Conquering the Summit of Pikes Peak

By Bindu C.V, CSE

The state of Colorado in United States is known for its scenic mountains and lush green. People from around the country travel here to enjoy the beautiful views and have a relaxing vacation. It is famous for hiking during warm weather and Skiing in winter months.

What is 14er in hiking
Colorado is already 6800 feet above sea level with many mountains more than 14000 feet high. Colorado has about 58 named 14ers. Pikes Peak is famous for its rough terrain and attracts hikers from around the United States who want to challenge themselves and hike to the summit. There are marked trails that people can use to navigate and reach the summit. Hiking to reach the summit is challenging especially if you are from a different part of the country and not used to the higher altitudes. You can feel altitude sicknesses as you gain higher elevation and oxygen level can be less than 68%.

Hiking Challenge

We, a bunch of close friends from Chicago decided to take up a Hiking challenge after our summer running season in 2023. We had some initial planning meetings to determine where we wanted to go as a group and attempt to climb a 14er. We weighed the pros and cons of different mountains in Colorado and decided to choose Pikes Peak as our destination for this challenge. The reason was solely because there was a railroad and a roadway to come down. You can choose to ascend alone and use one form of transportation to descend. A half marathon distance one way.

The target was set after a few rounds of discussions and we started planning for the dates and month that suites all who were interested in hiking. Finally, we all agreed to complete our challenge on the 20th of September 2024.

Practice
Chicago has a short span of warm weather and we decided to do our practice hikes in nearby trails that have at least a slight elevation. We formed a group “Mountain Warriors” and frequently met at different trails and practiced as a group with the gear we planned to take along for the hiking trip.

D-DAY
Mountain weather is very unpredictable up in the mountains. It can suddenly change from hot to cold in no time. September 20th Friday turned out to be a beautiful day in favor of a good climb. As Planned we all assembled at the base of Barr trail in Manitou Springs by 3:45 AM and started with a lot of enthusiasm. The plan was to finish the first half, reaching Barr camp almost 6.3 miles and 10200 ft elevation by 8:00 AM. Take a 30-minute break finish the second half and reach the summit by 2:00 PM.

Soon into the ascend we all realized it was nowhere closer to the practice we did in our flat lands of Chicago. We were a group of 24 people who traveled from Chicago, Michigan, and Florida. Many in the group have fallen way behind. With altitude gain each one of us was feeling different sickness. We were moving at a snail’s pace and each mile took more than an hour. Finally, we reached our first stop at Barr Camp at around 9:00 AM. A small group including myself, my husband, and 2 other hikers stuck together and proceeded slowly.

Climbing the second half was even harder, we started taking even longer frequent breaks. We tried to encourage each other to keep moving and promised ourselves to be at the summit no later than 4 PM to catch the shuttle we booked to take us down. Once we reached the top of the tree line, I realized my water bladder was already empty with almost 4 more miles to the top. I had another bottle and some Electrolytes and had to be very conservative in my fluid intake. Altitude sickness was getting bad and had to pop in an Advil to keep moving. We had watched lots of videos and heard from others and knew the last 3-mile stretch is the hardest but experiencing first hand was a different story. We struggled to move our feet and get a good grip on the rocks.

I was really amazed seeing some of the hikers moving so quickly through the rough terrain with ease. I was really getting discouraged as the miles were getting longer and longer and time was running out. We soon realized we were not going to reach the summit to catch the shuttle. We were reminded by fellow hikers that we have to move faster to catch the last cog rail that will leave the summit at 6:00.At that point it was more of a fear of us getting stranded on the trail in the cold.It was almost sunset and temperatures was coming down fast. We could see the summit afar and the path to reach there was still long. At that point our only option was to mentally push ourselves not to stop and continue climbing a bit faster and reach the summit quickly. Completing the hike and calling myself a 14er was a proud moment. It was a huge relief that we wouldn’t be stranded and could catch a ride with 2 others from the group who got there a few minutes ahead of us. We were hugging and crying in great joy. It took both of us almost 13 hours to finish the entire hike. Started from the base at 4:00 AM and reached the summit around 5:45 PM.

I was a bit disappointed in myself. Although I got to the summit and finished the hike, I couldn’t wait for some of the group hikers who were slowly finishing behind us. We knew this was going to be a strenuous hike but really underestimated the terrain. Some rookie hiking mistakes also played a big part and added to the misery. This was a major milestone and I am so happy I didn’t fail. This is just the beginning of my hiking journey and I learned a lot of valuable lessons. Pike Peak was not an easy first 14er for sure and the hike tested our endurance making this a truly unforgettable journey.

I am destined to come back and make it right next time !