Saturday morning in Colorado Springs greeted us with bright sun and temperatures in the seventies. My stepson Art made us all a tasty bacon & eggs breakfast before we headed off to Pike’s Peak, “America’s Mountain”, about 20 minutes away from our ARBNB.
Art’s fiancé Tiala paid the $40 vehicle fee online, so we could drive up the Pikes Peak Highway which is on the Pike National Forest. The city of Colorado Springs has a Forest Service Special Use Permit to manage the road and facilities on the mountain.
In 1806, U.S. Army Lieutenant Zebulon Pike and 22 soldiers were sent by the government to survey the newly-purchased Louisiana Territory. They set up a base camp in Pueblo. Colorado and then Pike headed off with three men to climb the white capped mountain in the distance to the north they named “Grand Peak”. The problem was that winter was setting in, they had no cold weather gear, and none of them were experienced mountaineers. After five days they were still two or three days from the summit and they turned around. But when the newspapers got hold of the story, the legend of Pikes Peak began to spread around the world.
The summit sits at 14,115 feet, one of over fifty 14’s in the Rocky Mountain state, but Pikes Peak is the only one you climb to the top in your car. But make no mistake, even driving will test your nerves.
Getting to the Pikes Peak summit has created a cottage industry for dreamers and fools alike over the years, starting way back in 1916, with the Pikes Peak motor race made famous by three generations of Unsers and which continues today (10 minutes at speeds of 120 mph). But the slowest time involved a truly inspired lunatic who pushed a peanut with his nose to the top (21 days). As a promotional stunt, the A-1 moving company pulled a Steinway piano to the top in 2.5 hours. And in 1995, students and teachers from a local high school dribbled basketballs to the top in ten hours as a fundraiser to buy computers.
The three lanes of the fancy log cabin pay station were backed up when we arrived. We were at an elevation of 9,000 feet and from that point on it was a steep drive through a thick conifer and aspen forest until we climbed above the tree line at about 10,000 feet where the snow still covered everything by the road.
The scenic Pikes Peak Highway covers 19 miles of mountain terrain, with frequent pull-offs where you can get out and take some amazing photos encompassing four different Colorado life zones and unique animal sightings, like the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, yellow-bellied marmots and (rumored) BigFoot.
A few miles up the busy highway and another thousand feet in elevation we passed the North Slope Recreation Area where licensed fisherman can try their luck for elusive trout in three different lakes (May-Oct) and adventure-seekers can hike and bike on nearby trails. The Crystal Reservoir Gift Shop and the Historic Glen Cove Inn are also shiny Colorado roadside attractions on the journey to the top.
Unfortunately, the road to the top is still closed because the brand new 36,000 sf Summit View House (SVH) is still under construction (slated to open in June 2021). According to the brochure, the old, but much smaller SVH, was pretty darn special “with its world famous hot and fresh donuts served daily, hot coffee, flavorful fudge and a variety of cool gifts available for you to commemorate your 14,115-foot climb. You will be able to enjoy all the best things to eat at one of the best places to visit in Colorado. From the summit’s various viewing areas, you’ll absolutely want to snap photos of Pikes Peak’s incredible scenery. On the clearest days, you can see five states (Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Kansas) and even the curvature of the earth fading into the distance. Pikes Peak is a must-see if you’re looking for things to do near Denver. It is among the most beautiful places to see in Colorado Springs. In fact, it is the very mountain that inspired the song “America the Beautiful.” Visit Pikes Peak!”
They stopped us a little above the 12,000-feet point and we parked in a muddy parking lot covered in crunchy snow. The wind was howling at a steady twenty-five and even on a bright, sunny, May day, it was freezing cold. But there were dumbasses in shorts, short-sleeved shirts, and flip flops. However, the real crazies were the ones who were snowboarding down sheer vertical ice chutes near the parking lot. Young people in Colorado take their recreation very seriously.
The air is thin at that elevation and just walking slightly uphill in the snow to a west-facing overlook felt like running a marathon. Between the wind and the cold (I spent the whole winter in South Florida), I couldn’t get off the mountain fast enough. And not making it to the summit was completely irrelevant to me. The rest of the family totally agreed.
Thirty minutes later we were in Manitou Springs and the temperature was a very comfortable 75.
In my opinion, mountains are always cold, uninviting, and incredibly overrated.
Steve-
Thanks for the advice on Pikes Peak. I drove up last weekend, and the drive is fantastic. I arrived at the top were you have to park and take a shuttle to the top. I opened my car door and was immediately overwhelmed with altitude sickness. It is 14,000 feet up. I had to immediately drive back down and felt fine. I pulled over into the reservoir, which is not well advertised and that was lovely. Thanks as always for sharing your adventures.
Mary Page
Glad I was able to help. I too felt the altitude big time. Worth seeing. But only for a few minutes.