kimscookingfrenzy: Extreme Colorado Hike on Wednesday

Sandy and I, as well as my husband and our little boy dog, Brutus, set out for a nice, big hike on Wednesday. We went to a great trail called Newlin Creek; I've shared photos and stories about this hike before. Right away when we got up to the trailhead, we noticed the water in the creek was flowing at a high level, the likes of which we'd never seen before. Lots of melting snow in the mountains above result in a high volume of water in the creek. The Newlin Creek Trail has about 17 water crossings that you have to do twice (once on the way up the mountain and again on the way down the mountain). The creek crossings can be challenging for people and their four legged friends.

This Wednesday, the water in the creek was just too high. We ended up just hiking about three miles in the Newlin Creek area. We took time to venture off the trail and we found this natural shelter (a rocky overhang). I took photos of fiddleheads and wild flowers...

It was a really pretty day and it was a shame we couldn't hike further up the trail like we had hoped.

We headed home. Once we got home, we decided to head up to Colorado Springs to go out for lunch and maybe walk around Manitou Springs or Old Colorado City for some window shopping. We had a nice lunch at Panera Bread. While there, my husband suggested we go hike "The Incline". We've never hiked the Manitou Incline but we've been wanting to try it for a long, long time. We've been hearing about "The Incline" for years. I've included an article link below so you can read more about this "extreme hike". It has an interesting history. Let's just say this is a super, duper, uber steep, steep, STEEP hike. It's like a staircase that goes up the side of a mountain. You are mostly hiking on railroad ties but sometimes the railroad ties are stacked two high. Here's a little information I found on line about this hike.

The Incline is famous for its sweeping views and steep grade, with an average grade of 45% (24°) and as steep as 68% (34°) in places, making it a fitness challenge for locals in the Colorado Springs area. The incline gains over 2,000 feet (610 m) of elevation in less than one mile.

Here are a few photos from my hike...

Ahhhh, I made it to the TOP. It was so challenging but exhilarating. I made it up in 54 minutes.

I had to take a photo to prove it!

Yes, that pale streak going straight down, down, down... is the trail. This is crazy steep!

And look at that view!

In the photo above, you can see some big red rocky outcroppings in the distance. This is the Garden of the Gods. It's spectacular! If you ever visit Colorado Springs, I recommend you visit the Garden of the Gods if you have a chance.