some people were hiking up this with skis. not quite sure what they were planning to come down on, but the extra weight sure made them look miserable.
simple thought it was pretty awesome though.
next came decalibron, which links several 14ers that are in extreme proximity to each other. this is democrat:
felt like a nerd, but i was encouraged to use the summit sign by a guy i bumped into...
over to lincoln via cameron.
from which i spied my later objective - quandary.
from the road.
tons of people - click to enlarge those little ants!
mountain goats were pretty relaxed, but i saw no babies.
funny summit selfie. tons of people around, so no need for a photobombed summit shot i thought. probably better off skipping! the run down was a pain - difficult to run around people without spooking them.
oh, just remembered i did the kelso ridge on torreys a couple weeks ago - that run was great! i took off from the highway for some extra miles and though i was a bit late, i only encountered people ascending as i ran back, which made more much happier passing. sigh. likewise with longs, which i did last weekend before helping a coworker move. that mandated a rather early start to be back in town by 10.
sunrise in the loft couloir.
i got a little lost on the loft but eventually found my way to the appropriate descent gully to get on the backside of the mountain. i also noticed a decent crack a bit below the homestretch, which saved some time and annoyance, but it was super wet and the hail that started while i was halfway up didn't inspire much confidence. i was happy to top out and see the ridges of my usual turf in the distance.
yesterday, i ran pikes via the barr trail. this is the usual course for the pikes peak marathon and is a pretty great trail! i had it all to myself on the way up, maybe saw a half dozen parties if that.
first view of the top - and the summit house.
sunrise over the inversion.
nice spot for the a-frame shelter.
some rather mangy goats greeted me at the top.
i was pretty excited about the massive plaque advising of the benefits of a summit photo.
after securing a lasting memento, i checked out the summit house, hoping for a water refill and some of the "world famous" doughnuts. it was pretty early - the summit house employees were just arriving, along with a few runners who came from crags and some motorcyclists. i piddled around for a while in the gift shop (45/60 minutes) waiting for the fryers to heat up. this was a mistake! the doughnuts were severely disappointing: oddly spiced and super greasy, so much so that i thought i'd lose 'em on the descent!
so, the summit house was a bummer. i was surprised at just how clearly you can see the summit house from a distance - even from the highway.
anyway, if i had lost those doughnuts, it might have added to my repertoire of means to signal my passage to the many other trail users. seems a lot of folks got started while i was piddling around and there were people headed both ways in substantial numbers when i finally started my run down, but the worst was the last few miles: tons of disgruntled tourists waiting for a chance to take the railway. best to do this run on a weekday methinks. or just skip the doughnuts!
