Italy Adventure of KJ Squared

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Adventures Include:

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3. Pienza - Cinque Terre

Barr Trail to Pikes Peak - Pike National Forest (Colorado)

Location: Pike National Forest

City: Manitou Springs/Colorado Springs, CO

Hike Type: Point to Point

Distance: 12.6 miles (one way)

Net Elevation Gain: 7,300 feet

Date of Hike: September 4-5, 2010

I was in Colorado visiting my friend in Denver for the Labor Day weekend.  Our main plan for the weekend was to tackle Pikes Peak, which is one of Colorado’s 54 “fourteeners” at a peak elevation of 14,110 feet.  There are lots of options to the top including driving or riding a cog railway up the mountain.  We chose to hike up the mountain and ride the train down with an overnight stop at the Barr Camp cabin about halfway up the mountain.

View Barr Trail in a larger map

The hike is a pretty steep ascent all the way through.  You are below tree line all the way up to Barr Camp and then some which does obscure views most of the time on day 1.  However, the payoff on day 2 above tree line is mighty fine if you can handle the distance, ascent, and thin air when you get up there.   We started on the trail about noon and made it to Barr Camp by about 4:30. 

A view during day one

Barr Camp is a small cabin just below tree line at an elevation of 10,200 feet.  The cabin is basically a big room with 20 or so bunks and a small kitchen/dining area.  There is a nice porch that wraps around the cabin where most hikers congregate until 6 pm when dinner served.  The cabin staff cook/serve spaghetti and garlic bread (perhaps the best garlic bread I’ve ever tasted) for dinner and chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast the next morning.  Light go out at 9pm and I squeezed in to my upper bunk that was maybe 3 feet below the ceiling, but considering where we were this was pretty much the lap of luxury in relative terms. 

We departed Barr Camp around 7:30am trying to get to the top before any possible thunderstorms developed and to make sure we didn’t miss our train back down that would leave at 1:00.  Pretty soon after the start of day 2 of hike we got above the tree line and the views opened up.

Day 2 View

Another Day 2 View

Just before reaching the peak

As you near the top you must traverse what is called the golden staircase which is a series of I've what is read is supposed to be 14 or 16 switchbacks (I lost count very early on).  My body and lungs were none too pleased with me putting them through the golden staircase nor placing them at an elevation some 30 times higher than my home elevation of about 500 feet in Dallas.  As depleted as I felt for that last half mile or so I knew there really was no choice but to forge on since the alternative was walking downhill for 12 miles versus having a nice air conditioned train that would take us back down in a fraction of the time.  Also, we were told by a few hikers at Barr Camp the day before that although the elevation may suck up all your oxygen it also has magical properties that when applied to craft of making donuts produces the most delicious tasting treat you can imagine.  They weren’t kidding.  The taste of those high elevation, thin air-infused donuts served at the concession building on the peak was just as good as the scenery.  But, the cruel irony was that I could only manage 3 bites of the two donuts I ordered.  My body was so exhausted the very act of eating was taxing.  But those three bites were worth every bit of the exhaustion I endured.  In fact, they were so good that what I had to suffer through was totally "worth it" just like in this scene from Scrubs (except it was cookies instead of donuts)

Finally at the Peak

Just before getting on the train

The ride back down on the train takes about 45 minutes and I definitely recommend it as it will save you probably 5 hours or so unless you can arrange somebody to meet you at the peak in their car and take you back down.  On the way down we saw a big horn sheep and a black bear (but no pictures as everybody raced over to the other side of the train to snap their pictures through a window and I was not in the mood to squeeze through the crowd at that time).

Bonus: Of all the views you will come across, it may not get more beautiful than Butt Rock

Devil's Hall Trail - Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Location: Guadalupe Mountains NP (Texas)
Nearest City: Carlsbad, NM (55 miles)
Hike Type: Point to Point
Distance: 4.2 miles (round trip)
Net Elevation Gain: 500 feet
Date of Hike: July 1, 2010

This was our second day out to GMNP and it would turn out to be our final day at the park as a planned day hike through McKittrick Canyon the following day had to be cut out because of heavy rains that hit the area from the remnants of a tropical storm. The Devil’s Hall trail is considerably less taxing than the Guadalupe Peak trail we completed just two days earlier. This trail is about half the distance of the GP trail and is relatively flat with only 500 feet of net elevation gain. Nevertheless, it is still quite a scenic trail and well worth checking out.

View Devil's Hall in a larger map

The highlights of the trail are Devil’s Staircase and Devil’s Hallway.  The staircase is a natural rock staircase and the hallway is a narrow canyon probably 20-30 feet wide and 100 feet high.  Besides these highlights I found the views of the mountains towering above the relatively low elevation of this trail on each side to be a particularly scenic and provided an interesting perspective.

A view of the mountains to the north along the trail covered in fog

Devil's Hallway

Devil's Staircase

Be careful along the trail as the National Park Service says the 2nd mile of the trail is not maintained. We didn’t have any issues on the way out but on the way back we lost the trail and ended up hiking in what I think was a dry creek bed parallel to the trail just to the north. We eventually ran into the Tejas trail which is about a quarter of a mile north of the Devil’s Hall trail. These two trails split from each near the start of the trailhead. So all we had to do was follow the Tejas trail back to the trailhead and we were back where we started. We were probably off trail for a good mile or so and knew we were off trail. However, I knew we generally moving in easterly direction and that would eventually get us back to close to where we started. However, if you end up in the dry creek bed you are pretty much stuck there unless you back track since the banks on each side are probably 15-20 feet high and relatively steep. However, it is not too difficult walk through since it has pretty good layer of rocks to follow. One other thing to be aware of is that this trail can be very rocky at times (on or off trail) and can require some minor scrambling over rocks.

Climbing up the side of Devil's Hallway

Alkali Flat Trail - White Sands National Monument (New Mexico)

Location: White Sands National Monument
Nearest City: Alamogordo, NM (15 miles)
Hike Type: Lollipop
Net Elevation Gain: Negligible, some dune climbing
Distance: 4.6 miles
Trail Surface: Gypsum Sand
Date of Hike: June 30, 2010

The Alkali Flat - which this trail covers a portion of - is the dry lake bed of Lake Otero, a lake that filled the bottom of the Tularosa Basin during the last ice age and covered 1,600 square miles.  The trail traverses bright white gypsum sand dunes and it is it is best to bring sunglasses to protect your eyes.

View Alkali Flat Trail in a larger map

The drive from Carlsbad, NM to WSNM in south central New Mexico is about three hours and is very scenic when it passes through Lincoln National Forest.  The first thought that came to my mind when we made it out here was a line from America the Beautiful: “Purple Mountain Majesties.”  The mountains really seemed to have purple hue that contrasted very sharply against the white sands.  A favorite activity in the park is to rent sledding discs and slide down the dunes.  This is quite fun but I also think the hiking trail is quite an enjoyable experience as well.

This is us in the hear of the park.  You can see a truck off to the right and people off in the distance sliding down the dunes just to the left of my head.

The trail is very unique in that there is nothing but bright white sand for miles and miles.  Without well placed trail markers or a compass in hand it would be impossible to keep a straight line or have the faintest idea which direction you were walking.  Thankfully, the trail is well marked.  My brother and I were the only two people on the trail at the time.  It was very interesting to feel so isolated in an area that was just past the main park road where throngs of people were sliding down the dunes.  Not long after the trail starts you will lose sight road and all the cars and people nearby it.  It’s sort of a surreal feeling to forge further and further into this bright white vastness which seems to go on forever.  You literally feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere and that it might take days to find the end of this environment.  Traversing on sand and up and down dunes does not make for brisk hiking but it is a very unique experience.   

A trail marker along the way

Looking back east on the trail.  This shot is me experimenting with my camera's HDR feature

This is a view along the road just before reaching WSNM and soon after exiting Lincoln National Forest.

Guadalupe Peak Trail – Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Location: Guadalupe Mountains NP (Texas)

Nearest City: Carlsbad, NM (55 miles)

Hike Type: Point to Point

Distance: 8.4 miles (round trip)

Net Elevation Gain: 3,000 feet

Date of Hike: June 29, 2010

Guadalupe Peak is the highest point in Texas at an elevation of 8,749 feet.  Guadalupe Mountains National Park which is in far west Texas just south of the New Mexico border and is approximately 100 miles east of El Paso, 500 miles west of Dallas; Austin; or San Antonio, 700 miles west of Houston, and 250 miles north of Big Bend National Park by car.


View Guadalupe Peak Trail in a larger map

The hour long drive from our hotel in Carlsbad at 6 in the morning to GMNP was filled with anxiousness.  This was my first real proper hike in the mountains and I couldn’t have been more excited.  My eyes had never seen anything from 3000 feet in the sky let alone iconic rugged west Texas landscape from that vantage point.

The Ken Burns National Park documentary series got me interested in the very unique gift that is our national park system.  The more I researched and the more pictures I looked at the more excited I got.  This trail and my national park experience accomplished a rare feat...it actually lived up to those high expectations I set in my head.  The only disappointment was I really wish I had gotten into hiking and national parks 10 years earlier because I feel like there will never be enough time to see all I want to see.  But enough about me...the trail beckons or its description at least.

Despite being late June in the blistering summers of Texas it was a crisp 55 degrees or so at 7:00am when my brother Aaron and I arrived at the park.  Even in the heat of the afternoon it never got above 80 degrees.  It was overcast most of the trip which was cause by the outer bands of a tropical storm that has hit the coast of Texas some 500+ miles away a few days earlier.  Even starting at an elevation roughly the equivalent of Denver (mile-high), I don’t think you should count on mild temperatures in the summer.  So, it’s best to get as early a start as possible.  There are two reasons for this: 1) to avoid the heat obviously and 2) to avoid afternoon thunder storms are a common occurrence in the summer in mountainous terrain.

There was a little confusion finding the trail, but we eventually figured it out and made it to the trailhead about 8:30am. The trail is a pretty steady uphill ascent most of the way.  The switchbacks start almost from the beginning but within an hour’s time it surprising to see you how far you will rise above the cars in the parking lot.  There are numerous lookouts across the valley to the north and the desert to the east and eventually to the south as you get higher.  The trail eventually enters a forested area and the views disappear for a little while, but you do cross the highest bridge in Texas just as you start the exit the forest.

The ascent starts early and rarely relents.  This angle does make it look a little steeper than it actually is.

About 1/4th the way up.  If you squint you can see the parking lot.  My brother Aaron is looking to the north across the valley

This is at a similar point in the trail looking to the southeast.

Highest bridge in Texas.

Before long you come you will pass over a ridge and come around the backside of a mountain.  At this point the views open to the south for the first time.   After crossing over the ridge, I was stunned to see the backside of El Capitan.  I had seen many pictures of El Capitan’s bald front side from the highway but in all my research I had never came across a picture of the backside and for all intents and purposes I didn’t really even know it existed (although clearly it had to).  This was the highlight of the trek for me because it was completely unexpected but at the same time instantly recognizable.  Unlike the orange bald-face of the park’s quintessential landmark, El Capitan’s backside is painted green with grass and trees and contrasted with the white of loose rock and boulders.  The view is all the more stunning because you get your first glimpses of the uninterrupted desert vistas to the south.  On clear days I’ve read you can see for 100 miles or longer (maybe even to Mexico).  Once El Capitan is in your sight you’re within 30 minutes or so of the top. 

This photo looks back to the north.  Just over the ridge in center of the photo is when the view to the south become unobstructed and El Capitan comes into view.

El Capitan from behind.  This is the point on a clear day (sadly not today) where you  can see for a 100 miles of so.

El Capitan from the highway.  Highly recommended as well.  This view is about a 7 mile drive from the park entrance.

The top is very rocky, but comfortable enough to sit and enjoy the view.  On top you’ll find a peak register in a green box, which I didn’t realize was there until I read about it months after this trip (I guess that just the excuse I need to do this hike again).  The peak is marked by a pyramid-shaped monument marker installed by American Airlines in the 1940s or so, I think.  That’s about it.

This is me at the peak.  The altitude and ascent got to my brother and he had to stop about 3/4s of the way up...next time he'll make it.  Unfortunately the clouds are masking the open desert landscape. 

Take note that the trip downhill is not a walk in the park (well I guess it is literally but not so much figuratively).  My brother’s and my legs were shaking most of the way down and we had to be careful not to move to fast or we might easily slip.  Despite that, it was totally worth every second of it.  I think we got down to our car about 3:30 pm or 7 hours later.  This can definitely be done in a shorter amount of time but we took our time.

In case you’re curious about trail solitude, we came across a grand total of 6 people (3 hiking groups) during the entire hike and that was only for a few passing moments as everybody moved at different paces.  The trail is very much all to yourselves.