from that elevation however, at 14,110 feet, it is only 32nd on the list of Colorado's 56 fourteeners.

Only a few minutes out of Manitoba Springs where we are staying is the entrance to the Pikes Peak Highway. Here rangers quickly inform you how to drive, how to avoid/recognize altitude sickness, ensure you have at least half a tank of fuel and your off -- well as soon as you hand over $10/person you are off.

You can take a cog railway to the top for $30/person however we decided to drive ourselves. MLA gets motion sickness easily and we figured if she or I had any issues with altitude sickness we could turn the car around and descend. Not so with a railway that goes all the way to the top, waits 30 minutes and then descends.

We took it slowly, stopping at almost every opportunity to give us a chance to acclimate to the quickly rising elevations. The entrance is at ~7000 feet so you have to gain another 7000 feet to reach the summit.

On the way up we were very excited to spot some of the area's wildlife including Least Chipmunks, Pine Squirrels, Mountain Goats, and a variety of hawks, eagles, and ravens. Very cool.

The drive itself is a long series of switchbacks, many of which don't seem to be too steep. Not to steep that is until you you start the trip back down. We stayed in first gear the whole way in the CRV, which helped us keep to the 20 mph speed limit.

About half way down there is a ranger station where your brake's temperature is measured (with a cool little infrared thermometer).

Below 300 degrees and you are good to go. Above 300 and you have to park your vehicle until the brakes cool. As long as you keep your car in first gear and fight the natural tendency to use the brakes you should be OK. Avoiding the brakes is harder to do than it sounds, especially when approaching hairpin curves with no/zero/zip/nada guardrail. MLA became very concerned several times when she got a good look at just how far of a drop it was over the side.

Due to my exceptional driving skills, not to mention my comfort with my wife's fear, we arrived at the brake check station with our brakes at an amazingly (relatively) cool 160 degrees. I was hoping for some type of award or at least a little recognition from the ranger on having done such a great job of avoiding using the brakes however that was not to happen. He simply waved us on; must have had some other important business on his mind other than recognizing my superior skill. One look at MLA's ashen face should have told him all he needs to know....

In any case, we descended quickly, leaving us only with a few pictures, some beautiful memories and a slight headache from the altitude change. Plus the need to find a restroom after consuming 6 bottles of water to stay hydrated.

Every year there is a race up Pike's Peak, where drivers defy all logic and ignore any concerns about personal safety. Cars and motorcycles reach speeds as fast as 120 mph, sliding around turns and hurtling up long distances, all for the bragging rights and of course, a very nice trophy. We just missed this years race which was held on July 20th. Too bad. I'm pretty sure I could have cleaned up in the RV class with my little 27,000 pound, turbo diesel, 37' Allegro Bay.

See Ya!