Back in 1996, I had the opportunity to move to Colorado Springs for my job, the now defunct telecommunications company called MCI. They sent me out for a few days to check it out. The short impression was that I was underwhelmed. There was just too much dirt and I just didn’t get the feel of the place. I ended up moving to New York City instead.
So twenty years later, I had a chance to see it again. I like what I saw this around. It is much more green now than what I remember. I have to admit though, I didn’t spend much time in Colorado Springs. But in the little valley town of Manitou Springs right next to it. A friend of mine told me of a climb she did there the previous year and she is in much better shape than I am so I figured I would give it a go.
It affectionately called the Incline. In reality, it is a brutal 2000 ft vertical climb in less than a mile. At some points, it is more like a ladder than a stairway.
Being a data nerd, I stopped and got a heart rate monitor in Denver for my almost new Suunto watch.
Pic
This is the map of the trail plus the walk from the parking lot and the post climb beer search in Manitou spring. The climb is the straight part of the map.
Here is the elevation and heartrate chart to show the effort.
I don’t remember a harder hike for such a short distance. This one had the added excitement of nearby downpours and lightning storms that were clearly visible out over nearby Colorado Springs, Even more frightening was the woman wearing blinged out yoga pants, hoop ear rings and carrying a bluetooth speaker blaring inspirational work out music (in her mind) down the hill. She seemed to be leading some sort of Hip Hop bootcamp exercise for some kids that were not in all that good a shape. I know because I was matching them step for step until they gave up and sat down. Then I caught up with Little Miss Hip Hop and used all my remaining energy to push past her and the annoyance of it all.
View down the incline with storm clouds circling.
The hike is relatively low compared to other Colorado hikes, starting out at 6600 feet. I have climbed as high as 18,000 feet and it is amazing how hard your brain tries to talk you out of going higher when you are up there. It uses every trick in the book to get you to turn around. “Man, I am hungry, I should have brought more food. Better turn around”. “Boy, it got cold, I don’t think I wore the right clothes. Better turn around”. “My knee hurts. Better turn around”. “That lightning sure is getting close. Better turn around”. “Was that a rain drop? Better turn around” “Half way is fine. I should turn around”. “¾ is a great accomplishment for a fat ass like me Lets just turn around. “There is the turnoff right there for a nice hike back down to beer, You could turn around”. ” If you go all the way, you’ll miss Happy Hour. Really, Lets Turn around. You know how you hate to pay full price for beer”. If you stick with this, people are going to think you are with the Hip Hop lady. You should turn around”. All kinds of horrible things like that go through your mind.
Hey! Where’s the Hula Girls?
But I have never been one to listen to my better sense, so I trudged on and finally got to the top. Pretty anti-Climatic to be honest. The summit was not all that exciting. Just an open space surrounded by pine trees. I even asked around the folks loitering around up there if I had made it. They said Yep. Somehow, I thought there would be more. A few hula girls handing out Leis and a kiss would have been fine. But alas it was just a bunch of tired sweaty people looking happy that they made it up. The happiness only lasted until the realization that they still needed to get back down caught up with them. I milled around for a bit too just because I figured I should but I not one for basking in my glory. Rare as the opportunity arises.
Some people take the stairs back down, a real knee wrecker. Not to mention, one wrong step and a tumble will get you to the bottom really quickly followed up by a ride to the Colorado Springs Emergency Room. I decided to take a side trail down that was winding but stair free.
I walked around Manitou Springs looking for a celebratory beer but none of the bars looked all that celebratory. It was almost easier getting up the mountain than finding a good place serving up just the right beer. I ended up in a sports bar with a Bud Light draught.
Sitting there on the bar stool, I decided that I finally earned a hotel room for the effort. I found an old style motor lodge in old Colorado Springs and looked forward to a nice relaxing evening. But best laid plans……
