Manitou Incline

BigRedBuster

BigRedBuster

Active member
OK...has anyone done this before? LINK

To make a long story short, I went through some back problems earlier this spring that prevented me from running and I basically had taken the summer off. I knew I needed to get back into it but I fell into all of the normal excuses.

Anyway, I was in the Colorado Springs area last week and was looking for a hiking trail and found this.

This thing is absolutely nuts. It's a mile long straight up a mountain gaining 2,000 feet in elevation on an old rail road track. So, you are literally climbing the rail road ties for a mile up a mountain. Picture the most brutal stair master workout you could possibly imagine.

Well, I finished in 1 hour 28 minutes. A lot were faster than me but I finished along with some people who were a lot younger than me too. If you have done it before, what was your time?

Well, this has motivated me to get back to work. I will be going for a run this evening.

 
Been on that & Barr trail a few times; it's a bit rough the first time but it's well worth it. It's a gorgeous area but very packed in the summer. Once you get back to full go, I'll bet you'll cut your time in half. Do you typically hit the Springs when you're out here? No shortage of great trails along the front range... :)

 
I've done it once and it took me about a hour and a half too. Garden of the Gods is one of my favorite places to hike in that area.

 
Garden of the Gods was way too packed and modern/touristy for me. The rocks were cool but I would prefer to hike somewhere where there isn't paved walk ways and rangers standing there yelling at you if you mistakenly wander in the wrong direction. It seemed to me to be pretty much a really big play ground for kids to run around and climb on things.

Barr Trail was very nice. If I get back there again, i want to just take Barr Trail and go on up to the summit at Pike's Peak.

 
BigRedBuster said:
Garden of the Gods was way too packed and modern/touristy for me. The rocks were cool but I would prefer to hike somewhere where there isn't paved walk ways and rangers standing there yelling at you if you mistakenly wander in the wrong direction. It seemed to me to be pretty much a really big play ground for kids to run around and climb on things.

Barr Trail was very nice. If I get back there again, i want to just take Barr Trail and go on up to the summit at Pike's Peak.
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I did it about 3 years ago and it wasn't as "regulated". I've heard its gotten worse since then and I know some of the places we climbed up to would not be allowed today. There were signs to stay on the trails but we ventured off and did our own thing. Luckily there was very few people around when we went. I get what you're saying though, I would have a much different opinion if we would've had to stay on the trails. Kind of takes some of the fun out of it when you can't explore and what not.

Haven't done Barr Trail but it's definitely on my list for Colorado.

 
I have not done the Manitou Incline. It does look interesting though. Might have to try it the next time I'm in the area.

It sort of reminds me of the trail up to Hanging Lake by Glenwood Springs. I would recommend trying if you're ever in the area. It is fairly short but steep. About 1000 feet vertical in 1.2 miles. It is right off of I-70 just east of Glenwood Springs and takes only about 2-3 hours. However, it can be fairly crowded at times and you cannot go off trail due to erosion concerns etc. It is a nice hike, probably not near as strenuous as the MI.

http://www.visitglenwood.com/hanging-lake

 
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