They say there’s no such thing as an easy 14er, and Pikes peak certainly wasn’t easy. Two of my house mates, Sarah and Meg, went with me to hike the peak on the early morning of 16th of June. There were some incredibly beautiful views on the way up, and cars and overly priced souvenirs at the top. America’s peak indeed.

Pike’s is called America’s peak because, as I learned, its view inspired the lyrics to America the Beautiful; it was definitely interesting to hike alongside a highway for a time, and to summit at a train station/doughnut shop. I was grateful for my roommates Sarah and Meg, who climbed with me, and Meg’s experience with the route was definitely appreciated. Today, I am sore.

Here are some photos!

ready to get my hike on . . . perhaps too confident?

“Old Baldy”

“Kissing Buffalo”

looking west.

the front range from “Devil’s Playgroud”

Towards the top, we ran into some serious clouds. At one point I was pretty dizzy and all around was white! It was a little scary. . .

You can see the cairn there on the right. These piles of rocks were the only way i knew how to make it to the top! It was pretty intense, as I had run out of water just before this last rock climb.

Finally . . . we made it!

-grace and peace