Good As I Once Was

I usually stay on the property as far into the fall as I can. Mostly because I dont have anywhere else I need to be. This year I did, a wedding in Dallas,Tx. Google says it’s a 5 day drive if I don’t push it, i had 21 days so i could have made it riding the brakes. 

The weather app said I still had a week before the wet weather season rolled in, but it wasn’t the weather in the Cascades that I was concerned about. I wanted to beat the winter weather in the Colorado Rocky Mountains before it was too late. i wanted to try and climb up the Manitou Springs Incline and winter weather would make it a really unwise endeavor.

What can I say about the Manitou Incline that is not better stated (and probably a little more family. friendly) in this link from the town’s website. It has a much better description and better pictures then my fat fingers can type out on my phone, but the crib notes version is; the Manitou Springs Incline is a BITCH!!!!

This is my third attempt at its 2,744 oxygen depleted steps over the past 10 years. I was successful in the previous attempts but let’s face it, I am getting a little long in the tooth for any climbing where the stairs aren’t moving in the same direction.

Manitou Springs is a history soaked little tourist town just west of Colorado Springs. Although I wasn’t a tourist, the limited parking allowed for a 1.5 mile walk to soak up its quirky history, good natured weirdness and more than enough t-shirt shops to remember your visit by. There is even a replacement cog train to get you to the top without the struggle. Plenty of opportunities to procrastinate the impending doom or bail altogether at one of the bustling pubs along the way. Incline aside, it really is a pleasant day away from the sprawl that now stretches 180 miles of the Colorado Rockies front range. Plus, if you do want to try your hand at altitude sicknesses, there is the train that climbs the tracks on the newer Incline route.

I did pack my camelback to stay hydrated. The camelback that had its bite valve chewed through by my pesky mice back at camp. Effectively, it was now just a roundabout way to dump my water onto the ground. I bought a couple t-shirt shop priced bottles of water and carried one in each hand. Not optimal on what is effectively an old uneven rickety ladder.

Even though it was a bright sunny morning, there was an Autumn crispness in the air, I was happy I had a couple layers of clothing as I was walked to the trailhead. I was expecting to be even happier as I climbed the 2000 ft into the thin mountain air. Except, it only got warmer as I climbed, It became a hot sweaty grind after just a couple hundred steps into the 2800 step effort. Other then wrapping my Hoodie around my waist, I couldn’t shed any more layers since my hands were full with the water bottles.

The group that manages the trail doesn’t sugarcoat the effort. I think the powers that be would rather you took the train up to be honest.  It has to be a real hassle to haul down the over zealous climbers whose egos are out of synch with their actual abilities.

Well warned, thanks

There is a reservation system to limit the number of people on the incline at any given time. I arrived early hoping to get an early start. I could tell the day was only going to get warmer. There was no one checking reservations so I got thiiiis close to starting my watch and heading up. I caught something out of the corner of my eye that stopped me.

The trail is steep. There are long sections where you can reach out and touch the steps in front of you. My stair stopper was a man in yoga pants just ahead of me. With the steepness ahead, I did not want want to be face to cheeks for the next couple of hours. 

Once the coast was clear, I finally pressed start on my fitness watch and headed up. I have attached the heart monitor chart from the effort. If it’s readable on this low resolution screen capture, the heart rate monitor recorded that it’s full speed ahead until I realized having my heart explode halfway up would ruin my day. Not to mention that of the poor folks below me when I bowl them over as I roll back to the bottom. In truth, there wasn’t that much thinking that went into it. I was tuckered out pretty quickly.  

The steepness is actually welcome as the impacts of altitude and fatigue rear their ugly heads. If you lean into the stairs, maybe they will catch you when you passout instead of rolling back down the mountain. It got to a point where I would climb 10 steps and have a sit down. Just to enjoy the view, of course.

Even with my rest stops I thought I hadca pretty good pace going. Until i recognized a jolly looking fellow. Not from my travels anywhere, but from this very staircase, I was being lapped. I heard him say that he was on his 5th of 6 laps for the day. And there were the 2 college girls just chatting away as they passed me on their way up. But in the end, the race is just with yourself. Everyone gets the metaphorical checkered flag on that last step. I can’t find the times from my earlier climbs but I think 1:33 is pretty good.

Everyone is pretty cool and encouraging so it is a good experience (looking back on it of course).

Some people even go back down the stairs. That I won’t do because I like my knees and it’s really dangerous. There is a perfectly nice smooth trail that winds down the mountain to the start. 

Here is a link to the actual entry that Suunto site. It’s actually a pretty cool representation of the effort.

https://maps.suunto.com/move/donmiller160/63505a7ae742412d1639e98d

 

There are also some more pictures on Google 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DNkfcMYmNsvm7jai9