If you visited Colorado Springs, two land marks would come to your mind. The Garden of the Gods Park and the Pikes Peak. The Air Force Academy and NORAD would be next.
Pikes Peak (named after Zebulon Pike, an explorer who led an expedition to the southern Colorado area in 1806) is one of the 54 fourteeners in Rocky mountain range with a height of 14110 ft (4300 meters) above the sea level. To reach the top, you can leisurely take the cog railway from Manitou Springs or drive the Pikes Peak highway(19 miles one way) or hike (like my wife) to enjoy the sheer pleasure of unending physical torture.
The hike to Pikes Peak is by Barr trail, approximately 13 miles long with a 7300ft (2225 meters) elevation gain. The last three miles above the tree line are treacherous with rocks, frequent thunderstorms and lightning.
Last weekend, I drove to the top to pick up my wife after her hike. Here are some pictures.
The hike to Pikes Peak is by Barr trail, approximately 13 miles long with a 7300ft (2225 meters) elevation gain. The last three miles above the tree line are treacherous with rocks, frequent thunderstorms and lightning.
Last weekend, I drove to the top to pick up my wife after her hike. Here are some pictures.
Cog rail and the train
Crystal Lake from top
Garden of the Gods park from top of the peak
A brave hiker, my wife
On our way back, a lone fox stayed staring at its shadow, blocking the traffic
And later, it got bored and decided to leave
13 comments:
aloha,
these are so beautiful scenes, i love that cog ride, it feels like you are in a different world up there
my tuesday tour of a hike to the lava on my sari blog.
Just awesome! Looks like a wonderful place you visited.
Lovely photos. Looks like the fox has no trouble being at such a high altitude! :)
Probably two decades since last I sat inside such a train, back home in Germany.
Thank you as well for the wonderful picture and ability to breath fresh, clean air. Please have you all a good Tuesday.
daily athens
Congratulations to your wife on hiking to the top! I love the angles on that first photo.
Hurray for your wife! (And thank you for picking her up!) I have friends who actually run the Pike's Peak Marathon. Wonderful photos of the top and the fox!
Great pics of somewhere I also hope to visit someday!
Your wife is a brave hiker indeed. I think I would prefer the train so I could see the beautiful views from the peak. Gorgeous.
Kay
Alberta, Canada
such beautiful sceneries..it must be really nice to do some hiking there. Finding a wolf is really cool. I wonder where is his pack.
Great shots but I never like to see the top of a mountain constrained by man made structures and public transport. They all kill the sense of adventure and mar the natural beauty.
Thank you for sharing these beautiful scenes, a wonderful place you visited.
Have a nice week,
Greetings, Bram
My Word Tuesday post
Seen on My World Tuesday
Great shots.
What gorgeous pictures you captured! I think I'd take the cog railway rather than hike! Thanks for sharing. I really like the photos of the fox--beautiful!
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