Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak is not the tallest mountain, but it is unique in that you can drive to the summit. It is called America's Mountain. At 14,115 feet elevation it is certainly tall, and the oxygen is low at that elevation.

It was a rainy morning down below the clouds, but rain or shine, Pikes Peak here we come. We packed up after coffee, without showers, and headed to the National Forest. It's a State Park and National Forest and they charge $15 a person for entry at the gate at the base of the mountain.

It's a 19.5 mile drive to the top with narrow twisting roads, steep cliffs and often no guardrails. We stopped at the first visitor center, but it was only a gift shop and they wanted $73 for a sweatshirt. At 8,000 feet we could hardly breathe. Short of breath and dizzy, we walked slowly back to the van. "Don't turn too fast or bend down." Doug warned me as he lost his balance and held his head.

At 8,500 feet, we noticed that the trees started to get shorter which we assumed was from the lack of oxygen. The Pikes Peak Marathon is next weekend. I can't even imagine how people run this. There were bicyclists and hikers headed up.

At 11,000 feet we were above the clouds and it was sunny and bright, 31 degrees. At 11,800 feet the trees stop growing completely and there is only rock and some short grass. We were on the lookout for mountain goats. At 13,000 feet, we spotted some mountain goats, but they were at a distance and difficult to photograph. There was a small crater lake in the flat part of the grassy mountain nearby. By 13,700 feet there was no more grass.

We arrived to the summit and laboriously got ourselves out of the van for the hike to the visitor center. The air was cold and the wind whipped around us. The visitor center is a large building built on the edge of the cliff. It's mostly glass on the back side for the view. We can only see to the top of the clouds though, so the views are limited. I'm afraid of heights, so going to the edge of any railing or structure isn't my forte. It's warm inside. There is a Cafe, gift shop, and an interactive historical museum. After roaming around and taking our photographs, we sat down for a minute to get our nerve up to go back outside. It's beautiful up here, but almost too uncomfortable to fully enjoy it. We made tuna sandwiches and it was time to head back down the mountain.

On the way down, we saw a couple of mountain goats next to the road and they posed for us. Doug was driving. The van wouldn't shift down to first gear. About mile marker 18, the brake light came on. We pulled over and let a few vehicles pass us. A van with a family of 8 that we saw at the summit passed by us, and we could smell their brakes burning.

A little bit further down was a brake check stop point. The woman checked our brakes and said they were hot. She advised that we pull over for 20 to 30 minutes to cool down, drive in first gear for the next 3 miles, then use second gear.

We pulled over and Doug went on a hiking excursion. 11,000 feet somehow felt so much better than 14,000. We were acclimating. I had signal on my phone, so I stayed in the van to map the rest of the day. I'm not feeling stellar today as the TMJ pain has flared again and I feel like I'm getting a cold. The sugar and campfire has done me in.

We used the walkie-talkies to communicate. Doug's handle is Noodle and I am Pepper. "Oh my God, babe, it's so amazing up here! Open the side door of the van and look up." I can see him in the distance up on the rocks through the trees. Doug missed the sign that said "No hiking past this point", so he was hiking the rocks, testing out his new hiking boots. He found a grassy knoll and laid down in the grass.

Doug returned alive with excitement, a story, and a handful of gift store items including matching Pikes Peak T-shirts and another magnet for the van.

We made it safely down the mountain. Moab, Utah is 8 hours away, and that's our destination for tonight. I'm driving.Read more