Oh, the day started out beautifully. I picked Karen up at 8:00 and we headed North to Manitou Springs. I had done my research and I knew the Garmin was ready with the address in and go punched. Now something you should know about Manitou Springs and that is there are 6, 000 streets all a block long that go straight up hill or straight down hill and they are all one way going the wrong way. Not to be deterred we finally found the place with free parking and a free shuttle to the base of the Incline.
I had carefully packed plenty of water and toilet paper just in case. My debit card was in my back pack along with my identification and my insurance card, just in case. I also had rain gear, just in case. Even took a pair of socks, just in case. The shuttle was a little full, but free and he knew where he was going.
I had carefully packed plenty of water and toilet paper just in case. My debit card was in my back pack along with my identification and my insurance card, just in case. I also had rain gear, just in case. Even took a pair of socks, just in case. The shuttle was a little full, but free and he knew where he was going.
So off we went full of confidence that the next stop would be the top. Just hop from one board to the next. Yep, a piece of cake. Well, it would have been nice had that been what happened, but sadly, the steps were not all the same size, nor were the of the same height. Started out real good, but then the got further apart and taller. It was hot. The sun was bright. The flies found me most tasty.
Karen cheered me on with "We got this!" "You can do it!" You know how optimistic a preacher can be. I think the whole trip up was 2,000 steps. After 300 I told her to just go ahead and I would plug along until I got tired and meet her later. So off she went with her bouncy little air and I began plugging onward and upward. Soon I had lost sight of her so I took a break. Then onward and upward with the steps getting further apart and taller. Damn! This was not going well at all. Several times my life flashed before my eyes.
I met a couple girls from the Philippines. They were very sweet and this was their first trip up. I told them this was my first trip and also my last! They offered me words of encouragement and told me how proud they were that I had come this far. I was, however, well past the point of being cheered on to go higher. I was now putting one foot in front of the other because I could think of nothing else to do.
Finally after about an hour or so of crawling up steps, fighting off flies, drinking lots of hot water, a very nice man pointed up the hill and said, "See that boulder in the middle of the path? If you can make it that far it is the "bail out point for the Barr Trail." Yes! There was a God! There was hope that I could make it that far and then get off this God forsaken piece of hell and start the downward descent. Now I do a lot of walking so that is no problem. This was different. I walked bent forward with my knuckles dragging and counted 10 steps. Then 5. Breathe. Then 7. Breathe.
The phone rang and Karen was on top! She was coming back down. Great! Meet you at the exit to the trail down. And then there she was. Damn! That was fast! I still had about 30 steps and the the little steps and there I was!
Well, not quite saved yet. We still had a 2.6 mile hike down the hill. It twisted and turned and before I began to hallucinate, we reached the parking lot. I would have fallen down and kissed the earth, but I would not have been able to get back up. I ached in every muscle I had. My head was throbbing. I was sunburnt and I just wanted my mommy!
The Manitou Incline is not for the faint or weak of heart. It will rip you to shreds. There were times I was crawling to get over a series of tall steps and God had long since ate me up and spit me out. I regret that I was not there to take a picture of Karen Howe at the finish line. I regret that she could not take a picture of me, but I learned a very valuable lesson today.
I have spent the last month telling everyone that would listen that I was going to hike up the Manitou incline. No doubt about it. It was a sure thing. A done deed. Today I learned that I am not invinceable, and there are things I can not do. This is sure as hell one of them! I have learned that I best be for remembering how old I am. The Manitou Incline is a cold, unforgiving, hot dry, piece of Colorado landscape that I am going to keep my feet off of for the time being. There was a time that I would have gone back again and again until I conquered it, but for now I just want to conquer this glass of ice water and think how proud I am to go to a church where the minister can march up into the clouds and not look back.
Congratulations Karen Howe, minister at First Congregational United Church of Christ, Pueblo Colorado
