UltraRob's Adventures

This week we had a little snow. That didn't keep me and others from doing a night hike on the Manitou Incline. Once wasn't enough for Yeti so he did it twice.

I always find it a bit tough to go out when it's cold and dark but it doesn't take long before I'm enjoying it. Fresh snow at night always looks prettier than in the daylight when the light is flat. If it's still cloudy, the city lights reflect off the clouds and snow.

It was 13 degrees when I started out but I quickly was sweating from the workout. With the cold, I ended up growing some nice icicles. I stayed plenty warm the whole time without putting my shell on.

Since the snow was fresh and not packed, it wasn't very slippery. I was wearing my hiking boots and ended up not putting my YakTrax on.

I learned one thing about working out hard in the cold and taking photos. Some guys hiking faster than me passed and I tried getting some photos. They ended up all fogged up. I checked the camera lens and it looked clear. I finally figured out the steam from my breathing was hanging in the air. I found I had to hold my breath for a few seconds before taking photos.

Please remember that using UltraRob.com to find your cycling and outdoor gear this holiday season helps those in poverty and disaster areas.

Black Diamond Wiz Headlamp Price: $18.95

BLACK DIAMOND Ion Headlamp 07 Price: $19.95

Black Diamond Ion Headlamp Regular Price: $18.95 $14.96 on sale

Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, Manitou Incline

An informal group hikes the Manitou Incline each week and then meets at Kinfolks in Manitou for beer. Although I've been wanting to go, I hadn't made it until last week.

Our sunny, warm weather from earlier in the week was gone. It was replaced by cold and fog. It was interesting seeing headlamps in the fog.

It didn't take long until the lights of Manitou disappeared in the fog and were just a glow in the fog. Eventually even the glow disappeared and it was just very dark.

Almost every weather condition has it's own beauty. Sometimes I don't notice the beauty because I'm grumbling about the weather. I didn't have any trouble noticing the beauty of the frost on the branches when the light from my headlamp hit them.

Although I'd been behind nearly everyone and they disappeared into the fog when I stopped to take some photos, Charlie and Josh caught me near the top. The 3 of us then hiked down Barr Trail together.

The tree branches weren't the only things frosty. My hair was also covered in frost when I got back to the bottom. The photo is out of focus because I forgot I had put the camera on manual focus.

One of the cool things about heading over to Kinfolks was I met 2 local bloggers for the first time. Yeti blogs at UpaDowna about all things outdoors. He knows his stuff and teaches outdoor survival classes. Brownie does what I think is crazier than ultra cycling. He's an ultra runner and did both the Hardrock 100 and Leadville 100 run this year.

Eos Headlamp Price: $44.99

LED Headlamp Regular Price: $34.99 $12.99 on sale

Apex Pro Headlamp Price: $94.99

Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, Manitou Incline

Over the years, there have been several talks about making the Manitou Incline legal. Even though it is illegal, it is the most popular hike in the Pikes Peak region.

In December, the Pikes Peak Cog manager had said there might be news by spring on an agreement to make the Incline legal. The news never came.

According to an article in the Gazette a couple weeks ago, there is now an agreement written between the Cog Railway and city of Colorado Springs. Lawyers are reviewing the document. Colorado Springs would get an easement for a trail along the Incline in return for allowing the Cog to use a small parking lot at the end of Ruxton owned by the city.

Even if Colorado Springs and the Cog sign the agreement, things need to be worked out with Manitou Springs and the Forest Service.

The area around the bottom of the Incline is in Manitou Springs and neighbors haven't been happy with parking issues from the Incline being so popular. The top part the Incline is on National Forest land. The Forest Service has indicated they would support having it officially open.

Equinox Bockadam Hiking Pole Bag Regular Price: $17.50 $15.75 on sale

LEKI Poles Sierra Antishock Hiking Pole Price: $79.95

LEKI Sierra Antishock Trekking Pole 1 Pole Regular Price: $79.95 $63.96 on sale

Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, Manitou Incline

Although several people hike the Manitou Incline on nice days during the winter and even on nasty days there generally are a few people. I hiked it on a cold, cloudy day a little over a month ago and saw 3 people. Once it gets warm, a lot more people start hiking it.

Two Sundays ago it was sunny and in the 70's. I saw hundreds of people. I did it with my 5 year old so we had lots of people passing us. I did it last Sunday afternoon and parked the farthest I've had to down Ruxton.

Along with the warm weather, people have been coming to UltraRob.com looking for information on the Manitou Incline. One thing they are looking is for directions to the Manitou Incline. I think because it crosses private property there aren't many directions to it. The directions I've written to the Manitou Incline are a bit vague for that reason but should be plenty to get you there. Hopefully the access issues will be resolved soon.

Another question people have is how long it takes to hike to the top. On the Incline Club page, Matt Carpenter's fastest time is listed as 18:31. That page doesn't have any new times since 2000 when the No Trespassing sign was put up. According to an article in Sports Illustrated, Mark Fretta has done it in 16:42. I wonder if that's from the bottom or from where the trail from Barr Trail parking lot meets the Incline. My best time from the bottom is 29:30. Last Sunday I did it in 42:30 but that was from the trail from the parking lot. At that pace it's about 4 minutes from the bottom. Of course how long it will take you will depend on your fitness level and how hard you want to push yourself. I've seen quite a few people the last couple weeks that appeared to be on a pace over an hour. The time back down will depend on whether you go back down the Incline or take Barr Trail down.

People also want to know how many steps there are. I'd never thought much about that. 2,000 vertical feet in 1 mile with the steepest grade at 68% tells me all I really need to know. They really aren't steps but old railroad ties and some of them are missing. But in case you want to know, somebody has written numbers on some of the ties. I'm assuming that they are a count of the number of ties. I'm not sure what was done where ties are missing. 2744 is written on the top tie.

LEKI Poles Thermolite Hiking Poles Regular Price: $119.95 $91.95 on sale

Poles for Hiking Trekking and Walking DVD Price: $14.95

LEKI Poles Wanderfreund Hiking Staff Price: $49.95

Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, Manitou Incline

When I was hiking the Manitou Incline on Sunday, a couple guys told me there was supposed to be an article about it in Sports Illustrated. I haven't seen the print magazine but I did find an article on their website.

The article is about the Olympic Training Center. It talks about how local athletes and Olympic hopefuls use the Manitou Incline as a proving ground.

"The Incline is the source of local bragging rights," says triathlete Mark Fretta, who holds the ascent's unofficial record of 16 minutes, 42 seconds, "because people from every sport try to conquer it."

Salomon Trail Pro 2 Womens Regular Price: $110.00 $54.95 on sale

Salomon Trail Pro Short Womens Regular Price: $41.95 $20.95 on sale

Salomon Trail II 34 Tights Mens Price: $55.00

Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, Manitou Incline

Last Sunday afternoon I headed out to do the Manitou Incline. I've been doing it and wanted to do something longer. I knew I would hurt but I decided to go to Barr Camp.

Because it was warm, the snow on the Incline was wet and slushy. This made it more slippery than the dry snow the last few weeks but not enough for me to slip my YakTrax on. My time was slightly faster than I've been doing it but still miserably slow.

Although there was quite a bit of snow on Barr Trail, it was well packed as normal. Unless there's fresh snow, I don't think snowshoes are necesarry until after Barr Camp. I did put my YakTrax on pretty soon after the Incline since I was slipping some on the packed snow.

It's been a while since I've gone up to Barr Camp but I still remembered the trail really well. I got to Barr Camp just as it was getting dark.

After chatting for little while with the Barr Camp caretakers and a couple guys that were on their way down from the summit, I headed back down in the dark. I don't like using my headlamp unless absolutely necessary because it ruins my night vision. It's cool being able to see the outlines of the rocks and trees. I was able to pick out the packed line through the snow in the dark except I stepped into some deep unpack snow a couple times.

I don't normally like all the city lights but they're actually quite a pretty sight from a few thousand feet above. I tried taking several pictures of the city lights. The best one is above but I couldn't really capture them. It doesn't show the outline of the hills and trees in the foreground or how far the lights are below.

YC 929 Snowshoe Kit Yukon Charlies 9x29 Snowshoe Kit Price: $89.99

Yukon Charlies 822 Snowshoe Kit Yukon Charlies 8x22 Snowshoe Kit Price: $76.49

MSR Snowshoe Bag Price: $29.95

Labels: Barr Trail, hiking, Manitou Incline

On Sunday, a little over a week ago, I was at the top of the Manitou Incline just before dark. It was a couple days before full moon which is the perfect time to hike at night. Hiking in the moonlight changes a familiar trail into a totally different experience. With snow on the ground, the moonlight gets reflected and it's an even better experience.

It got me thinking how it's probably been 10 years since I've done a winter moonlight ascent of Pikes Peak. On the summit it can be subzero with a howling wind. It's tough but the experience is well worth it on a clear night. The moon reflecting off the snow is bright enough that no light is needed.

When I've done it in the past, I've left around 9 PM and gotten to the summit around 4 AM. That puts me just below timberline for an awesome sunrise. Maybe it's time to do it again.

Black Diamond Wiz Headlamp Price: $18.95

BLACK DIAMOND Ion Headlamp 07 Price: $19.95

Black Diamond Ion Headlamp Regular Price: $18.95 $14.96 on sale

Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, Manitou Incline

The Manitou Incline is the Pikes Peak region's most popular hike even though it's not legal. The popularity isn't surprising because where else can you climb 2,011 feet in just over a mile? Fit people hike it because it's a great workout and less fit people do it just to say they did it.

In a front page article in today's Gazette, the possibility of hiking it becoming legal is discussed. The 2 reasons that the Cog Railway hasn't wanted people hiking it have been liability and parking issues.

The parking issues are real but not allowing people to hike legally hasn't really made a difference. It doesn't seem that the face it's illegal has kept people away. By not having it legal, the parking may be worse for the Cog Railway since they can't put up signs about where to park so it doesn't affect parking for people taking the Cog. In a post earlier this year, I discussed where and where not to park when hiking the Manitou Incline.

I can understand their concern about liability. Of course I think hiking or other activities should be at your own risk and there's always the chance you'll get hurt. Unfortunately some people always want to blame somebody else when something goes wrong. There have been discussions in the past about giving the Forest Service a easement through land owned by the Cog. The Forest Service already has an easement for part of Barr Trail.

Spencer Wren, manager of the cog railway, said parking is a problem but they can deal with it. He said, “At this point, liability is our No. 1 concern. We are working on some stuff to deal with it, and I can’t be more specific now. We’re close. At this point, I don’t want to say anything.” He said there may be news by spring.

Asolo Hiking Boots FSN 85 For Men Regular Price: $145.00 $109.95 on sale

Asolo FSN 95 GTX Hiking Boots Mens Price: $187.50

Asolo TPS 535 Hiking Boots Mens Price: $199.95

Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, Manitou Incline

The last couple of weeks we have had awesome riding weather. It's been dropping into the 40s at night but the highs during the days have been in the 70s. I got out for a couple good lunch time rides and took the kids in the Burley to a couple activities. Wednesday nights I been riding by Colorado College 4 times when dropping off at Awanas and picking them back up after going home. A couple weeks ago a mountain lion was seen in the area. I've kept my eyes open but haven't seen anything more than a fox. One round trip is after dark but I don't think it would attach a bike and trailer. Today I just had Danielle with me so we rode some of the BMX jumps. Danielle loves doing them but Cassidy hates even little bumps.

Speaking of big cats, a tourist got some good pictures of 2 mountain lions in Garden of the Gods. They actually weren't far from my parents house. We never saw any when I was growing up. Something did tear our rabbit cages apart and get a couple rabbits. We always figured it was a coyote. Bears come around every so often. A couple falls ago a mama bear and a cub would come every night to eat plums. One morning my parents woke up to find half the tree broken off. Apparently reaching up into the branches was too much.

Although most of September is usually nice, we generally get at least one cold snap. So far this year we haven't even had frost. It has been great for what's left in my garden. I really like tomatoes fresh from the garden but there's only so many I can eat.

The downside to all the great weather is that it's been really dry. Friday a fire was started near the Manitou Incline. Fonk has posted a good picture of how close the fire was to the Incline. Even from the north end of town I could see a big plum of smoke. It was pretty windy but there were able to get it contained by Saturday. I believe Barr Trail was re-opened Monday or Tuesday. I did a long ride out east on Saturday. Soon after I passed Squirrel Creek Road on my way to Hanover, I noticed a plume of smoke back where I had come from. They managed to get it under control pretty quickly which was very good because the wind was gusting to 65 mph.

Instep Take 2 Bike Trailer QE126 Price: $96.96

Croozer Dog Bike Trailer Stroller Price: $300.00

Instep Take 2 Bike Trailer QE125 Price: $89.99

Labels: Colorado Springs, cycling, Manitou Incline, weather

Here are some more pictures I took with my new Olympus Stylus 750 camera when I hiked the Manitou Incline on Sunday.

Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, Manitou Incline

The last couple weeks the top 3 things that have brought people to this blog have been people wanting to know why cyclists shave their legs, directions to the Manitou Incline and endurance food.

I'm sure the reason I'm getting visits for why cyclists shave their legs is because my recent post about leg shaving.

I've written a few times about doing the Manitou Incline but I've never written how to get there. It's a 2,000 vertical foot scar running straight down Mount Manitou. I must live 6-7 miles away even by the way the bird flies and I can see it from my house. Just drive west until you're at the bottom of it. The important thing is to not park in the Pikes Peak Cog Railway's parking lots or their spaces on Ruxton. Either park in the Barr Trail parking lot or down Ruxton by the Iron Springs Chateau Melodrama. The Barr parking lot is full a lot of the time. In the summer you have generally have to be there before 6 AM to find a parking spot.

You can either start up the Incline on a trail out of the Barr parking lot that is at the opposite end from Barr Trail or the bottom of the Incline by cutting through one of the Pikes Peak Cog Railway parking lots. I doubt they like people doing that. At a 40 minute pace, the point the trail from the Barr parking lot joins the Incline is about 4 minutes from the bottom of the Incline. The middle part of the Manitou Incline is owned by the Pikes Peak Cog Railway and you are trespassing if you do it.

For how to eat for endurance sports, take a look at my post on how I use Hammer Nutrition products. I also have a post on what I did for nutrition during my 2006 solo Race Across America attempt. You can get 15% off your first order by using my customer number 10704. Even though I believe Hammer has the best fueling products and supplements on the market always race with what you trained with. Their products are different than the sugary sports drinks out there and can take a while to dial in if your used to the other stuff.

Labels: Hammer Nutrition, Manitou Incline, sports nutrition

The last few times I've done the Manitou Incline, I've taken Danielle along. She just turned 4 a couple weeks ago. Sometimes she hikes quite a long ways and other times she doesn't make it very far. The best she's done going up is to the Barr Trail cut-off which is about 2/3 of the way. I think that's quite impressive since that's a ways up the steep section. She might have made it a little farther but she cut her leg on a stake trying to pull herself up one of the really big steps. She has hiked all the way down Barr Trail from the top of the Incline but that time she had slept most of the way up.

As hard as it is, I'd rather carry her up in the Kelty pack than going down the trail. Between her and the pack, it's about 45 pounds and my knees get hammered on the way down. Last week she slept for a while on the way down. She was bouncing all over even though I was trying to walk carefully which strained my knees more than normal. See my post from a month ago to see her fast asleep in the pack.

Labels: Barr Trail, hiking, Manitou Incline

During the last couple weeks we've had some really nice weather. This weekend it was in the 70's which is about 20 degrees warmer than normal. I had a few things I wanted to get done on the house but I also wanted to take advantage of the weather.

Danielle, my almost 4 year old, had been wanting me to take her in the bike trailer. She was wanting to go over the "big bumps" which means the BMX jumps by the bike path along Mark Dabling. Cassidy wanted to go too but she hates the "big jumps". Danielle talked Julie into coming too. I hadn't been on the jumps recently but the 3 on the north end have always been rideable pulling the Burley although they make me a little nervous. The Burley seems really well designed and stable. I don't it would be smart to take less well made trailers over the them. This time the I found the BMXers had dug out the top of the 3rd and biggest jump. I caught a pedal and something caught on the Burley but I thought stopping could be worse than riding it out. Fortunately I stayed upright and the trailer didn't tip.

We rode up to Ice Lake and let the kids get their feet wet. On the way back home, Danielle wanted to do the jumps again. Cassidy wasn't about to go over them again so Julie held her while I did them a couple times. I don't think that's much over 14 miles round trip but pulling an extra 70 pounds made it feel longer.

At lot of times, I do the old Manitou Incline on Sunday afternoon because we go to my parents for lunch. The live almost to Manitou so it reduces my driving. Every time I go, Danielle has been begging to hike it with me. I decided to take her along since it was such a nice day and with the extra daylight we could take our time. It wasn't very far until she said she was tired. She actually had good reason to be tired. It was the neighbor boy's birthday and she had ridden 1 1/2 miles to a park and played for a couple hours.

I coaxed her along until we got to the Cog's No Trespassing sign and then I put her in the Kelty pack. For a few minutes, I kept hearing about how we were nearly to the top. I knew much better. After a bit there was silence and soon her head fell on my shoulder. She snored most of the way up. I've never taken over an hour and my best time has been 29 minutes. Sunday it took me almost an hour and 15 minutes. It's amazing what nearly an extra 40 pounds will do on something like that.

As soon as we got to the top, Danielle woke up and was full of energy. She was having fun running around and climbing on the rocks. It's about 2 1/2 miles down Barr Trail to the trailhead. She ended up hiking the whole way down! Actually she ran more than she hiked. About a mile from the bottom, we meet Julie coming up with Cassidy. Cassidy wanted me to carry her so I got some more backpacking training.

Puma Mens Complete Trail 100 Trail Running Shoes Price: $84.99

Asics Gel Trail Sensor 2 WR Trail Running Shoes For Women Regular Price: $110.00 $74.95 on sale

Puma Mens Sierra Trail Ii Trail Running Shoes Regular Price: $64.99 $47.93 on sale

Labels: hiking, Manitou Incline, mountain biking, weather

I use the Manitou Incline for cross-training during the off season. There's nothing like doing just over 2,000 vertical in a mile. Just before the false summit, the grade peaks out at 68%. The lower section isn't nearly as steep but it's plenty steep. Just before New Years a couple young guys were looking for steeper, longer hills to sled on. With all the snow we've had the ties on the Incline were buried so they decided to give the lower section a try. They sledded successfully for a while but it didn't end well. The Gazette had an article last week about their sledding experience.

Labels: Colorado Springs, Manitou Incline