UltraRob's Adventures

In its most recent issue, Backpacker magazine lists “The Ten Most Dangerous Hikes in America.” Some of the entries aren’t surprising: the brutally hot Bright Angel in the Grand Canyon, the well-named Maze in Utah.

The list also includes Barr Trail. For those who are constantly frustrated by the bad rap Barr often gets – “it’s a sidewalk;” “it’s among the easiest 14er hikes” – the idea that Barr is really a badass might be good news.

But lightning is the dangerous reason Barr made the list, and it’s always been a component in any hike on Pikes Peak.

My scariest hike on Barr occurred a few years ago during an early September thunder/snowstorm. I was leading a group of friends, all first-timers to the trail, from the summit back down to Barr Camp where we had booked the guest cabin for the night.

Storms weren’t forecast, and skies were uniformly gray when we left the summit, but about two miles down, it started snowing and thundering. When one of my friends asked innocently, “why are the (metal) trail signs humming?” I knew we were in trouble. We spread out and kept moving downhill and made it to the cabin unscathed. (That hike is forever known by my clever friends as “the day Deb tried to kill us.”)

Turns out we did a couple of things right – we started in the morning, when there is (usually) a lower risk of storms, and we spread out when the storm started. But when you’re above tree line on Pikes Peak in a lightning storm, it’s nearly impossible to make yourself follow the other conventional lightning safety tips: take off your pack and move away from it; crouch down and balance on the balls of your feet.

Instead, the impulse is to flee, which takes a while on Barr (unless you’re Matt Carpenter).

- Deb Acord

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, Pikes Peak

In 1999, a series of public meetings to gather input on opening Pikes Peak’s south slope to recreation was attended by eager outdoor enthusiasts. Using input from those meetings, a sweeping master plan for the entire mountain, including the south slope, was completed in 2000.

So why were residents streaming into a hot conference room at the Leon Young Service Center Tuesday night, 10 years later, to discuss the possible opening of the mountain’s south slope? This meeting was organized by Colorado Springs Utilities, the department in charge of the south slope and its collection of seven reservoirs fed by Pikes Peak snowmelt and rainwater.

The original plan was never implemented, resulting in this eerily similar gathering. “Wow. Déjà vu,” said one person attending.

Those who were at this meeting were hesitant to guess when or even if they would ever explore the south slope trails. Some utilities employees believe a 2012 opening could be possible. Others are more pessimistic, remembering the 25-year wait for the opening of the North Slope. And still others recall that disasters such as the terrorist attacks of 9-11 and the Hayman fire of 2002, both of which were used as excuses by CSU to keep the gates locked, could occur.

But still, the overall mood was of subdued optimism. Even though the south slope has never opened, advocates for its expanded use aren’t giving up. A citizen advisory board has been working for several months on the new Colorado Springs Utilities Watershed Access Plan.

Another public meeting is planned for January, 2010. And CSU is still gathering input about how the south slope should be used recreationally. Should there be camping? An overnight hut system? Rock climbing? Fishing? If you missed this meeting, let CSU know your feelings about this hidden treasure by calling 448-4800 or checking on plan updates at csu.org

- Deb Acord

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Labels: Colorado Springs, outdoors, Pikes Peak

Chris and I successfully summited Pikes Peak after hiking all Friday night. We had several hours of great moonlight followed by a snow storm. Instead of the round-trip taking our planned 12 hours, it took us 17.5 hours. By the time I got a nap, I had been up for 34.5 hours.

Related Link: Chis' hike report

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Labels: hiking, Pikes Peak, weather

My new job is going well. There's one thing though that I'd like improved. My view could be so much better. The top picture is the view from where I sit at my desk. The 2nd picture is the view if I move a few feet.

The tree outside the window would make a great Christmas tree and then my view of Pikes Peak wouldn't be blocked. If you could use it, I can give you directions. It does look good from outside so I'm guessing the property management wouldn't be happy if it disappeared.

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Labels: Pikes Peak, work

Out There has launched a new trail resource for Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak Region. They've also included some trails from the surrounding area. We have more and better trails than even most people in Colorado realize.

They've taken the Happy Trails that have appeared on Fridays in the Out There section of the Gazette and made them searchable online. You can select by area or difficulty. According to their blog post you're supposed to be able to select by specialty (biking, hiking with kids, cross country skiing, etc.) but I don't see it as a choice. You can type those things in the trail search box and get matching trails. They have added topo maps and hope to eventually include GPS waypoints.

I believe one of the guys behind singletracks lives here although I've never met him. In any case there are a lot of the good local trails listed. It's a mountain biking site but some of the information would be useful to hikers and runners.

Medicine Wheel has a few mountain biking trails online. They have a short description and include GPS file and maps made with TopoFusion.

MapMyRide and MapMyRun have GPS uploads of local trails too. The problem with most trails on MapMyRide and MapMyRun is they don't really provide much information other than the GPS route.

Some other resources for hikes in the Pikes Peak region are Colorado Guy and LocalHikes. There's also Trails.com. It's a subscription site but you can sign up for a 2 week free trial.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking, Pikes Peak

Thursday night was the 2nd Colorado Springs Watershed Access Meeting. At the first meeting on February 6th, Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) had said there would be no access to the South Slope of Pikes Peak which has been off-limits since 1913. Several groups had been working with CSU to be able to complete the last section of the 60-mile Ring the Peak Trail and one other trail through that area.

I had planned on going to Thursday's meeting but I've been sick this week. Wednesday I came home from work early and slept for over 4 hours. I crawled out of bed and lay on the couch for a little over an hour before going back to bed for the night. Friday's Gazette had an article on it.

City Council members and the mayor and have had discussions with CSU officials and they now have promised to allow "accommodating recreational activity". They outlined a process for creating trails in areas that have long been off limits with trail planning starting this spring. I think this is good news although there weren't many details. Fishermen weren't happy since they've been wanting the reservoirs opened to fishing and that doesn't seem part of the plan. I think there should be trail access through the area away from reservoirs but I don't want vehicle access to the area. The easier the access the more people that will go. The biggest thing though is people that will hike 5 miles to get somewhere generally leave less trash and take better care of an area than those that will only walk a 100 yards.

Labels: hiking, mountain biking, Pikes Peak, trail access

The revision to Management Plan for the Pike and San Isabel National Forests isn't the only issue that could affect trail access in the Pikes Peak region. The other issue is the Colorado Springs Watershed Access Policy. Not only would it affect mountain bikers but all trail users. Two meetings will be held this month and the first is tomorrow night from 6-8 PM. The next meeting will be Thursday, February 22 from 6-8 PM. Both meetings will be at the Leon Young Service Center.

The draft policy was presented to the public on November 28th, 2006. The Gazette had an article about it on December 13. At the meeting a map was shown that had 3 different zones on it. Zone 1 has no public access, Zone 2 has trail corridor access only and Zone 3 has limited public access. It's a little hard for me to figure out exactly where the boundaries of the zones are on the map since there's not much detail at least on the online version. In any case Zone 1 was drawn to not only include Coloraod Springs Utilities (CSU) property but big sections of Pike National Forest Land. Some of these areas include popular mountain biking and hiking trails. It seems that areas around the Forester Trail and Jones Park, the old Manitou Incline, Camerons Cone, etc. could be in restricted areas.

Jim Yount wrote the following in an e-mail to the Medicine Wheel Group

Scott Campbell of CSU has stated that the map was misunderstood and frustrating to those at the 1st meeting and that it is being revised for the 2nd public meeting. The revision will supposedly zone only CSU land (not National Forest) and he also has stated that the placing of Zone 2 corridors is ongoing and that all "accepted use" trails on CSU property will have Zone 2 corridors around them. However, CSU does manage National Forest Land, so they still might restrict access on land coincident with the first map but just not tell you that during the public process because it is separate from the Watershed Access Plan (I'm not a cynic!).

However, it is up to us to ensure that the trails we love are Zone 2 and not simply leave it up to CSU to define "accepted use." For example, he stated that official (numbered, like 701 for example) Forest Service Trails are "accepted use," as is Barr Trail, but that we shouldn't expect "social" trails to become Zone 2.

Although the South Slope watershed has been off-limts since 1913, several groups have worked with CSU and the Forest Service to come with a Pikes Peak Master Plan. It included two trails through the South Slope. One would connect the last 4.5 miles of the 60-mile Ring the Peak trail and the other one would connect Cheyenne Canon area trails with Barr Camp. I'd like to see those trails happen although I think it's good to have some of the South Slope restricted. I want the area to be protected and no more roads built. I don't think it's necessary though to make parts of the South Slope and west of Pikes Peak into a wildernes area like the Central Colorado Wilderness Coalition wants. As part of their Wilderness and Mountain Biking Guide, IMBA has a section on how to preserve areas like this without banning mountain bikes

Labels: hiking, mountain biking, Pikes Peak, trail access