So when I posted my trip report on last year’s “Twenty-four hours of Pikes Peak” to the 14ers website, a random dude suggested, “Well, what about Mount Rosa?” For some reason, I didn’t forget that lil statement and thought about it during the winter. Again, I pulled out a map, did some estimates, and created another canvas of a slog. Forty-five miles on paper (or old Garmin tracks) and some decent vert above tree line came out to, you guessed it, twenty-four hours of approximate effort to complete on Pikes Peak again for this olden.

Okay, I’m going to make this shorter than usual. If you look at the Garmin link, you’ll see my plan, so I’m not going to go over every trail. I will touch on the beginning, though. With COVID-19 in full effect, I wanted even my transportation to be solo, so I picked a trail closest to the free parking in Manitou Springs. I would park myself, walk up Pawnee Avenue, and start on the Intemann Trail in Section 16 and hike east over to High Drive starting at 5:00 a.m. The idea was to continue south and hit Mount Rosa first, swing over to Almagre second, then tag Pikes Peak and come down Barr Trail back to Manitou Springs for a tidy clockwise circle.

As I prepared for this journey, many things fell into place. I was pretty healthy. I could free up time that worked with home, work, and most importantly weather. After a snowstorm blew in earlier in the week, the region had solid high pressure for two days. Gotta go for it, right? With a query out to some outdoor folks, I got one taker, Bailey, to join me for a wee bit. She and her dog sent me off during sunrise before she unfortunately had to get back to the real world of working. BTW, this was a Thursday start time.

I’ll go over the good and the bad. The good: Worrying about an injury to my knee from September, I had gotten my lower extremities in shape. My feet didn’t really hurt till mile 35-ish. I had the route dialed in with 85 percent of it previously hiked somewhere in the past, which gave me a good idea of where to get water and how much to get at certain points. I hit all my pre-hike milestones on sleep, carb loading, and hydration. All of that provided confidence.

So on to the bad: I keep dropping stuff. I lose a 300-calorie bagel. While I am grabbing at my pockets, looking back for the bagel and generally not paying attention, I actually miss a turn in the Section 16 area and tack on 15-20 minutes of backtracking to get back on course. And this is two hours into the gig! It gets hot as the day progresses. I hadn’t done enough training in heat. I know because I feel like crap going up St. Mary’s Trail. Seven hours in, my watch says it’s 90 degrees. I’m nauseated and already don’t feel like eating. Really? This is not a good start. Because of all the time I’m losing, my confidence starts taking a hit. The other side of me kicks in and tells myself to shut up, push on, and fail for real, versus quitting—on an assumption that this will not end well. The summit 'detour' from GE Johnson's new summit house on Pikes Peak summit is still in effect. Please see picks and Garmin link

After I’ve completed Mount Rosa, some clouds gather and help with the heat. There’s a section on FS 379 where it passes closely to FS 379a (the way up Almagre Mountain), but you have to bushwhack a steep section to make the shortcut work. I decide to go for it and, after dragging myself up the slope, I shave 45 minutes off my time. Boom. Back in the game! The trek up Almagre goes well, and blazing down the scree slope on its north side builds my momentum. I needed to get to Pikes Peak summit by sundown. Period. The closer you get to the top, the less you see of any resemblance of a trail. The last half mile, there is none. I highly recommend tackling this during daylight, as I’ve personally lost big chunks of time mucking around the mini boulder fields in that area at night. This Garmin link has a clean route there, just FYI.

With Pikes Peaks summit tagged at dusk, I’m barely on time. Another mistake to mention though. I did not get enough time above tree line before this. Normally I can eat. But again, I get nauseated and can’t take anything down. Bananas are the only thing appealing, so I move the last two from my pack to my pocket. What happens within 30 minutes? They fall out and I lose both on the trail!

The oddest thing of the gig happens next. I see a herd of bighorn sheep hanging out at the summit, right next to the GE Johnson fence for the new Summit House being built. I thought they avoided such places and people? They then catch sight of me and actually come my way. They proceed to follow me down the 16 golden stairs. At one point, they are really close and are perched on a rock outcropping right above me, so I’m honestly worried they will accidentally send some rocks down! Later in the night as I’m further down the mountain near tree line, I hear a roar up above me. I first think it’s a rockfall. Nope. It’s that same sheep herd, skirting the mountain face about 50 yards above me. Alrighty, I’m awake now. Thank you…I think. They basically follow me for two hours. I’ve been on 28 different 14ers and Pikes Peak countless times, and that has never happened to me.

Okay. Finishing the deal. I pass through Barr Camp in the middle of the night and snag some water with no fanfare (because of COVID-19 restrictions). Half the fun of Barr Trail is the pit stop at BC! Ugh. Maybe some other year.

When I reach the bottom, I still have to hike a mile of the Intemann Trail from its most westerly point to meet my true starting point (Intemann trail at Pawnee Avenue). I bumble around the off-streets from Ruxton Avenue, looking to find the trailhead. Despite there being Ring the Peak markers with arrows pointing everywhere and social trails galore, I can’t find the #%#$& Intemann Trail. Maybe it was because it was dark and I was a bit weary, but regardless, it was very deflating. After a B12 vitamin and some backtracking, I get back on course. I suggest knowing this section before aggravating one’s self like I did.

44-ish miles, 24K of gain/loss vert, 88K steps later, I finish in 23 hours and 18 minutes. Like SoCal’s punk rock band Pennywise song ‘All or Nothing’ , it’s pass or fail. It’s just a pass. I’m too groggy to drive home, so I sleep in the back of my Pathfinder till the sun sends me on my way to a Jack in the Box for greasy egg-sausage-cheese bagels and iced mocha.

Garmin link https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/5078782849

YouTube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ww2u07bX1o