Riding the COG to Pike's Peak

Monday, June 21st;

We arrived at the home of Bear and Trish Saturday afternoon. They had reserved a place for our rig in front of their home and we did not even have to unhook for the next week. We moved into their downstairs guestroom and slept in the cool of the high Colorado evenings.

Sunday we had a quiet day just visiting. But starting Monday they had some days planned to show us their lovely city. We went to the Monday morning Farmer's market and wandered the downtown core. We stopped by the old town and met the owners and employees of the CS West bike shop. Bear and Trish have adopted them as their Colorado family. This is a challenging town to ride and both Bear and Trish have taken it up, though Trish is less able now. The city itself stands at over 6000 feet and many of the bike trails run up over 10,000 feet. Going up is difficult, coming down is scary!!!

We decided to see the heights in a somewhat less strenuous way. We took the COG railway for the last run of the day up to Pike's Peak. We boarded the train in Manitou Springs and we looked very out of place in our jeans, long sleeved turtle neck, vest and polar fleece among many in their shorts and Tís. We wandered about the station platform taking pictures and people watching. There were humming birds feeding above the platform. Beware of humming bird fallout! Unfortunately I suffered a direct hit down the side of my nose!

We started up the mountain past rock faces and heavily treed hills. We caught a glimpse of the oldest operating power station west of the Mississippi. A young couple live there during the summer and have a 60 mile driveway out to the main road to get their mail! An even longer drive to get groceries in Colorado Springs. What a place to spend their summers! They are responsible for upkeep of the dams, waterways and equipment that create the power.

There is a halfway house that shelters hikers waiting for the train to take them up or down as the case may be. The Barr trail built in 1917 still carries hikers up the mountain today. There is a cabin for them to overnight on the journey. The other way up is by road. Bear and Trish did that on a motor bike in winter some years ago. The experience has stayed with them. It was a cold and icy ride. With no safety fences on the steep and winding slope it is still a dangerous road today.

We passed the section house where railway gangs lived in the early days. They built the railway and kept it open. Families lived in that house and at least one baby was born there. At this point we are high above the tree line with the tender tundra stretching away from us. You can still see the old wagon trail that predates the railway winding up the hills. Tundra grows so slowly that it has not been covered yet. As we left the tree line behind us we saw one lone bristlecone pine at the edge of the forest. It was over 2000 years old. That means it was growing at the time the pyramids were built!

At last we came up the last steep grade and stopped at the Pike's Peak Station. It was cold and a strong wind was blowing making it feel like freezing temperatures. It was also 1410 ft above sea level. Now we were glad we had dressed for winter! I wandered about on my own taking pictures and marveling at the views around me. I was aware that I was feeling the effects of the altitude. I had been drinking my water faithfully but still felt very dizzy with a slight headache. I stayed carefully away from the really sharp drop offs!

I met up with the others in the station coffee shop and we listened for the warning whistle to board the train for the trip back down the mountain. This was the last train of the day so we did not want to miss it!