PIKES PEAK 7/26/86
PIKES PEAK 14,110'
Mountain........Pikes Peak
Elevation.........14,110
Rank...............31st
Range..............Front
Trail length......3 miles
Elevation gain..3,000'
Difficulty..........*
Comments........14,000' vertical in one day
TRIP REPORT
7/26/86
We had a 10-day allowance for our 1986 peak-bagging trip. I woke up in Maryland (sea level) at 3:30 a.m., gathered my stuff and headed out the door at 4:30, met Richard at 5:15 and arrived at Dulles airport at 6:15. Our plane departed at 7:15 and arrived in Denver at 8:50 (aren't time differences great?). We were supposed to get a Tercel rental car (light with high road clearance) but the car guys screwed up and we had to take a Camry (heavier and lower to the ground, and not much power).
We drove straight from the airport to the Pikes Peak toll road, and drove up to about 11,000', picking up water at the Inn along the road. We started climbing at 11:15, following a trail that stayed near the road, and reached the summit parking lot in mid-afternoon. The view down to Colorado Springs is stupendous, but the peak is over-civilized, what with tourists and shops and cars & stuff. We were both suffering from altitude sickness - headaches, dizziness, and rubbery legs - so after watching the cog train arrive we headed straight back down to the car.
On the drive to Westcliffe, Richard had to stop driving and take a puke break; I took over from there. We had reservations for a small motel - it turned out to be in the basement of a liquor store, and most of the night we had to put up with the sound of trucks & motorcycles arriving and boots stomping through the store overhead. We stocked up a little (doughnuts, mostly) at a nearby grocery and had a good dinner at a country restaurant. Richard got his thermos filled with coffee, and we tried to sleep with visions of Humboldt Peak in our heads and drunks stumbling around upstairs.
Mountain........Pikes Peak
Elevation.........14,110
Rank...............31st
Range..............Front
Trail length......3 miles
Elevation gain..3,000'
Difficulty..........*
Comments........14,000' vertical in one day
TRIP REPORT
7/26/86
We had a 10-day allowance for our 1986 peak-bagging trip. I woke up in Maryland (sea level) at 3:30 a.m., gathered my stuff and headed out the door at 4:30, met Richard at 5:15 and arrived at Dulles airport at 6:15. Our plane departed at 7:15 and arrived in Denver at 8:50 (aren't time differences great?). We were supposed to get a Tercel rental car (light with high road clearance) but the car guys screwed up and we had to take a Camry (heavier and lower to the ground, and not much power).
We drove straight from the airport to the Pikes Peak toll road, and drove up to about 11,000', picking up water at the Inn along the road. We started climbing at 11:15, following a trail that stayed near the road, and reached the summit parking lot in mid-afternoon. The view down to Colorado Springs is stupendous, but the peak is over-civilized, what with tourists and shops and cars & stuff. We were both suffering from altitude sickness - headaches, dizziness, and rubbery legs - so after watching the cog train arrive we headed straight back down to the car.
On the drive to Westcliffe, Richard had to stop driving and take a puke break; I took over from there. We had reservations for a small motel - it turned out to be in the basement of a liquor store, and most of the night we had to put up with the sound of trucks & motorcycles arriving and boots stomping through the store overhead. We stocked up a little (doughnuts, mostly) at a nearby grocery and had a good dinner at a country restaurant. Richard got his thermos filled with coffee, and we tried to sleep with visions of Humboldt Peak in our heads and drunks stumbling around upstairs.
posted by JansStores at 9:09 AM
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