Ever since I started doing Fourteeners, Pikes Peak has been on my bucket list. Living on the Front Range, I see it every day, but I have never been to the top. Part of it is because I don't ever think about going to the summit unless I have guests from out of town. Part of it is not wanting to pay to take the Cog Railway to the top. Part of it is because I first wanted to get to the top on my own. I've always been intimidated by the mileage, but thought that this would be the year I make it to the top.

I got up around 2AM and was out the door by 2:30 for the 90 minute drive to the Crags TH. I was the first car in the parking lot at 4AM by about 15 seconds, as another car pulled in right behind me. I asked the other party if I could follow them so I wouldn't miss the turn-off to Devils Playground and they let me tag along for a bit. Thank you! We all left the parking lot around 4:15AM.

Even with headlamps, it was hard to follow the trail with it being pitch black, so I'm glad that I had someone to follow. Even though I knew I should be looking for the trail to Devil's Playground about a half a mile in, I might have missed the turn if I wasn't following them. They were going faster than I was, and eventually they took off and I lost sight of their headlamps.

About another mile in I passed another group of hikers. These would be the only other hikers I saw on the trail until the final ascent, but I am glad I ran into these people. I lost the trail at about 2 miles in, and couldn't figure out where to go. Luckily, I heard this group come up the trail, and waited for them to catch up. When they arrived, I told them I couldn't find the trail and asked if I could stick with them until sunrise. Luckily for me, they knew where they were going and were gracious enough to let me tag along for a bit. Another Thank You! I stuck with them for another hour until I could follow the trail on my own.

FOOTNOTE #1: There were three stream crossings: one after the trail splits with a log bridge, one about a mile in with another log bridge, and a third about 2 miles in without a bridge. I don't know if the last stream is seasonal, but it did throw me off. I didn't see it on the route description, so in the dark, I couldn't tell where the trail went. The trail does continue on the other side, but it's hard to see in the dark if you don't know it's there.

At about 6AM, the sun began to rise and I could see the trail more clearly. I thanked the party that had gotten me back on the trail and headed up through some switchbacks to the tree line. There were a couple of times I missed the switchback, but I quickly recognized my mistake and easily got back on the trail.

Once I got out of the trees, the trail was much easier to see and I could follow it up to the saddle at 12,750. The sun was coming up and made for some nice photo opportunities as I continued up the trail. It was a little slow going, but it wasn't a bad hike up to the saddle

Sometimes you need a moral victory, and getting onto the saddle was one for me. Even though I knew I was only halfway up, seeing the summit and Pikes Peak highway was a huge motivation boost. I also knew I'd be getting a reprieve from climbing up as I headed over to Devil's Playground.

I took a short break at the saddle and continued on. The hike over to Devil's Playground was really a nice break. It was a gradual incline through some really nice terrain. The trail was easy on the legs and I feel like I was making good time, giving me more encouragement as I headed up.

I made it to Devil's Playground, crossed the road, and headed up the trail which continued along road.

FOOTNOTE #2: There are porta-potties at Devil's Playground, which is nice if you've ever had to use a wag bag on the trail.

The trail for the next two miles wasn't too bad. For the most part, it follow the road. It's a gradual incline and then a gradual descent to a bend in the road. Then another ascent that follows the road initially, but then goes around Point 13,363. After passing Point 13,363 the trail descends slightly as you hike towards the road again and follow along the road for a bit.

About a half a mile from the top is where I really started to slow down. From here, it got steep and rocky. I took my time making the ascent, being passed by several groups of hikers. Luckily there were a lot of cairns along the way to navigate the switchbacks to the top. If you can't find the trail, just look around and head towards the nearest cairn. Once I got to the top of the switchbacks, I was a little let down that I still wasn't at the top. I really expected to pop over the last ridge and see the Summit House. However, most of the elevation was over, and it was an easy hike over to the summit.

I spent about 40 minutes at the top. I took a bunch of photos and then headed inside. The Summit House is really nice, and I think one day I will drive my family up here and take my time to view the exhibits. However, I still had to get down, so I grabbed a sandwich from the cafeteria and sat down to rest for a bit. Before walking out, I re-filled my water bottles.

FOOTNOTE #3: There is a really nice faucet in the gift shop so that you don't have to refill your water bottles with the water fountain. It's very handy, and glad someone pointed it out to me while I was trying to use the water fountain.

FOOTNOTE #4: I don't know if this is the norm, but the cashiers were taking credit cards or exact change only. If you are planning on buying a snack or a souvenir, I would make sure to bring a credit card.

After resting for so long at the top, it took a while to get the legs going again, but made my way back across the parking lot and back down the trail. Took my time going down the rocks and back down to where the trail leveled out a bit. The rest of the trail back to Devil's Playground wasn't too bad. There was a gradual uphill to go back around Point 13,363 and then another uphill along the road back up towards Devil's Playground, but it was all easy hiking. My legs and feet were starting to get worn out at this point, but I was still moving forward. I also noticed a storm cloud form on the other side of Pikes Peak and so I tried to pick up the pace.

I got to Devil's Playground and started walking down the trail towards the saddle. From this point, I rarely saw any more hikers on the trail, just an occasional person or two, who I hoped wasn't trying to get all the way to the top this late in the day. I looked back from the trail and saw the storm cloud, and hoped I could make it to the trees before it came overhead. Again, easy hike through the rock bands down to the saddle. Coming down the slope past the saddle was a little slow going with the soreness in my feet, but I was still doing well.

I don't know what it is, but on every fourteener I've done, it always seems like the last couple of miles back to the trail head takes forever. That was definitely the case on this hike. I would walk for what seemed like an hour, look at my watch, and see that I had only hiked for five minutes. There was no one else on the trail, and so I had to focus mentally on getting down the mountain. I got down past tree line, and just kept on moving. It looks like the storm headed towards Colorado Springs instead of my way, so it never rained on me. It took for what seemed like an eternity, but I finally got back to the trail head and drove back home.

Started at 4:15AM, Devil's Playground at 7:30AM, Summit at 9:40AM, Descent at 10:20AM, Devil's Playground at 12:00PM, Trail Head at 2:15PM. Overall a great experience and glad I could check that one off. It was the longest fourteener I've done to date, but it was nice to have the porta-potties halfway up and the summit house at the top. As long as the summit house will be open, you can plan on buying a snack and refilling water bottles at the top. It's a very convenient way to cut down on the weight for this hike.