Wild raspberries

Only collateral damage from yesterday's 25-mile hike was an inflamed Achilles tendon, probably due to some combination of overuse and wearing a new pair of hiking shoes. So I popped a couple of Ibuprofen and started icing the tendon. Should be fine in a couple of days.

Today I hiked up Bear peak from Chautauqua park via Fern canyon. It was my fastest ascent up Fern, just under an hour. I even passed a trail runner on a crazy steep uphill section, though 90 minutes later she passed me back on a downhill stretch..

On the way down from Bear peak I saw some wild raspberries. Mmmm, delicious.

Along the lower part of Bear canyon vegetation has gotten very lush. I saw a couple of wild blackberry bushes, some new flowers that were popular with bees and butterflies, and a few plants I still need to Google...

Today's hike was 8 miles, 3000' elevation gain. And it's now been four months since I rolled off the couch and started hiking regularly.

Pikes Peak summit via Barr trail

I decided to attempt Pikes today despite predictions of light rain and possible afternoon T-storms. When I arrived in Manitou Springs at 2:30 am things didn't look that great. There were patches of fog as well as occasional lightning flashes from the remnants of Friday's T-storms. But the lightning seemed to be tapering off, so I got my gear ready and walked about a mile to the Barr trail lot on Hydro St. By the time I got there the lightning had stopped and a few stars were visible. So game on.

The reason for starting before dawn is that Barr is a very long trail, and I wanted to get to the summit and then back below treeline well before any afternoon T-storms. And in fact that's how the hike turned out. I started hiking at 3:15 am, using a flashlight for the first two hours. By that time I was nearing Barr camp, which is 6.5 miles from the trail head at an elevation of 10,200'. 

Although I was hiking at a good pace my legs already felt very fatigued. Not good as I still had another 6 miles and 3900' of elevation gain to go. In running or cycling this sense of running out of gas is called "bonking." Bonking occurs when you deplete your body's store of available carbs (glycogen). At Barr camp I realized that it had been many hours since I'd eaten breakfast, so I scarfed down a couple of energy bars. A half hour later I felt fine, so problem diagnosed and fixed.

In daylight the trail was quite scenic, especially near and above treeline.

But of all the sights along the Barr trail, without question the most sublime is "Butt rock"

Now... as you get closer to the summit you are treated to metal signs letting you know that you still have a long, long way to go. And because the trail gets progressively steeper and rockier  while the air is getting thinner, the last mile -- and especially the sets of switchbacks called the "16 golden stairs" -- seems to take forever.

But eventually you do reach the summit, where you can grab a donut or shop for souvenirs at the Summit House, along with all the other hardy souls who took the cog railway or drove their cars up the Pikes Peak highway.

The hike down was quick and uneventful. I did encounter dozens and dozens of trail runners getting tuned up for the Pikes Peak ascent and marathon in August. And I saw some marmots and wildflowers, including red penstemon and purple aspen daisies. The weather stayed sunny until the last 30 minutes, when big cumulus clouds provided some shade and a few drops of rain.

Let's call it 25 miles round trip with 7500' elevation gain. Ascent time was 5 hours 45 minutes; descent was 3 hours 45 minutes (not too shabby). In between I took a 30 minute coffee break at the Summit house. Coffee was so-so, next time I'll try a cappa.

Berries and bears

Followers of this blog (all three of you) have seen the Mesa trail in seasons of snow, mud, sunshine and wildflowers. But today the ever popular, ever changing Mesa trail featured berries

and bears!

Two hikers pointed out the black bear and cub, which were feasting on berries about 200' west of the Mesa trail just south of (naturally) Bear canyon. Last week I saw wild raspberries at the top of Shadow canyon, but I think the bears have established a prior claim. Stats for today: 13 miles, 1600' elevation gain.

Chasm lake

Time to 'fess up. I had planned to hike Pikes Peak this morning, but I slept through the alarm (set for 12:30 am). But I did wake up early enough to do Chasm lake, so there ya go. Yes Chasm lake is reached via the Longs peak trail, the same trail I've been hiking most weekends.

This was my first visit to Chasm lake this year, as earlier in the season the trail required crossing a steep snowfield (now melted). My timing was good as columbines were going crazy in the cool alpine valley east of the lake.

Lots of water flowing, too, The green pond is below Chasm lake.

Chasm lake itself is hidden from view until you climb up a 20' rock slab. Then voila: the lake appears right at the base of the towering east face of Longs peak. Actually the lake is surrounded by peaks.

As you see the sky was blue, meaning no T-storms to worry about. So after getting back to the Longs peak trail I spent the rest of the day hiking here and there. First I hiked up to the Boulder field and Keyhole, then I hiked down the north Longs peak trail and Boulder brook trail. This is terrain I've already hiked this year, but the special thing this time was wildlife. First I heard several marmots making their alarm bark, which sounds like a short, high pitched whistle: peet! Then I heard a coyote howling and yipping, which was why the marmots were frightened. Later I saw a marmot family with two pups. And I saw a pika (no photo).

But wait, there's more. As I hiked down the tundra I saw a ptarmigan with a couple of chicks. Then a few minutes later I saw another ptarmigan, also with chicks. And finally near the base of the Boulder brook trail I saw an enormous wild turkey (photographed as he walked away).

Okay so it wasn't Pikes peak but I made the best of a late start. I got in 23 miles, gained 5300' of elevation -- and I got to visit my favorite privy on the west side of the Boulder field. Not a bad day.

Forest repairs in progress

Initially I wasn't planning to hike today, as I thought I'd be sore from Longs. But when I got up this morning I felt okay, so I hiked up S Boulder Peak. While the forecast was for 90 degrees the morning was fairly mild, and I had a breeze and some shade hiking up/down Shadow canyon. All good.

As I've mentioned there's a large burn area around the saddle between S Boulder peak and Bear peak, a scar from the 2012 Flagstaff fire. Today as I hiked through this area I noticed fireweed growing between the charred, dead trees. Also dozens of tiny aspens (about 4' high) have taken advantage of the clearing to form a new grove. So the forest is slowly starting to heal.

Longs peak summit via Keyhole route

This was the day to summit Longs. Great weather forecast and the Keyhole route was completely snow free. For the occasion I took a bigger day pack so that I could stash a few extra things: gloves, fleece sweater, rain gear, ankle brace (ya never know), extra flashlight, etc. It was still dark when I started hiking at 5 am, but after 25 minutes it was light enough for me to turn off my flashlight.

Per usual I passed a lot of hikers before reaching the Chasm Lake junction, but -- not per usual -- one hiker didn't stay passed. He caught up to me again about a mile from the Boulder field, and he asked me about the rest of the route as this was his first time on the trail. Since we both hiked around the same pace we decided to buddy up for the rest of the hike. The other hiker was named Daniel, a mechanical/biomedical engineering student at Colorado State. He's also a runner, which explains his quick hiking pace.

Spoiler: everything went perfect. We reached the Keyhole before 8 am, and although it was a bit windy the weather was quite mild for 13,200'. Then we went thru the Keyhole, across the Ledges

... up the Trough (first photo shows Daniel in the lime green shirt, second photo is looking back down)

... across the Narrows

... up the Homestretch

... finally reaching the large, rather flat summit at 9:40 am (second photo is looking down on Chasm lake)

We hung out on the summit for about 20 minutes, eating snacks and enjoying the view. The route down was uneventful, though we did have to wait a couple of times for hikers heading up the trail. Also it quickly got warm, so Daniel and I ditched our long-sleeve shirts. And we got to see a bunch of marmots, including the one below.

We reached our cars a little before 2 pm, so it took us 9 hours to cover 16 miles round trip with 5000' elevation gain. Outstanding hike -- really great seeing Longs summit again after many years. Bye, Longs!