Pike's Peak is a 14,115 foot mountain just west of Colorado Springs, Colorado. We'll hike the Barr Trail from the trailhead to the summit and then back down. 13 miles + 7k feet up and then 13 miles + 7k feet down. You'll be almost continuously moving for 12+ hours at high elevation. This is a serious undertaking that requires serious training. It's also a great reason to get in great shape.
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Logistics
We'll fly into either Colorado Springs or Denver (1.5 hours away) and then stay in a nearby hotel on Friday night. We'll wake up at 4AM and start hiking at 4:45AM. This should put us on the summit at 11AM and then off the mountain at 5PM, assuming a couple breaks up-and-down. We'll have a celebratory dinner and then crash with flights out the next day.
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What to Bring
- Broken-in trail-running shoes (not tennis shoes)
- Hiking socks
- Knee braces (optional)
- Hiking shorts
- Athletic boxer/briefs (avoid cotton)
- Athletic shirt (avoid cotton)
- Warm jacket (lightweight and packable, summit will be 30-45 degrees)
- Rain jacket (just in-case)
- Sunglasses
- Hat
- Neck gaiter and/or beanie (for sun, wind, cold)
- Thin gloves (nice-to-have)
- Trekking poles (highly recommend)
- Headlamp (we'll be hiking in the dark first 1-2 hours)
- Backpack (~20L size, hip-belt is nice-to-have)
- Camelback (1-2L, we can pump water on the trail)
- Nalgene
- 3-4 electrolyte powders
- Food (cliff bars, freeze-dried fruit, beef jerky)
- Sunscreen
- Chapstick
- Biodegradable wet wipes (just in-case, there's a toilet 1/2 way up and at the summit)
