A PIKES PEAK TRIP THAT DIDN’T GO AS PLANNED

We’ve been fortunate in our frequent travels over the past few years to not have had any hiccups to speak of, so I suppose we were due!

We set out on this trip with an aim to hike Pikes Peak for our second time together and for my fourth time overall — letting me check off accomplishing the endeavor in my 40s after also having done so in my teens, 20s and 30s. Unfortunately, the conditions for the hike turned out to be worse than our research had indicated ahead of the trip, so we opted against attempting it this time. But in my book, a roadtrip to the mountains is still worth documenting — even absent a major milestone.

day 1 • 06.14.24

starting out with stormy skies

We left home on a Friday afternoon, and as the sun set that evening, we crossed paths with a storm that was heading east as we drove west. Even though we missed the hail and gale-force winds reported on the radio, the weather still made for some impressive views and dramatic moments on Day 1.

day 2 • 06.15.24

arrival & an unexpected reunion

After spending the night car-camping at a rest stop in eastern Colorado, we made the rest of the drive to our destination. We didn’t have detailed plans for the day other than to allow ourselves a little time to acclimate to the elevation before our big hike. But as it turned out, we had family vacationing in the area — and although we hadn’t been able to get together at home for quite a while, we did manage to see each other two states away!

Seth and I spent some time in downtown Manitou Springs before the four of us met a little farther west, driving through Elevenmile Canyon and then having an early dinner so we would-be hikers could get to bed ahead of an early morning the next day. The excitement was capped off by our second-ever Cybertruck sighting, made even better by the fact I was able to capture it and Seth in the same frame.

day 3 • 06.16.24

an anticlimactic but beautiful Plan B

The night before our planned Pikes Peak hike, we came across trail reviews about snow near the summit creating treacherous conditions. None of the reviews we’d seen prior to the trip had been alarming, but it seemed that right around the time of our arrival, the extreme amount of snow from the previous winter had reached a state in its melting process that was causing a lot of slipping and sinking. One hiker described sinking hip-deep into snowfields, which sounded almost unimaginably difficult at a point in the hike that’s grueling even under the best conditions.

Thus we decided to opt out of the endeavor this time, and although that was disappointing, we still enjoyed a (decidedly easier) Garden of the Gods hike. Then, having already purchased train tickets to ensure we’d have a ride down from the Pikes Peak summit, we took the ride up as well — and felt certain after slipping around and sinking into snow at the trailhead that we’d made the right choice not to attempt the hike under those conditions.

Still, it was great to revisit a summit that holds so much meaning and such big memories. 

day 4 • 06.17.24

last looks & lots of dust

It’s always amazing to see a mountain the morning after summiting it, and although we couldn’t do that with a fresh sense of accomplishment, the previous successes still made it meaningful to look upon Pikes Peak.

We bid it goodbye for the moment and made our way back to Kansas, where we repeatedly encountered dust storms and even came upon a four-car accident caused by one. So maybe the greatest challenge of this trip was not so much a feat of physical endurance as simply getting home unscathed — which we did manage, with more mountains to come within the next month!