The Incline

Matt and I decided to tackle the Incline on Sunday afternoon. The "Manitou Incline" is a .9 mile grade up the side of a mountain. It is often referred to as the "scar" of Pike's Peak as it can see it from quite far away. Here's a pic of what it looks like from the highway:

And another pic from Manitou Springs:

The Incline as it exists now is the roadbed to the former Mount Manitou Scenic Incline Railway-a cable car that took people up the eastern face of the Rocky Mountain to about 8,600 feet before shutting down in 1990. The steepest section is at a grade of 68% with the average grade just over 40%. (http://www.inclineclub.com/incline/)

Many people hike the Incline for exercise, some even run up it and then run down Barr Trail to the bottom. Olympic athletes have been known to use the Incline as part of their conditioning as well. I can only imagine if you were in that good of shape at such a high elevation how well you could perform at sea level. This is also part of the reason that the Olympic Training Center was built in Colorado Springs.

At the Barr Trail parking lot, where you can get on the Incline, it started raining as you can see on the car! I thought "Uh-Oh." But then, minutes later it cleared up and the sun was shining again.

There's even a little bathroom at the bottom so you can be all set to go for your hike!

Here I am at the bottom of the incline:

And this is what awaits us!

Getting steeper

Oh Dear! The elevation increases so rapidly because you are going up such a steep grade that sometimes you feel a little dizzy and weak. I would not want to topple backwards down these railway ties with rusted stakes poking out!

Matt and I thought we should try it ourselves to see if it would be a fun option to hike with Mark & Rosie if they come out here this summer. We found out from some other hikers during our trek, that about halfway up, you can get off at Barr Trail (the trail that takes you 11 miles all the way up to Pike's Peak) and go back down to the bottom on a more leisurely 2 mile hike. By the time we got there...we opted for that avenue! But do intend to do the whole hike
in the future...maybe when Mark & Rosie visit :)

Here is where you can hop on Barr Trail...which we gladly took. Matt hydrating with the Camelbak that his dad is letting him try out to see if he should get one! After this trip...we decided we need one!

Looking up at what is left to hike...

Looking down at what we accomplished. (It almost looks flat at the bottom part...it did not feel flat coming up it!)

A couple shots on our hike down.

Once again, crazy weather change. It hailed for about 30 seconds and got a bit chilly at this part. But then of course, sun came out again and it got warm!

It was kind of fun to go down this trail because it made me remember when I came up it to the top of Pike's Peak when I was out here 4 1/2 years ago. I can't wait to do that hike again with Matt!

Hydrating at the end of our hike! It was definitely a good time...and a nice workout,
my sore leg muscles are thanking me for it today.