Pike's Peak Year Four

Established. For the fourth year in a row Torrey and I met up at Pike's Peak near Manitou Springs, Colorado to have a grand Colorado adventure. Clearly we've started a tradition, and I see no reason to stop! We time our meeting for the Pike's Peak Ascent and Marathon, an event that draws thousands of people to the small town nestled at the foot of Pike's Peak west of Colorado Springs, and an event that both Torrey and her dad participate in. When we first went to Pike's Peak together we cheered on Torrey's dad from the sidelines. As the years have passed, Torrey herself began to run as well, while I cheered on from the sidelines. I do a lot of crazy things, but running up a 14,000+ foot mountain does not sound like a lot of fun, especially with things like time cut-offs. No thank you! I'll continue to watch and cheer them on and let them do the crazy things.

This time around Ascent Day dawned early and we walked Torrey's dad, Dennis, to the starting line to watch him begin, then made our way to the Pike's Peak highway to wait for him at the top. Every year the Ascent draws tons of people, so they have a parking lot lower down the mountain with shuttles to take you to the top. Instead of taking the shuttle can you guess what Torrey and I decided to do? Three miles is nothing, so we decided to hike it! Except that three miles at a high altitude, and gaining more with every step, is actually no easy feat, and it wasn't long before I was feeling the symptoms of altitude sickness. I was out of breath and couldn't catch it, I had a pounding headache, and I could not, no matter what I did, get my heart rate to slow down. I felt like I was running a sprint, when in fact I was just short of crawling. I've rarely had a problem with altitude sickness before now, and I can't help but wonder if it is getting worse the longer I live near sea level in Texas. I remember a little bit of a headache the last time I was in the mountains, but nothing like this. Ugh!

I did my best to power through, taking lots of short breaks and using photography as an excuse to stop for longer times. There were several fat little marmots all over the trail, and I might have wasted a lot of time watching them scamper over the rocks in mockery of my struggles. Oh, to be a mountain-dwelling animal! When we finally reached the top (Torrey got there way before I did) we were fairly warm and found ourselves a sunny spot out of the wind to settle down and wait for Dennis. The clouds moved in a little bit towards the end of the run, just before he summitted, and we started getting announcements of a storm beginning to build, and recommendations to get off the mountain. Dennis arrived not much later, and we grabbed a shuttle back down to my car, then on into Manitou Springs for shopping, eating, and an early night.

The next day, Marathon Day, I walked with Torrey and Dennis to the starting line and watched them begin their race before driving all the way to the top of Pike's Peak to wait for them there. The day was colder than before, and not long after I arrived in the morning clouds moved in and decided to shower the spectators in sleet. I got pretty chilly and was glad when the race ended, and we could go get some warm food back in town! We all ate together before Torrey and I headed off and began our Rocky Mountain Park Adventure, but we couldn't begin our trip without honoring one more tradition that we've picked up along the way: Wine!

The two of us had to make a stop at our favorite restaurant and winery at the foot of Pike's Peak, called The Wines, and enjoyed a dinner on a sheltered patio while a thunderstorm rolled around us and down the valley towards the plains and Colorado Springs. It was something else, sitting in a protected spot enjoying great food and listening to the thunder echo among the peaks. We enjoyed ourselves for quite a while, and may or may not have left The Wines with a whole case of different wines between the two of us. It was bound to be a fantastic week!