For the first time since I had left on my trip I had overslept, I was use to waking up in the early dawn, although today I found my tent was a tad too warm instead of a frosty chill. I honestly wouldn’t have minded the extra sleep, however I had planned to meet up with my friend Ryan who had a week off his job. With the sun already high in the sky I hastily packed up my tent and made my breakfast togo. The campsite had shower and while I opted to skip them in my haste I wish I would have taken advantage of them, there aren’t any out in the middle of a forest.
Entrance to the camp site
The car still had squealing belts, they were becoming a nuisance at this point. On my way out I stopped before getting onto the highway, pulled out the tool chest I kept snug behind the passenger seat and tightened up the belt, for the second time. Thankfully the bolts are easily accessible from the top of the engine bay. When I went to start the car I found they still were wailing away, a quick blip of the gas pedal quieted them right down.
After a week of driving, it was quite dirty from all the dirt roads.
With the belts now behaving themselves and my car all packed up I headed out towards Monitou Springs, a small town west of Colorado Springs. It’s where Ryan and I had agreed to meet up and was near the base of Pikes Peak Mountain.
We ended up meeting at a public park in town, just right as I was finishing up my lunch, after packing up my supplies and putting it back into the car we made our way out to Pikes Peak.
The Drive up the mountain is absolutely breath taking as it rises up over 8,000 feet from Colorado Springs. The whole 17 mile stretch of road up to the summit is a toll road, or rather more of a park entrance fee, it cost $12 to get in which honestly isn’t that bad considering the view you get from the top. For me Pikes peak has always been known for the annual hill climb in which rally drivers with near death wishes attempt to climb the mountain in cars specifically built for the race and reach a ludicrous pace of speed. 12.42 miles in 8 minutes and 13 seconds is an all time current record. Taking my time and stopping multiple times for photos, it took close to an hour to reach the end. Keep in mind this is on a mountain pass in which I found myself using first gear in my car on uphill hairpins. Until I drove this mountain, I never found myself needing 1st, unless I took off from a stop.
About 5 miles into the park
This was a blast to drive up
The Visual Garage Office.
However June was still early in the summer season for Colorado and the last two miles were sadly closed, thus I never got to go all the way to the top. The view was still astonishing. You were able to see for miles in any direction you looked. The amount of snow that covered the landscape only added to my amazement.
The end of the roadd, with workers blocking off the last two miles of road.
On the way down they warn you to not ride your brakes, and for good reason. If you keep your foot constantly on the brakes for the entire downhill you’ll overheat them and will be unable to stop. Given that guard rails are sparse and that drop offs wait for you at every chance you really need your brakes!
However there was a truck in front me crawling at such a snails pace I found myself using 1st and second gear, rarely ever needing my brakes. To ensure you don’t cook the brakes, after the steeper part of the road there is a brake check point. If the park ranger find your brakes over 300*, a temperature higher than the wet boiling point of Dot 3 brake fluid, you are forced to wait at least 30 minutes before you can proceed. Conveniently, or intentionally, there is a restaurant, gift shop, and lake view at said point. However due to the truck in front of my brake temp was something around 95*F. I ended up getting smarties for being smart with your brakes. I found it funny.
After the hill climb and descent of Pikes Peak we headed towards Denver, through the Pike National Forest in search of a camp site. And just like the previous day for me finding a good spot proved to be challenging. We drove down a few dirt country roads, with no luck of finding anything. We passed a manicured camping site, although it left a lot to be desired. Not many people were there, but the lots were small, close together, and very open. Swung back around to a day use area, as there was a manned booth there and I figured a park ranger would have the most knowledge of where we could camp. However we pulled up right as they were closing the area for the day and said booth attendant was making their rounds and no where in sight. Damn.
However a couple were leaving, in an older car with Colorado plates a clear sign that this wasn’t a rental car. I asked them if they had any recommendations and gave advice to head down to a road named Rainbow trails. With it now getting late this would be our last option to check before swinging back and camp in the manicured site.
Their advice paid off, there were a handful of spots along the road, most of the closer ones already occupied, however we lucked out and found a small cul-de-sac that had two area various plants, one already being occupied by a woman and her dog.
Night begin to soon fall, and those warm temperatures begin to fade as fast as the sun was setting.