Pikes Peak

My mother and friends Wayne and Angie along with myself hiked from the Crags campground up the northwest slopes of Pikes Peak on June 15th. Not only did we avoid the grueling standard route on the east side of Pikes, but we were also treated to a much more scenic view of the Sangre de Cristo mountains and other central Colorado ranges to the west and northwest (which are obviously more interesting to look at and photograph compared to the flat uninteresting high plains of eastern Colorado). There is nothing difficult about this trail. It ascends around 4000' over a distance of 6-7 miles in order to reach the summit. The trail appeared to be well maintained, and we only encountered a few snow fields which were lingering into mid June. The crux of this hike was a boulder strewn slope at around 13,500', which requires scrambling upwards in order to reach the summit. However, it is easily tackled, and actually made the trip more interesting...its always fun to use your hands a bit on any hike.