Elk Park to Pikes Peak Summit and Back!

Last weekend was our last big training run before the big race day on Aug 22. The three of us met up at my place at 7am, jumped in the car and drove up to the Pikes Peak toll gate. The wait wasn't too long and we were up to Elk Park in no time! The elk park trailhead starts at about 11,800 feet according to my GPS with great views of Colorado Springs. It was very windy and chilly to start so we quickly headed out on the trail with all our gear and plenty of water. The trail quickly drops in altitude protecting us from the wind. It is a beautiful trail and a great alternative to get to Barr Camp and/or summit Pikes Peak. Lots of runners were already out on the trail. We covered the 5.5 mile stretch in a little over an hour and dropped 1,500 feet in elevation. We made a quick break at Barr Camp and then off to the summit. We passed many other runners out training as well as hikers. Barr to the Summit took us just about 2 hrs with a stop at A-frame. It was a great feeling getting to the summit. Took a long break in the Summit House refilling water, buying pretzels and coffee and staying warm. It got quite chilly at the top once we stopped. We were all tired but all decided to continue on with our training plan which was go back down the same way we had just come up. We met another runner in the Summit house that was training for Leadville 100 and he was out on a 35+ mile training run from his house in Green Mtn Falls. Even crazier than us. So off we were and it actually felt pretty good going down and the tiredness disappeared and we quickly warmed up. The weather was still looking great too! Made it to Barr in no time, another quick break and then it was off to Elk Park. Most of the way the back was up hill with a few downs but in the end it only took us about 25 mins longer than coming out. We only saw one other hiking group on the way back. It was nice to have the trail all to ourselves. Total miles was about 23 miles with 7 hrs on our feet. We were DONE at the end but managed a couple photos (see above)-you can see the summit in the background! Didn't get back to house until almost 5pm. What a day! Loved it!