Pikes Peak:

My first 14,000 ft. peak.  I have hiked this mountain several times from a couple of different routes.  The main route - Barr Trail - starts in Manitou Springs, CO.  Parking can be a nightmare during the summer with the lot filling up by 5 or 5:30 a.m.

I climbed this mountain around 15 years ago with my dog Heidi.  She was about 6 months old and eager to go.  In hindsight she was probably too young to do such a long hike, but she seemed to enjoy every minute of the adventure.  I had a light schedule that week and decided to do a 2 day ascent during the week.  I believe it was late spring.  I hadn't done much hiking and I had to borrow a backpack from my friend Pam.  She wasn't able to get off of work, but encouraged me to go.  Barr trail is VERY long.  Easy to navigate, but one of the longest trails to the summit of a 14r.  From the start of the trailhead to the summit is roughly around 12 miles.  You gain roughly 8,000 feet in altitude.  Not an easy stroll unless you are one of those super-fit, non- Krispy Kreme eating type of person.  Many people have gotten into trouble on this trail above timberline because of its length and the afternoon storms.

We started up the trail late afternoon with the intention of staying halfway at Barr camp which is around 7 miles into the climb at around 10,000 ft. in altitude.  The first part of the trail contains several switchback which never seem to end.  The trail is wide and easy to follow though.  There are some nice flat sections half-way to Barr camp with some very pretty views.  We made it to Barr camp in the early evening after about 3 hours of hiking.  For a small fee you can spend the night in a hut and get dinner.  It gets more crowded on the weekends in the summer when people are training for the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon.  There was a very nice caretaker at Barr camp who cooked us a chicken dinner.  The caretaker had a dog - SquashBomb or something to that effect.  My dog and Squash....spent hours that night roughhousing and having fun.  Both dogs were puppies and didn't want to stop playing until the middle of the night.  Needless to say I didn't get much sleep and my dog was very worn-out the next day.

I set off on to hike the remaining 4,000 feet that morning.  My least favorite part of the hike is to A-frame - a structure at around tree-line.  It always seems to take forever going up those switchbacks.  I enjoyed the last 3 miles to the summit.  The donuts at the top made a nice treat for my effort.  My dog was pretty worn out on the way down above timberline.  She perked up around Barr camp on the way back and we had a nice, but tiring trip to the car. 

Barr trail is an incredibly long day hike, but a nice 2 -day adventure, especially during the week in the summertime.