UltraRob's Adventures

There was really good turn out today to build the Zipline trail. Over 30 people worked different parts of the day with Medicine Wheel. Zipline will connect the Section 16 parking lot to the Bear Creek Main Trail. The map above shows the section of Zipline that is now built.

Here are a few more photos.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking, running

I'm fortunate to live where there are plenty of trails for mountain biking, hiking, running and even cross-country skiing on the occasions we actually get enough snow. Now Medicine Wheel is building another trail.

The new trail is currently being called Zipline. It will be an important connector between Section 16/Red Rock Canyon/ and the Bear Creek Main Trail.

I frequently connect between those trails. Now it means riding about a mile on a narrow, paved section of Gold Camp Road. It will be much nicer to ride singletrack to make the connection.

This Sunday, May 31st, is a trail building day for Zipline. No previous trail building experience is needed and all tools are provided. I've worn blisters building trail so you may want to take a pair of gloves.

There are 3 different shifts starting at 10 AM, Noon or 4 PM. Please send an email to Jim at jim@medwheel.org so he knows you're coming. See the Medicine Wheel page for more details.

Related Link: If You Build It, They Will Come

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking, running

Professional photographer and geologist Steve Weaver displayed his beautiful landscape photographs at the White Acres celebration last Sunday. Steve has offered to donate 40% of any sales of his photographs through the coming week to the White Acres - Section 16 Fund. $75,000 of private money needs to be raised by November 15th.

A couple photographs of his that I really like are of Arches National Park and Badwater. He has many more beautiful photos.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking, White Acres

It is finally time to do some celebrating over the White Acres Open Space deal. Yesterday Colorado Springs made the final approval to acquire it for open space. It has been nearly a year since I first attended a TOPS Working Committee meeting on it.

I spoke in favor of it at the Colorado Springs council meeting a couple weeks ago when they voted unanimously for it. Yesterday's vote was just part of the required process and on the consent calendar. The 2nd vote though does allow a chance for a decision to be changed.

To celebrate the approval there will be a party and picnic this Sunday, May 3rd any time from 1-4 PM. Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the afternoon. It will be at the pavilion on White Acres. There will be music, hiking and an art show and sale benefiting White Acres.

The pavilion is just up from the 5-way intersection of South 26th Street, Wheeler, Lower Gold Camp, Bear Creek Road, and Gold Camp Road. Since there is limited parking at the pavilion, please park on the gravel strip on the south side of Lower Gold Camp just east of the intersection. You can see the intersection in my Google map of White Acres.

Because of the limited TOPS funds this year, Friends of Red Rock Canyon and the Palmer Land Trust are cooperating in an effort to raise $75,000 for White Acres by November 15th. Any extra money raised will go toward the $640,000 needed to purchase Section 16 soon after. You can donate now online through the White Acres Pikes Peak Community Foundation Fund.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking, White Acres

If you're looking for a rain jacket for your outdoor adventures, there are 3 main kinds of materials. Membranes, coated fabrics and vinyl.

Vinyl is cheap and keeps water out but also does a really job of keeping your sweat in. Membrane fabrics are the most breathable. Coated fabrics breath somewhat but not as well as the membrane fabrics.

The 2 main membrane fabrics are Gore-Tex and eVent. Gore-Tex now comes in a couple different types. I've seen lab tests that say that eVent is more breathable than Gore-Tex but probably not by enough to make a big difference in the real world. Gore-Tex and eVent are also very durable because they're made of 2 or more layers.

If you're working out at a high heart rate, you'll still have moisture build up even with Gore-Tex and eVent. Still you shouldn't get totally soaked and keeping cold water out will help keep you warm.

The advantage of jackets made with coated fabrics is they don't cost as much. The big name outdoor jacket makers such as North Face, Columbia and Arcteryx use different names for their fabrics. Jackets with coated fabric will become less waterproof as the coating wears off.

Although there are only a few different types of fabrics, the design of the jackets can make a big difference in how well the jacket performs. Many jackets provide vents on the upper back and also zippered armpit vents. Some jackets have elastic around the wrists and others also provide velco so you can better control the fit.

A jacket with a hood will keep water from getting in around the back of the neck. Some hoods are removable. Personally I don't like the feel of an attached hood when I turn my head. I get a jacket with a removable hood and don't use it. I have been using the Mountain Hardware Windstopper hat. It's not ideal for hard rain but rain in Colorado doesn't generally last too long. I used similar gear on an Alaska expedition and backpacking in rain in Washington and it worked fairly well.

I've long used Columbia jackets. They used to fit me well and they warranted them when zippers would break after 4-5 years of hard use. Honestly I wouldn't have complained if they just told me I had worn the jacket out. The last time I needed a new jacket, the Columbia jackets no longer fit me well.

I ended up getting a North Face Triclimate jacket and really like it. I've also used jackets that consist of a separate shell and a fleece liner. I rarely zip them together but I feel they fit better than trying to combine separate fleece and shells.

The great video above describing waterproof jackets is from Webtogs. They carry quality outdoor gear including North Face Jackets in the UK and ship throughout Europe.

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Labels: gear, hiking, skiing

Update 4/14/09: White Acres acquisition was passed unanimously by the Colorado Springs City Council. It won't be effective until the 2nd reading of the ordinance on April 28th but it should just be on the consent calendar. Now Friends of Red Rock Canyon Open Space need to raise $75k by December but the Palmer Foundation is helping out.

---

The Colorado Springs City Council will vote on purchasing White Acres for open space tomorrow. This is the most important vote. There's support on council for the purchase but there's also some uncertainty.

Read through my past White Acres posts for more info about it. The White Acres Google Map shows how it fits in with Red Rock Canyon Open Space and Section 16.

If possible, please come to show your support for White Acres Open Space. The meeting is at the Colorado Springs City Hall April 14th at 1:00 PM. White Acres is the first 2 items of new business on the agenda. There are several other items before new business so it's hard to tell how soon they'll get to White Acres.

Fundraising Event

In related news, Pizzeria Rustica will donate the proceeds from its Earth Week Passport to Tuscany" wine dinner toward the White Acres acquisition. The five course dinner will feature five selected wines from Tuscany/Umbria paired with five Tuscan dishes.

WHEN: Monday , April 20 at 6:00 PM
WHERE:Pizzeria Rustica 2527 W. Colorado Avenue
COST: $49 plus tax and tip
RESERVATIONS: Coaltrain Wine & Spirits 475-9700

Additional donations will be accepted.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking, White Acres

This past week, I've enjoyed reading what readers would buy with a $50 gift card and what adventure they'd use it on. Mike Panic is the lucky winner of the $50 cycling and outdoor gear giveaway. Congratulations!

This is what he said.

Thank you! I've been looking / wanting a new travel bag, my Thor MX bag is too big to take for most week-long trips and I'm going to St. Thomas in June and need a manageable bag to carry a week's worth of clothing. While I should be buying new running shoes or a new rear derailleur for my road bike, I feel this Gravis bag in Rebel Yellow would be the best use of the $50 for me right now to help me schlep my gear to a sunny island this summer. I'll even send you a postcard!

Oh, I still need to purchase Thule LB50 load bars to complete the roof rack system I pieced together this winter.

Mike, I'm looking forward to the postcard! To claim your gift card, send me an email with your choice of cycling and outdoor gift card.

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Labels: cycling, gear, giveaway, hiking, mountain biking, running, skiing

There was some more good news for White Acres this past week. On Thursday the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board unanimously approved TOPS acquisition of White Acres as open space. I was there along with about another dozen people to support the acquisition.

The next meeting about the White Acres open space acquisition will be on April 14th with the city council. This will most likely be the most important meeting. There is some support for White Acres on city council but also some uncertainty.

Friends of Red Rock Canyon have decided to not begin fundraising until city council has approved the acquisition. Originally they had planned to start immediately but felt there could be some issues with that. They need to raise $75,000 this year as part of the deal. Even so they do have commitments from some large donors already.

I've put together a Google Map of White Acres that also shows Section 16 and Red Rock Canyon Open Space. I don't know the exact boundaries especially for Red Rock Canyon but I think I got them fairly close. It also has some of the area trails.

If you're on Facebook, I also created a Save White Acres Cause. You can use it to help spread the word. It'll also be another way to get updates and share information on White Acres.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking, White Acres

Update 3/16/09: The gear winner has been announced.

Everyone loves to get some cool new gear. It's even better if it's free. You have a chance to win some free gear this week.

I am giving away a $50 gift certificate to the winner's choice of these cycling and outdoor stores. Deadline to enter is Sunday, March 15th. To enter use the search box to find your gear. Then tell me in the comments below what gear you'll get if you win and what adventure you'll use it on.

You don't have to limit the price of your gear but if it's more than $50 you'll need to use some of your own money. Put some thought into your comment because the winner will be mostly random but if you write something I like you could increase your odds.

The winner will be announced on Monday, March 16th. The winner will have until Wednesday, March 18th to contact me with the choice of gift certificate. It'll be easiest if you pick one that has electronic certificates.

Subscribe to the blog feed so you don't miss out on future giveaways.

Good Luck!

Update: I really intend for this to be easy to enter. As long as you aren't lame and don't try, you'll have a good chance at winning since I'll pick a random number. You just need to write something simple like I'd buy a headlamp so I can go on a moonlight hike. If you do write something really cool, I'll enter you twice.

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Labels: cycling, gear, giveaway, hiking, mountain biking, running, skiing

I've been blogging quite a bit about White Acres. Hopefully it's not growing old for non-locals. It's a property I really don't want to be developed. It's visible from much of Colorado Springs and is surrounded by land that won't be developed. Red Rock Canyon Open Space is on the north, Section 16 is to the west and Bear Creek Canyon Park is to the southeast. There are a few houses hidden in the trees in Bear Creek Canyon but they're barely noticeable.

The photo above from SaveWhiteAcres.org and the GPS track to the right from one of my recent rides show why I'm passionate about this land. Without the critical section of social trail through the property, it wouldn't be possible to make the big trail loop with Red Rock Canyon and Section 16. Even though the development plan seems to allow for the trail, having houses would ruin the beauty and solitude.

Last week the White Acres annexation petition was postponed a 2nd time because a deal to buy it for open space seemed possible. An article in Tuesday's Gazette led many to believe the White Acres deal was approved. That is not the case. Although a deal is in fact on the table, the article ends by saying the deal still needs approval. It seems not everyone read that far.

The asking price for White Acres has been dropped from $1.375 million to $1 million. More important is that the full purchase price isn't required now like it was when city council voted it down last year. Instead the purchase will be spread over 4 years.

One key thing that wasn't mentioned in the Gazette article is that this year, $75,000 of private money will need to be raised by December. Only $25,000 of TOPS funds are being committed this year by the city. If the private fundraising fails, the whole deal would most likely fall through. This is the only year private funding is required.

Friends of Red Rock Canyon will be doing the fundraising. They plan to have online donations set up by next week. In the unfortunate event that the deal doesn't go through, donations will be used for the eventual purchase of Section 16.

Although the purchase will be spread over 4 years, the remaining property will be leased for $1 until all parcels are purchased. The farthest west parcel will be the 1st purchased followed by the hogback. The south parcel along Gold Camp Road will be the 3rd and the 4th parcel will be the north parcel along Gold Camp. This means the land least suited to development will be bought first with the best land for development being left to last.

A 5th parcel will be donated which is a slice for the extension of 31st street that's been on the master plan for decades. I don't think it's likely 31st will be extended but the city wants to keep it's options open. Land bought with TOPS funds can only be used for open space. A 6th parcel isn't being bought by the city. The house at the 5 way stop at 26th, Gold Camp and Bear Creek Road is on this parcel.

I was at the TOPS Working Committee meeting yesterday morning. There were over a dozen citizens there in favor of the White Acres Acquisition. If anyone was against it, they didn't say anything. The committee voted unanimously to recommend acquisition with very little discussion.

The next vote will be by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board next week on Thursday March 12th. From what I heard, they will support acquisition.

The bigger unknown is whether city council will support the deal. I've heard there is support for it but its tough to know. They are dealing with a lot of other issues. It'll be key for everyone to make it to the council meeting on April 14th if at all possible.

Key Dates

THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 7:30 AM — Parks & Recreation Advisory Board
Parks & Recreation Building, 1401 Recreation Way

TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 1:00 PM — Colorado Springs City Council
City Hall, 107 N. Nevada Avenue

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking, White Acres

As I mentioned in my first impressions Garmin Edge 705 Review, I'm trying out some of the GPS software. So far I haven't tried to navigate unfamiliar places or improve my training.

I've been experimenting with making cool maps of my rides to improve my ride reports. Hopefully I'll be able to provide some more detailed route information for those of you that want to head out on your own adventures.

One of the things I've done is use TopoFusion to geotag my photos from a mountain bike ride on the Falcon Trail in the Air Force Academy. I then linked them in Google Earth. From there I created a page that embeds a Google Map of the Falcon Trail.

Up in the upper right corner, you can choose to view Map, Satellite, Hybrid, Terrain, Earth, USGS Topo and USGS Aerial. I like the Earth one which gives a 3D view the best. It requires that the Google Earth plugin be installed so I haven't made it the default view. I've also seen the trail and the clickable photos disappear. Reloading the page seems to be needed to get them back. The view I like 2nd best is Terrain so I've made it the default.

How do you like the Falcon Trail map? How can I make it better?

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking

Two weeks ago the White Acres annexation petition was postponed for 2 weeks because of negotiations. Now the petition for annexation has been postponed until April 28th.

A possible deal is now on the table offering the City's TOPS program the opportunity to purchase White Acres in successive parts over four years and at a lower price than before. Friends of Red Rock Canyon will be raising money to cover most of the amount for 2009 since TOPS money is very limited.

The deal must now be formally approved by the TOPS Working Committee, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, and the Colorado Springs City Council. The meetings at which approval will be considered are:

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 7:30 AM — TOPS Working Committee
Parks & Recreation Building, 1401 Recreation Way

THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 7:30 AM — Parks & Recreation Advisory Board
Parks & Recreation Building, 1401 Recreation Way

TUESDAY, APRIL 14 or 28 (?), 1:00 PM — Colorado Springs City Council
City Hall, 107 N. Nevada Avenue

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking, White Acres

I went to the Colorado Springs city council meeting this afternoon because of the White Acres annexation proposal. Read my post from Sunday for some background information. Mr. Howard of Proverbs 3.5 LLC got up and asked that the presentation of the annexation proposal be postponed for 2 weeks. He said there had been some productive talks with City Parks and he wanted to continue those.

There was some discussion about whether to postpone it since quite a few people were there to discuss it. Scott Hente excused himself because he's done business with Mr. Howard in the past. Jerry Heimlicher was the only one to vote against postponing.

Heimlicher was the one that wrote the guest column in the Westside Pioneer. In it he stated he couldn't support development of White Acres. The council took a recess after voting to postpone.

Heimlicher came back and was talking to a small group of us. He said he didn't think it would be necessary to come back in 2 weeks and that it was a good thing. He also said he thought if the annexation had gone to a vote that it would have been rejected. He said he really couldn't say more than that.

I also talked to Chris Lieber from Colorado Springs Parks and Recreation. He seemed positive about what could happen with White Acres. We mainly talked about the 531 mile ride he and his family took on their quad bike from the Atlantic headed west. His kids are 9 and 10.

I'll be on the watch for any news about White Acres and will post it when I find it. If it's on the council agenda again in 2 weeks, I'll try going and getting the details.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking, White Acres

I've written about possible development of White Acres a few times over the last year. The developer's petition for the annexation of White Acres is scheduled to be presented to the Colorado Springs City Council this Tuesday afternoon.

If you don't know the background on White Acres, you can start with my report of the pre-annexation meeting in December and my post about whether development is a bluff. also Councilman Jerry Heimlicher post in the January 8th Westside Pioneer gives some insight into why the city hasn't bought the land for open space.

The meeting schedule is posted online. The petition for annexation is also online although I don't see anything other than legalese.

The Council meeting is this Tuesday, February 10th at 1:00 PM in the Colorado Springs City Hall, 107 N. Nevada Avenue, upstairs in the Council Chambers. Although the meeting agenda looks long, it is expected that the White Acres annexation will be near the beginning of the meeting. I plan to go down to see how it goes.

The petition for annexation is the first formal step in the annexation process. City Council frequently accepts petitions for annexation as a routine matter, although Council can deny the petition at this stage.

Acceptance of the petition is NOT the same as approval of the annexation. If the petition is accepted, the application is referred to the planning department which studies the proposed annexation, reviews various reports, accepts public comment, and makes a recommendation to the Planning Commission. Planning Commission then makes a recommendation to Council to either approve or deny the annexation. This whole process takes months.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking, White Acres

Another year has rolled by. It's hard to believe I've been writing UltraRob's Adventures for over 3 years. Here are the top viewed blog posts during 2008.

10. Lance Armstrong Pre-Leadville 100 Videos

These are a couple videos of Lance Armstrong before the 2008 Leadville 100. See the #6 post for videos of the race.

9. RAAM Finisher Randy Van Zee Killed

This is such a sad story. Randy Van Zee was a huge inspiration when he finished RAAM in 2004 with a cracked pelvis.

8. Shaving Legs, Manitou Incline Directions And Food

This post also points to a few other posts but it has been popular with people looking for directions to the Manitou Incline.

7. 7 Mountain Biking Confidence Killers

I wrote this post after riding in Moab with a neglected bike. A poorly maintained bike along with other things will hurt your confidence on a mountain bike.

6. Dave Wiens and Lance Armstrong Leadville Videos

This post has several videos of Dave Wiens and Lance Armstrong battling it out at the 2008 Leadville 100. The training for the Leadville 100 started Lance on the path to his current pro road racing comeback.

5. Historic Dewey Bridge on Kokopelli Trail Burns

A boy playing with matches started a fire that destroyed the landmark bridge near Moab. I've driven by it many times on trips to Moab and rode across it when I did the Kokopelli Trail from Fruita to Moab. When I was to the 2008 24 Hours of Moab, I saw the little bit of it that remains.

4. How I Use Hammer Nutrition and E-CAPS Products

This post has been popular since I wrote it when I was training for the 2006 Race Across America. I still use the Hammer Nutrition products pretty much the same way. My nutrition during the 2006 RAAM was only slightly different.

3. Leadville 100 MTB FAQ

I started writing answers to questions about the Leadville 100 last year. I have some more answers partially written and need to get them finished and posted.

2. Wiens Wins #5 in Record Time, Landis 2nd

This post has photos I took of Dave Wiens and Floyd Landis during the 2007 Leadville 100. The post was popular when I first posted it in 2007 and it became popular again when it was announced that Lance was racing in 2008.

1. Top 5 Reasons Cyclists Shave Their Legs

The question I'm asked most about cycling is why do cyclists shave their legs. The 5 reasons I posted continue to be very popular.

4 of the 10 viewed posts last year were about the Leadville 100. Also popular were my Leadville 100 photos from 2006 and 2007. If I get picked in the Leadville 100 lottery, I should be back there racing for my 6th finish.

I did leave out one post in the top 10 that wasn't outdoor or cycling related. A few years ago, I installed a remote starter in my wife's mini-van.

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Labels: cycling, hiking, mountain biking

In my report on the White Acres pre-annexation meeting, I said it felt like Infinity Land Company was trying to force something. Email conversations with those that know more details seem to confirm it. Some believe that they are trying to use public opinion to be able to sell the land for a higher price.

Another developer doesn't see how they can get money to do the development. Permits for new houses are a tiny fraction of what they've been the last several years. At least one other project that Paul Howard of Infinity is involved with is in foreclosure.

It seems the city has a fair amount of control. I asked Mr. Howard what the effect on development would be if the city council reject annexation. He said they would develop as part of the county. I thought they needed the land annexed to build as many houses as they want to but he didn't answer that.

An article in the Gazette answers that question though. They would only be able to develop 8 lots if it's not annexed by the city. It seems like that would make it tough to make much of a profit on the development.

Although it appears less likely White Acres will be developed anytime soon, I'm still going to keep a close eye on it. I still think it's a good idea to take the actions I listed in my pre-annexation meeting post.

Mark, who posted the great video of White Acres last week, also video taped the pre-annexation and has been uploading clips of peoples comments to YouTube. He has one of Cyndy Kulp accusing Mr. Howard of blackmail.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking, White Acres

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.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, Manitou Incline

Last night I went to the pre-application meeting for annexing White Acres. Read my post on White Acres from a couple days ago to see video and learn more about it.

City council rejected buying White Acres for open space during a closed session in September. Howard says he and the church would still rather see the land left as open space. He said even if they submit the annexation application, they will pull it if something can still be worked out for open space. Of course the church and Infinity want to get as much money as they can.

I believe the church would like to see it open space. Infinity is just doing business. City council made their decision behind closed doors so we don't know their side of the story. Somehow though it feels like Infinity is trying to force something.

David Litzelman from city planning talked about the process for annexation. John Maynard from NES, Inc. spoke about their preliminary look at how the land could be developed. Paul Howard from Infinity Land Corporation, half owner of the property, talked about the open space negotiations and responded to most of the questions. Although there was a representative from Bethany Baptist Church, the long time owner, in the audience, he didn't speak.

The Development Plan

The plan they are talking about would have townhomes near the 5 way stop at 26th, Gold Camp and Bear Creek Road. Currently there's a house on the corner. Howard said something about 6-8 units. I'm not sure how many townhomes would be in a unit although I've seen a number 16-22 total townhomes.

Up the hillside toward the south would be single family homes. Currently there's a pavilion in this area. There would be approximately 27 lots that would be around 1/2 acre.

They wouldn't be able to develop the hogback because of the city's hillside ordinance. They'd be willing to leave the area on the backside open space. Howard didn't know if it would be given to city parks or how it would be managed.

Peoples Concerns

Besides the obvious impact to the views and wildlife, peoples biggest concerns were traffic and water. Gold Camp Road the east would be able to handle traffic but I don't see 26th being able to handle much traffic. There were questions both about water for the homes and also how runoff would impact the surrounding area. Someone brought up a concern about increased risk of a brush fire and greater impact if there is one.

I asked what Infinity would do if the city council rejected annexation. Howard said they would go to El Paso county with development.

If the property isn't inside city limits, I don't believe Colorado Springs Utilities is required to supply water. It seems it could be difficult to develop it without annexation. I don't know much about development so does a reader have any insights on it?

Price Negotiations

According to Howard, the city had the property appraised by a Denver company in March. That appraisal was $800,000. Infinity thought that was too low and wanted another appraisal. An appraisal in July came in at $2.1 million. He said they have a bank appraisal for $3.2 million. He said they would have sold White Acres for $1.375 million.

Even at $1.375 million, the land would be $29,000 an acre. The city paid $16,000 an acre for Red Rocks Canyon Open Space. Howard said that less of Red Rocks would have been able to be developed so they aren't asking that much.

How You Can Help

• Add your name to the Save White Acres petition. They will be giving the list to the city.
• Help spread the word that this land is about to be developed. Many people don't know it's private property and about to be developed.
• Email Chris Lieber of TOPS and city parks
• Contact your city council member

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking, White Acres

We only had a little bit of snow at my house yesterday but 15 miles to the north there was over a foot of snow. Tomorrow is supposed to be cold again with snow showers. Today was an gorgeous mid 60 degree day.

Julie and I went for a hike in Red Rock Canyon Open Space. Our 4 year old was in the pack on my back. The hike put her to sleep.

I looked out at Red Rocks Canyon from my parent's kitchen every day growing up. It's such a beautiful place! It looks better now than it did then since the landfill is closed. It would be a shame if houses get built on White Acres along the upper part.

After the hike, I rode my bike over to pick up my kindergartener from school. After we rode back home, I rode some more. I felt good most of the ride. At the end, I was on empty but it was a good feeling.

Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, Red Rocks Open Space

It had been a while since I'd heard much on White Acres. It's a section of land for sale bordering Red Rock Canyon Open Space and Section 16. The video above really shows what a beautiful area it is. I also posted several photos of White Acres the beginning of June.

I attended a TOPS meeting in May for public input on buying it for open space. At the meeting in May, no cost for the property was discussed. According to an article in the November 20th Westside Pioneer, Bethany Baptist Church and Infinity Land Corporation wanted substantially more than the $16,000 an acre paid for Red Rock Open Space.

The city wasn't willing to pay the asking price so plans are going forward to develop it. They're also asking the city to annex the property. It seems that allows more houses to be built than if it remained outside city limits.

The plan is for 16-22 townhomes along Gold Camp Road. Approximately 27 single family homes would be built on the backside of the ridge and be visible from Section 16 and Red Rock Canyon Open Space. The ridgeline and hogback would be left undeveloped.

On the map to the left from Friends of Red Rock Canyon, Gold Camp road is the curved border on the east side of White Acres. The curved part starts at the 5 way stop sign on 26th street on the popular bike ride up 26th and Gold Camp.

How You Can Help

• There's a meeting for public comment this Wednesday evening, December 3rd, from 6 to 8 at Midland Elementary School, 2110 West Broadway Street. I plan to be there.
• Add your name to the Save White Acres petition. They will be giving the list to the city.
• Help spread the word that this land is about to be developed. Many people don't know it's private property and about to be developed.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking, White Acres

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.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, Manitou Incline

Medicine Wheel has proposed a new singletrack to connect between the Bear Creek Main Trail and the Section 16 trailhead. Currently there is a trail that drops down into Bear Creek, crosses the road and then climbs back up and meets the Main Trail. I've never liked that trail much and the proposed trail looks better.

Often when I ride the Palmer/Section 16 loop, Intemann Trail or Red Rocks Canyon / White Acres, I ride home from the Section 16 trail head. I generally just ride up Gold Camp Road to connect to the Bear Creek Main Trail. It would be nice to stay off the road.

If you support the approval of this new trail, please send an email to JHaley@springsgov.com. The parks board meeting to discuss it is next week on Thursday, October 9th.

The White Acres land that is for sale is close to the Section 16 trailhead. I haven't seen any updates recently about TOPS buying for open space. I've been there a couple times recently and someone has put up signs that say Save White Acres.

You can e-mail Chris at TOPS your thoughts on that land.

Another related mountain biking item is that Medicine Wheel is restarting the mountain bike patrol. They're having a meeting tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 at Trinity Brewing Company on 1466 Garden of the Gods Road.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking

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.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, Manitou Incline

Update 12/1/08: The city has decided not to buy White Acres for open space and it looks like development is moving forward. Development still isn't approved so make your voice heard.

Last week The Gazette, our local paper, had an article about White Acres. I've written about the possible open space a couple times. My last post had several pictures of White Acres.

According to the Gazette article, Bethany Church would like to see the land undeveloped. The church needs a lot of maintenance and needs money. Since TOPS wasn't initially interested in buying the property, they've partnered with Infinity Land Corp. and have a plan for 28 houses.

My 5 year old went with me to the TOPS meeting a couple months ago when White Acres was discussed. We were riding at Red Rock Canyon last Sunday. She asked me if that was where we needed to stop people from building houses. She was on the trailer bike and I took her up there. I certainly got a workout!

It really would be sad if this great spot was developed. You can let TOPS know what you think by sending email to Chris Lieber.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking, White Acres

I didn't spend as much time on my bike on our 3rd day camping near Lake City. I only got about an hour spin. We also did about a 4 mile hike to Thompson Lake. I had my 3 year old in the backpack so I got a good workout.

My brother that is 6 years older than me was the one that got me into backpacking and mountaineering when I was a teenager. He now lives in Ohio. He and his family arrived in Lake City late the night before. His family and my parents came out to where my sister's and my families were camped for dinner and a marshmallow roast.



















Related Links: Camping Trip Near Lake City, CO Day 1 | Camping Trip Near Lake City, CO Day 2

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Labels: Colorado, hiking, mountain biking

Last month I supported the Fat Cyclist and his wife, who has cancer, by donating earnings from this site for 2 days. Just after the fund was set up to help them, Fatty announced he would be holding a "triathalon" on June 21st to help the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Since not everybody can go to Utah for the "triathalon", there will be a raffle. For every $5 donated to the Lance Armstrong Foundation using MikeRoadie’s donation page, you will get one ticket. Donate before June 21st and be sure to read the detailed instructions on how to make sure you're included in the raffle. There will be some great prizes given out.

I won't be going to Utah and I'm not going to enter the raffle. I'm going to wait to the end of June and donate 20% of the earnings from this site. Most of the earnings come from people buying some great gear. Head over and search for some new gear. Buy some gear and you'll be helping out cancer patients.

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Labels: cycling, hiking, skiing

Update 12/1/08: The city has decided not to buy White Acres for open space and it looks like development is moving forward. Development still isn't approved so make your voice heard.

Update 12/8/08: Maybe development of White Acres is a bluff by the land development company to get the city to pay more. Even if it is, I think the city needs know people don't want it developed.

The Friends of Red Rock Canyon have created a page with more information about the White Acres land. This is the land near Section 16 and Red Rocks Open Space that is for sale. A couple weeks ago, I went to the TOPS meeting to discuss buying it for open space.

The map they have shows how Red Rocks Open Space, Section 16 and White Acres fit together. The curved White Acres boundary on the east is the location of Gold Camp Road. The social trail that connects Red Rocks Open Space and Section 16 is about 2/3 of the way from Gold Camp Road to the Section 16 boundary on the north. It goes into Section 16 before the south boundary of White Acres.

You can still e-mail your comments to TOPS. Below are some more pictures of the area.













These pictures are from farther north in Red Rocks Open Space.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking, White Acres

The El Paso county commissioners are considering selling some of our great parks because of budget problems. They are proposing to lay off most parks employees and close 2 nature centers. In 2003 the county parks had $2.3 million from the general fund and with their proposal it will have nothing from the general fund.

This coming Tuesday morning at 9 AM the Board of County Commissioners will take public comment on the proposals. If you can't make the meeting, you can also contact your commissioner.

Here are the details from the Trails and Open Space Coalition

Board of County Commissioners Work Session, Tuesday, May 27, 2008, 9:00 am, 27 E. Vermijo, 3rd Floor.

The BOCC will take public comments on potential budget cuts for 2008 at this work session. As we all know, the county is facing a severe budget deficit. Part of its solution will severely impact the county parks department. This is your opportunity to show up and express your opinion on the proposed cuts.

Essentially, the proposal will zero out the general fund support for parks leaving the department to survive only on a small lottery allocation and developer fees. This would save approximately $560,000. In 2003, the department was operating with a $2.3M general fund budget.

Here are the proposed cuts:

Lay off 5 general fund full time staff members ($168,000), close Bear Creek and Fountain Creek Nature Centers including laying off 5 full time staff members ($170,000), cancelling all landscape contracts and trying to do the work internally ($67,000), further reducing operations by $155,000, laying off 5 lottery full time staff members ($110,000 - not part of the $560,000).

They have also been asked to review the potential sale of park property.

We have a spectacular county park system used by thousands of residents and visitors. Losing this number of employees will take away years of experience that cannot be replaced. The department will become a maintenance only department operating in essentially a caretaker operation. Is this what we want? No.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking

I did make it to the TOPS Meeting yesterday for the presentation on the White Acres/Bethany Baptist Church parcel near Section 16 and Red Rock Canyon Open Space. The church is interested in selling the property. It seems there is a developer that is interested in developing about 25 lots plus town homes along Gold Camp road.

There was a short presentation that included pictures of the area. The TOPS committee has had some discussions about only purchasing the area along the hogback or ridge and allowing development along Gold Camp. Although I think the ridge is the most important piece, I really don't want to see any development on that land.

If you don't know where that land is, it is near the 5 way stop where 26th street drops into Bear Creek Canyon. It is the land along Gold Camp Road to the right if you're headed into Bear Creek Canyon. It extends up and over the ridge. You can see a map of the parcel on the county assessor’s parcel info.

The key thing about the property is there's a trail that runs along the ridge that connects from the old landfill road to near the Section 16 parking lot. This allows for some bigger loops with trails in Red Rocks Open Space and the Section 16/Intemann Trails. There are some great views from there. The pictures I've added are from late in the day in November so the lighting isn't very good.

There were only 5 people there including me to comment on the White Acres/Bethany Baptist Church parcel. All were in favor of it being purchased for open space. A couple said they thought some development was alright. I made it clear I didn't want any development.

Jim Yount from Medicine Wheel asked if people could comment by e-mail since he hadn't been able to notify people until yesterday. The committee said they would welcome email comments. They should be sent to Chris Lieber. Send me an email if you would like his email address.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking, White Acres

White Acres, which is owned by the Bethany Baptist Church, adjoins the south end of Red Rock Canyon Open Space and the east side of Section 16. It is between 40 and 50 acres spanning the hogbacks and is visually prominent from the east as well as from many places in Section 16. The popular informal trail which links the Lion Trail in Red Rock Canyon Open Space to Section 16 trails crosses White Acres.

This informal trail is part of my favorite loop in Red Rock Canyon Open Space. It is a narrow trail along the top of the ridge over looking the city. I can't get Blogger to let me add the picture I have of the trail but it's the bottom picture in this post from November.

The Church is now interested in selling White Acres; and an application for TOPS to acquire the property has been submitted. There will be an update on White Acres at the TOPS Working Committee meeting this afternoon, Wednesday, May 21st. It would be a real bummer to lose this pieced of land to development.

The update on White Acres is scheduled for 5:15 PM and it would be a good idea to arrive earlier in case other agenda items are shorter than scheduled. The meeting is in the Parks Department building, 1401 Recreation Way, in the Palmer Room. I'm not sure I can make it out of work in time to make it to the meeting, but I'm going to try.

To get to the Parks Department building, take Uintah to Glen Street just east of I-25, go north a block on Glen, then go west a block on San Miguel. San Miguel bends to the north and becomes Recreation Way. The building is on the right an about a block. You can also get there from the I-25 Fontanero exit by heading east. You then have to turn right onto Recreation Way.

Update: I just found out that a developer is interested in that land. They want to put in 25+ lots plus town homes along the road.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, mountain biking, White Acres

Tonight my wife and I left the kids with the grandparents. After dinner we hiked a ways up Ute Pass Trail. On our back, I spotted a bright green glowing spot in the light of my headlamp.

I got a little closer and could see it was a spider that was a little over 1/2 inch long. It was brownish/gray and the back part of it's body was hairy. We ended up seeing several of them before we got back. I think they were wolf spiders. They have 8 eyes and I'm guessing that they were reflecting my light back.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, wildlife

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.

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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."

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, Manitou Incline

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

Full moon is this week. Last night was a full lunar eclipse but unfortunately we mostly had clouds. When the moon should have been partially eclipsed, I could see bits of it through the clouds. When it was coming out of the eclipse, there were just thin clouds so I could see it faintly but it wasn't very impressive.

Sunday I hiked up to Barr Camp and got up there just after dark. It had snowed off and on during the day but it was clearing while I was hiking. On the way back down, I had great moonlight sparkling off the fresh snow.

Last full moon I had mentioned that in the past I've hiked to the top of Pikes Peak by moonlight in the winter. Chris asked in a comment whether I was interested in having someone along. We ended up making plans to do it tonight.

Hopefully it'll be a clear night but there's a slight chance of snow in tomorrow morning. Last night it snowed a little during the evening but by 11 PM there was bright moonlight. It's a beautiful morning and there's bright blue sky.

The round-trip on Barr Trail is about 26 miles with 7,500 vertical feet. Going up the Manitou Incline would cut about 2 miles off but not make it any easier. Above timberline this time of year, I generally just go up the face because the trail is burried.

Depending on snow conditions and weather above timberline, it'll probably take somewhere around 12 hours to do the hike. I talked to some guys on Sunday that had been to the summit. They said Barr Trail was pretty packed all the way to the A-Frame which will help. Above timberline they didn't feel their snowshoes were grabbing enough so they switched to crampons. With crampons they were breaking through the crust and struggling.

There's new snow so we may be alright with snowshoes. We'll have YakTrax, snowshoes, crampons and ice axes so we should the gear for any conditions. We may end up using all of them.

Below are a few more pictures from my hike last Sunday.

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Labels: Barr Trail, hiking, weather

Late Sunday afternoon I headed up to Barr Camp. A guy stopped me down by the Cog Railway depot. He said that there was an emergency and they weren't allowing anyone to park in the Barr Trail parking lot.

The weather was warm over the weekend which makes for slushy, slick snow during the day and turns to ice as it cools off in the afternoon. A guy had slipped and fallen just above No Name Creek, a little over 3 miles up. The skin was peeled back on his hand and he had severe bleeding. Search and Rescue originally thought they might have to chopper him out. They were able to slow the bleeding and when I got there they were helping him hike down.

So how do you reduce the chance that something like this happens to you? You could stay away from icy trails but that's no fun. Three of the things to help you keep your footing in snow and ice are Yaktrax, screws, and crampons.

Yaktrax

Yaktrax are my choice for hiking. I try not to run unless something big and scary is chasing me but I know runners that also like them. They fit over most shoes so you can use them with hiking boots or running shoes. About the only way I can tell I'm wearing them is that I don't slip on the ice. I will notice them a bit if I end up walking on a hard surface like pavement. They're small and light so you can carry them in your pack or even your jacket pocket in case you find a spot you need them.

They come in 2 versions. The Pro version has a strap that goes over the top of the shoe or hiking boot to help prevent them from coming off. I still have the original ones that don't have the strap. They only come off occasionally but when I replace them I plan to get the Pro version. That might be soon since mine a getting pretty worn.

Screws

Hard core runners put screws in the bottoms of their shoes. It's the method recommended by Matt Carpenter. He has good instructions on how to put them in and where to place them. I've read that you don't want them in the middle of the ball of your foot because it can increase the pressure and cause pain. Screws can also be used on mountain bike shoes for when you have to get off and walk.

The screws definitely are the cheapest option. I do see a few screws on the trails but a new one can easily be put in. For runners that have a pair of shoes that will only be used for running in the snow and ice during the winter, they seem like a great choice.

Crampons

I keep seeing crampon tracks when I go hiking. Generally it's only a single set of tracks. Although I've used crampons a lot for mountaineering, I don't recommend them for normal hiking. Maybe it's just the way I walk but I really have to pay attention not to trip with them. It's worse when I'm not sinking the points all the way in. I also don't like dulling the tips when there's sections that have melted and it's just dirt. Crampons are also the most expensive of the 3 options.

Do you have a favorite way to stay off your butt when hiking in snow and ice?

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Labels: Barr Trail, hiking, reviews

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.

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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.

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Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, Manitou Incline

A big thanks to everyone who participated in my gift card giveaway. I had planned to start it a few days earlier but had too many other things going on. It seems everyone else was also busy with Christmas. This gave the ones who took the time very good odds.

First here are the ones that helped spread the word about the giveaway.

• Coach Levi
• Cyclelicious
• ProfessionalJackass.com
• Adventure Junkie
• Bicycle Frenzy
• NannaBee
• noodlestatic

Random.org picked ProfessionalJackass.com as the winner.

The giveaway was really about getting feedback and I only got 2 comments. That gave each entrant a 50% chance of winning something extra for Christmas. Both gave excellent feedback and it looks like I need to work on improving the search matching.

• kwc
• NannaBee

For this one, Random.org picked NannaBee.

Congratulations to ProfessionalJackass.com and NannaBee! They get their choice of gift cards from this page.

I'll probably do something similar in a couple months when people aren't so busy so keep an eye out.

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Labels: cycling, hiking, skiing, snowboarding

Just a reminder that today is the last day to enter to win a $50 gift card. All the detail are here and the list of gift cards is here. Everybody is busy with Christmas shopping so you have a really good chance of winning.

I'm not going to be picky about the exact time for what is tonight. Any comment that's submitted by the time I check in the morning will get counted. I'm not exactly a morning person so it won't be too early.

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Labels: cycling, hiking, skiing, snowboarding

I've been working on a cycling and outdoor gear search on this site for a little over a year. I have a lot more things I want to do with it plus some things need fixing. With my limited time, it will be a while before I get to some of the things.

Here's your chance to help me and win a $50 gift card. So that I can spend my time working on things you think would make the biggest difference, I'm going to give away a gift card in return for suggestions.. Look around, search for something you're dreaming about for Christmas. Then write a comment on this post with what you'd like added or what needs improving.

I want to provide incentive to provide good suggestions so I'm not going to award the gift card totally randomly. I also don't want to spend a lot of time agonizing over which is the best comment. I'm going to pick a handful of the best comments and then pick one of them randomly.

Comments must be submitted by Sunday night, December 23rd. Make sure that I can easily find your e-mail address if you link to your site or that you put it in your comments. Feel free to use name[]mysite.com or something so your e-mail doesn't get grabbed by the spam bots. I'll announce a winner sometime on Monday, Christmas Eve. If you win, you can pick any gift card from this page. I prefer you pick one that can be e-mailed but I'll have one mailed as long as you live in the US.

A 2nd way to win a $50 gift card is to help spread the word about this giveaway and the cycling and outdoor gear search. You'll need to have a blog or website for this one. Write something and link to both this post and the cycling and outdoor gear search page.

Once you've linked, either leave a comment here on where to find them or send me an e-mail. I'm going to end this contest a day earlier than the other one so your readers will have time to enter. That means Saturday night, December 22nd.

For the 2nd giveaway, I'll pick a winner totally randomly. The winner will be announced at the same time as the other giveaway. The winner will also get the same choice of gift cards.

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Labels: cycling, hiking, skiing, snowboarding

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.

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FC 30 GTX Hiking Boots Mens Price: $150.00

Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, Manitou Incline

I got Kody when he was a year old. He was a lab and husky mix. I always said he had the energy of a lab and the endurance of a husky. The people that had him couldn't control him. If they tried taking him for a walk, he'd pull them over and run away.

It took me 8 months to get much control of him. I finally took him with me when I was climbing a couple mountains. Once we got above timberline, I let him off the leash. I figured I'd at least be able to see which way he went. I found that he did follow my general direction but would be up to a quarter mile away. He finally chased some mountain sheep and I just kept on hiking. He ended up with some cliffs between us. I finally went back to get him. When I got closer, I could hear him crying. After that he stuck closer to me.

In the last 10 years, I haven't hiked very many times without him. He climbed mountains with me. He did up to 5 day backpacking trips and carried his own food and water. He loved snow and loved it when I went cross-country skiing. He was also a big part of our family as it grew.

The last year it has been obvious he was getting old. He still loved to hike but he was getting slower. If I didn't have Danielle with me, I'd have to stop and wait for him on the Manitou Incline. For the last couple months, it hasn't seemed like he could see very well. There were days when he was really irritable. Today we had to make the decision to have him put down. He'll be missed.

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Labels: hiking

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

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

Yesterday's Gazette had an article from the AP about Dave Buschow who died last July while taking a survival training course in Utah. For some reason I couldn't find the Gazette online version but I found it on another website.

When it happened last summer, I never could find many details on it. Even with what I could find it seemed like the course instructors had pushed Dave too far. I generally believe that people are responsible for what happens to them. There are a lot of risks in life whether you're in the backcountry or not. Sometimes bad things happen and they aren't someone elses fault. In some cases it's because someone made a bad decision but they thought it was the right decision when they made it. I've certainly done that.

There was a post on out there last July about who's responsible for risks in various outdoor activities. The article was in response to Dave's death. On it I commented

In the case of the guy asking for water and not being given it, I don't know all the details but that seems like a bad thing on the part of the instructor. I can see limiting food but water isn't something you can survive long without. I could be convinced that in this case the instructor and the school are at fault.

After reading the article, I was more than convinced the instructors were at fault. I was outraged at their actions. The temperature was around 100 degrees. The group found water around 8:30 in the morning. They drank from the water but weren't allowed to put any in bottles to carry with them. The idea was they could only drink when they found water. Although they tried to find water throughout the day, they never found any.

Dave got to the point of falling down and the others in the group had trouble getting him back to his feet. At one point he mistook a tree for a person. His tongue was swollen. He would hurry off in the wrong direction. Finally around 7 PM over 10 hours after last drinking water, the group got to a cave with a pool of water. Dave fell again less than a 100 yards from the water. He said he couldn't continue but the instructor with him kept telling him he could make it. Dave quit breathing and the group was unable to revive him. It turns out the instructor had emergency water in his pack.

I just can't imagine going that long without drinking even in cool conditions let alone in that kind of heat. It's one thing to push people to exhaustion from long days of hiking or from lack of food but not from lack of water. It was also the 2nd day of a 28 day course. It takes time to acclimate to the dry desert air and the heat. Dave was from New Jersey so I'm sure he wasn't used to the dryness. Before I've done long bike races in the desert, I've done heat training in my bathroom.

I've done up to week long backpacking trips by myself in the Superstition Mountains and the Grand Canyon. I've almost been out of water when I've found more. Only once was I out of water for a couple hours before finding more. The temperature was only around 60 degrees. I was making a loop and I knew I could cut to where I had gotten water a couple days before. That would have probably meant 6-7 hours without water. For the couple hours before I found water, finding water was about the only thing I thought about. I can't imagine what I would have been thinking after over 10 hours without water in 100 degree weather.

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Labels: hiking, Utah

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.

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Labels: hiking, Manitou Incline, mountain biking, weather

The local meeting on the Pike and San Isabel National Forests management plan is tonight. This meeting was scheduled because people were turned away from the meeting in Black Forest a month ago. About 50 cars were turned away from that meeting because there wasn't enough parking. Tonight's location should be able to handle enough people. The meeting is from 5:30 - 9:00 PM at the DoubleTree - World Arena, 1775 E. Cheyenne Mountain Blvd.

Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to make it. If you can't make it but want to give your opinion, you can use the Need for Change Workshop Individual Worksheet. It says it has to be submitted by March 2nd which has already passed but since they're having the meeting tonight I'd think you could still send it in.

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Labels: hiking, mountain biking, Pike National Forest, San Isabel National Forest, trail access

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

After people were turned away from the Pike and San Isabel Forest Management Plan meeting a couple weeks ago, the National Forest promised to schedule another meeting in the Colorado Springs area. They've made good on their promise and have scheduled a meeting for March 6th. It will be held from 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM at the Doubletree Hotel - World Arena, 1775 E. Cheyenne Mountain Blvd.

Labels: hiking, mountain biking, Pike National Forest, San Isabel National Forest, 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