Last Thursday morning we got up and drove to the Barr Trail trail head. We parked the car and bought our tickets for the ride down from the summit on the Cog Railroad. Our plans were to start at the 6,800 foot trailhead and hike to the Barr Camp at 10,200 feet 6.5 miles up the trail on day one. Day two we would climb another 4,000 feet of altitude over 6 miles to the summit and take the cog railroad back down. The cog railroad station at the base is only about 1/4 mile from the trail head.
We set off up the trail knowing that heavy rain storms were coming in late in the afternoon so we needed to be crisp and make it to the camp on time. It was sunny and warm. We quickly learned why "the Ws" as they call them is the single hardest section of the race. It is 3 miles on constant switchbacks up a very steep "foothill" of Pikes Peak. We came out of the Ws and entered a more reasonable section that was heavily forrested with pine and aspen groves. We decided to sit down and have lunch as it started to rain. We put our rain gear on, had our meals and headed on up the trail but I was nervous that the nasty thunder storms predicted would come over the mountain before we could get to the camp. We talked about what our point of no return would be so we could decide if we should turn back for safety reasons. The rain subsided luckily and we continued on up to the cabin which was a welcome sight.
Barr Camp is a cool little cabin with a sitting room area and a bunk house with just a row of bunks separated by nothing... just mattress pad to mattress pad. No heat, no electricity, no running water. They had gas lights inside and we could filter water outside at Cabin Creek. It was really nice to sit back and talk to the other hikers camping in the site for the rest of the afternoon and evening. We met Yvonne and Matt Carpenter there while Matt is training for the race as well. Matt is the God of this race, he owns just about every record for it including the all-time fastest time up the mountain in 2 hours and 8 minutes. The caretakers of the camp made dinner for us all and we enjoyed spaghetti and home-baked "switch back bread" that was delicious! We turned in early so that we could be on the trail early the next morning. Our hosts again treated us all to "Pikes Peak Power Pancackes" the next morning before we set off.
The second day we were running against a tight schedule... we had to catch a specific train at the top because we were forced to buy round trip tickets at the bottom for a specific round trip and tickets are non-refundable and non-transferrable. That means that if you miss your train you lose all your money and the tickets ain't cheap! Our second day was tougher yet staring at 10,200 feet. The trail wasn't really steep in the forest but the footing was hard. There were large step-ups over the many, many water bars and it saps your quad strength. We finally came to the A-frame (lean-to) at the treeline which was a big milestone because it meant we had 3.5 miles to go to the summit. Above treeline we know had no protection from the weather. It was beautiful, we had clouds BELOW us covering the valleys and some threatening clouds above us. The going was now slow, it was all switchbacks from here on as we ascended the worlds largest rock pile. We enjoyed a gormet lunch of fruit and spam, summer sausage and cheese on crackers :-) Plenty of carbs and energy from the starch, fat and sugar for the final push.
Rain came on us fast and before we knew we were in a rain squall with no cover. We pulled out our full rain suits and by the time we got them on, the rain had subsided (figures). From the 2 mile to go sign it was hard going, from the 1 mile sign it was really hard but when we hit the sign for the "16 Golden Steps" it was sheer torture! The steps are 32 very short and steep switchbacks with huge rocks and big step ups that tear apart any positive mental attitude you have left. We celebrated in a tired sort of way at the summit but rain was coming in and the temp was dropping so our only focus was to get on the train and get off the mountain to rest.
I hiked up the mountain with a pack without any issues but I am now having a very difficult time visualizing how I will run up it, not only in a single day but in 4 hours as I hope to do. It's all so daunting. I'm aguably in the best shape of my life but I'm not sure it's good enough. I will have to find some new motivation before next Saturday at 7:30am mountain time.
What I can say is I have never been more proud of my family. They all have humored me and hiked lengths and heights that we have never done before in our lives. Jan and Erica, who do not have the hiking experience of Derek and I, were phenominal! Tired yes, but willing to cry uncle, not a chance! I have such an awesome family! I'll get my pictures posted to the web site tomorrow night hopefully.
LiveSTRONG my friends... I am Running for Other People's Lives!
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