Last week I shared the mental war that happened in my brain before jumping off a rock into the Arkansas River. At the time I didn't have any pictures to show you, but recently the rafting pictures were uploaded, and now I get to display my experience in all its glory...
It's so awesome!
For my final Colorado post I wanted to share my first official mountain climbing experience.
Pike's Peak is also known as America's Mountain -- apparently this is because it is was the inspiration for the "purple mountain majesty" lyric in America the Beautiful, but I happen to think it's America's mountain because instead of hiking and climbing the mountain, Pike's Peak is accessible by car :)
That being said, the harrowing journey up Pike's Peak is not for the faint of heart. There are almost no guard rails, and the road is very close to the edge of the mountain, making the trip up look as though you are perpetually about to fall over the edge at any moment. In fact, due to the inherent lack of safety during this drive, you are required to have your breaks checked before getting on the road! It is also recommended to go as early in the morning as possible...this is to avoid the bad weather that typically rolls in around noon.
Despite our fear of the road's edge, we braved it a few times to step out of the car and walk around (capturing some pictures along the way). This is my favorite one...
covered in mountain dew!
Before we knew it, plants like these dissipated, and we were closer to clouds than the tree line. once we were at the top (and got accustomed to the major change in elevation) it was time to explore a few of the slopes extending from the peak. Those slopes consist mostly of piles of red boulders like these...
While climbing on the slopes, I lost my footing and caught myself with my knee, bruising my knee and calf so badly, it took about a month to heal property and for the knot in my leg to smooth out. Although I wasn't in any real danger, falling down a mountain isn't fun, and I'm pretty thankful we weren't on the side of the mountain where loose footing would have resulted in a much worse accident.
After my accident, Eric and I decided to head back to the summit and grab a picture for a little more proof of our mountain adventure...
And we indulged in some Pike's Peak homemade donuts (they are apparently a tradition -- I was unaware of this). I'm just going to assume that an major increase in elevation doesn't do wonders for the deep frier. They look a little wonky, but tasted great.
Another highlight from this trip involved finding a colorado gem that wasn't in colorado springs.
On the night we climbed Pike's Peak we had dinner at a very nice restaurant called Rocky Mountain Brewery. There we had a waitress who told us to check out Mnt. Princeton hot springs at some point on our trip.
Mnt. Princeton was a bit of a drive from our campsite (about an hour and a half) but it was a drive we were willing to make for more awesome natural mountain treasures.
The hot springs are owned by the Mnt. Princeton resort, so unfortunately you have to pay a handsome sum to experience magma-heated water. But because they are privately owned, they are beautifully kept, and the resort engineered a couple of ways to enjoy the water.
The resort built several large pools near the river housing the springs. They fill these pools with water from the river and water from the hot springs to create the perfect temperature. The water is constantly flowing in, so it doesn't need to be heated and it doesn't need to be treated by chemicals...it's essentially a very slow moving river.
The other way you can experience the springs are to visit the river itself.
The faster, shallow river itself is very cold. But on the bank of the river are shallow pools constructed from rocks (pictured above) and these pools serve as mini natural hot tubs. Some of the cold river water seeps between the rocks, making the temperature of the magma-heated water manageable to the touch. The result is the perfectly calm natural hot spring. The temperature is even semi-adjustable! Different parts of the pool are different temperatures depending on how close you are to the river, and digging yourself deeper into the sand will make the water warmer.
It was a perfect night to close our Colorado adventure.
I hope someday I'll get the chance to go back. I would be lucky to stay in the shadow of the Rocky Mountain range again, swim in the rivers, ride the horses, hike in the gorges and look out for bears. Until next time...
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