Shelf Road

After we left Red Canyon Park we continued on Shelf Road. So these are just some pictures I took on the main scenic portion of the road. There’s a few of them because I liked them all and couldn’t narrow it down to less then I already have.

   

  

   

The next picture is probably one of my favorites. As we neared the end of the trail we came around a corner and saw the mountains in the distance through the trees. The view was amazing and pretty much took your breath away.

Shelf Road ends in the little town of Cripple Creek. This is looking back down at the town as you leave.

The road back to the springs is also very scenic but because it is a pretty narrow winding road there isn’t really room to pull over and take pictures. We did pass this unused tunnel and stopped to get a picture of it. It’s called the Watershed tunnel. It’s locked up so you cant drive through but it looked cool from the road. 

 

 

Red Canyon Park

So this was a four day weekend due to memorial day. I’ve been wanting to go on a local trail known as Shelf road for some time and finally got around to doing that. It is just one of the few trails in the area that make up the Gold Belt Tour. These are the trails that people used to travel west and between towns during the gold rush and the years following it. However pictures of the actual trail will be coming tomorrow.

The first part of the trail starts out with Red Canyon Park. It reminded me of Garden of the Gods but with a lot less people and a lot more vegetation.

My buddy, Morrow, and I decided we wanted to climb the to the top of this big rock formation.

Along the way we saw these flowers and thought it was funny how they can grow on the side of a rock.

 

 

 

Here I am, victorious at the top.

And then we both take a break and enjoy the view.

Can you find me in this picture? 

O, there I am. Taking another break.

Very Grateful Girl

I saw this video online and thought I would share it with you all. It won’t let me post it on here however so just follow the link.

http://www.wimp.com/doanything/

Enjoy!

The Manitou Incline

This weekend I did what had to be the dumbest, most intensive thing I have ever done. I hiked the Manitou Incline.

The incline started out as a railroad that ascended to the top of Mt. Manitou in the early 1900’s before it was closed. All that remains now are 5,000 railroad ties with an elevation gain of over 2,000 ft over a total distance of just under a mile. It averages a 40% grade with a maximum grade of 68%. Once you reach the peak you are standing at an elevation of about 8,600 ft above sea level. Pretty intense if you ask me.  You can see the scar of it going up the side of the mountain in the picture above.

 

 

This is the start of it. A very foreboding sight.

 

 

 

 

 

These two were taken about a quarter of the way looking both up and down. The parking lot in the center of the second picture is the starting point.

You gotta take breaks to catch your breath, both from climbing and from the views.

 

 

 

 

After a long afternoon of climbing I finally made it to the top.

This is looking towards downtown Colorado Springs from the summit.

 

 

 

 

Here you can see the city of Manitou Springs in the foreground with Colorado Springs in the background.

Hiking up the incline was very difficult but it was fun and I may do it again. But first I need to  get some feeling back in my legs.

Ok Go

This video has been out for sometime now but I think it is still pretty cool and funny. It is a music video from the band Ok Go.

And I have just been using treadmills to run on. I could be having so much more fun doing pt.

This is their newest video which is what made me think of the last one.

 

I think that’s pretty crazy. I wonder how many times they had to film this to get it to work just right?