{"id":3647,"date":"2021-09-06T12:16:31","date_gmt":"2021-09-06T19:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wandering.earth\/?p=3647"},"modified":"2022-01-29T20:11:41","modified_gmt":"2022-01-30T04:11:41","slug":"colorado-2021-part-6-pikes-peak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wandering.earth\/index.php\/2021\/09\/06\/colorado-2021-part-6-pikes-peak\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado 2021 – Part 6 – Pikes Peak"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After deciding to cut my thru hike short (very short, unfortunately), I took a half day’s rest and then I went up Pikes Peak the following day! 14,115 feet!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, after 4 days on the CT climbing Mt Antero, Mt Shavano, and Tabeguache Peak I was not likely to climb Pikes Peak with my own legs. So, I played tourist and took the Cog Railroad up from Manitou Springs. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Three years ago it was being refurbished, so I had to settle for driving my Jeep up Pikes Peak. This time I sat back and crammed into a train full of people in the middle of an pandemic. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I needed the rest and it was better than crashing at a hotel for the day. So, I got on and slowly made my way up the side of the mountain. Although it was faster than using my feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Saw a marmot checking out the tourists and then some Big Horn Sheep grazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We saw a vulture and eagle fighting over some food, but I wasn’t able to get any good photos of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As we neared the summit, we passed some things called ‘automobiles’. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Then the new Summit House came into view. It hadn’t existed three years ago (although they had started construction around the summit in preparation).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Getting off the train, I started to explore the summit with all the other tourists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The new summit house was nice, but still under construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I made sure to locate and step on the actual summit. It’s one of the few 14ers that I found an actual benchmark on. It does also have one of the nicer summit signs I’ve found on top of a 14er. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The ruins of the original summit house were interesting. Not sure where it was the last time I was up there, since I don’t recall seeing it. Maybe it was buried in the basement of the summit house they demolished after building the newest one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Unfortunately, they didn’t give us much time on the summit before the train started down again. It would have been nice to have a bit more time, but not at the expense of having to walk down the mountain. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On the way down the train had to stop for a herd of Big Horn Sheep that were blocking the tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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