About a week ago, I read on Amy’s blog about her hike up the Manitou Incline. Something that crazy immediately peaked my interest. (That line is the incline. The shadow part is the fake summit. The part just about that in the sunshine is the real summit.)
Yesterday, being my first Saturday in a month without a track meet (woot!), Rob and I hopped in the car and headed for the incline.
Wow.
Now, I consider myself to be in decent shape, but this hike kicked my behind. It gains just over 2,000 feet in just under a mile.
Though I was completely humbled by how much I was sweating and how hard my heart was pounding, there was so much inspiration on the trail. One women sat down for a break and told her husband, “I don’t care how long it takes, I’m getting to the top of this thing.” Another woman was using the step-together method as she and her walking cane made their way up. I mean, wow.
Then there is Rob. Normally I am ahead of him on incline hikes, refusing to take breaks and just powering through. Well, not this time. The man just mountain goat-ed his way to the top and waited for me patiently as I counted 50, took a break, counted 50, took a break. He was perched on a rock, breathing normally, and starting to get chilled by the time I arrived.
One of the best parts of the incline, besides being done with it, is the receiving line when you hit the top. About 300 steps from the summit, I could hear cheers and shouts of encouragement as people spotted their hiking partners. It felt like finishing a race and gave me the encouragement I needed to power through the last few steps.
After watching people summit for a bit, we took the Barr Trail, about 2.5 miles, down instead of going back down the stairs like a few crazies were. Being afraid of heights, I had enough trouble going up without turning into a shaky mess, so going back down was not going to happen.
It took me about 50 minutes to finish the incline and I already want to head back and try to beat that time. Some guys at the top were comparing times and one of them boasted a 30 minute finish time!
RQ: What fun things did you do this weekend? Would you be interested in climbing the Manitou Incline?
I’m Brooke Selb, a Personal Trainer and Health Coach specializing in helping busy moms and moms to be to easily juggle mom life with family friendly recipes, and easy exercise routines to help you achieve your fitness goals that fit in with your already busy life with sound nutritional advice.
YAY!!!! So glad you got down there to try it! Totally insane, right? And I am absolutely ready to go back and do it again!
Completely insane! What was your time?
I would be TOTALLY interested in making that climb. What a feat! 🙂
The far-away picture really made me realize how steep that climb is… WOW!
It was really steep for a while. From the top, you can’t even see the people climbing below on that section because it’s so steep.
I would definitely be interested in making that climb! We have something similar in Central Oregon called Misery Ridge that ascends up up up (but not like that). It’s amazing how something can appear easier than it really is before you start actually doing it. I bet a lot of people think – hey, no problem – before making it 10ft up and having to regain their breath. I love challenges like this. Glad to hear there is an alternative route going back down. 🙂
If you ever make it to Colorado, you should definitely check it out!
That sounds like an amazing place to train for inclines. The view looks pretty cool too!
It was a gorgeous view that I could only enjoy from the top. Otherwise my fear of heights would start my legs shaking more than they were just from the steps!
Way to go! Ironically, I first read about The Incline in a Runners World article as I boarded a flight to take me from Denver back to the east coast. Someday I’m going to get back there and hike that thing! You should look up the records for people running up it – they’re insane!
I’m with you, I would definitely not be going down via the Incline after getting to the top. I would totally trip and just fall right off the mountain!
That’s awesome it was in Runners World. When you come back, you definitely have to give it a try. It’s worth it just for the feeling of accomplishment.