finally!

One down, 55 more to go in my quest to drink a PBR and smoke a stogie on top of all of Colorado's 14ers.

Set off at 5:30AM on the Barr Trail. Weather report was good, trail reports were positive, and I wasn't too hungover, so I figured I'd have a pretty good chance of a summit.

Folks, including myself, always say that Pikes Peak is an "easy" fourteener. And it is, in the sense that there is a well beaten trail from the bottom to the top. No navigation, no bushwacking, a refuel point halfway up. But it's still a rough hike, about twelve miles and a 7400 foot climb to the top, and then you hafta get back down (right, Melissa!).

Made good time on the way up. Did stop to take a ton of pictures and had a nice break at Barr Camp. Still made it up in just under six hours, pretty good for hiking the entire thing. And after busting my ass for six hours and finally bagging my first fourteener, what is awaiting me at the top?



Yup, Asian tourists! There's actually a mall on top of Pikes Peak, and lazy tourists can get there via road or the Cog Railway. There was a trainload of folks up there when I arrived, and I was like a celebrity since I was the only one who hiked up. The gals in this pic were actually from Thailand, and they said they knew Free Meat and she was a big, huge wanker!

A beer, a stog, and a cup of coffee later (about 45 minutes) I was on my way back down. Saw a few dark clouds rolling in so I had to bust ass down to treeline. I was motivated by the plaque dedicated to an 88 year old woman who was struck by lightening on her 14th summit of Pikes. That's how I wanna go. Except I didn't want to do it today.

Took a long break at the treeline shelter, then took a longer break at Barr Camp. Still made it down in just under twelve hours. Think if I was going for time I could hike the entire thing in sub-ten hours, but I was in no hurry today.