Pikes Peak - Round 2
Friday morning and we were getting ready to head out of town for Royal Gorge.
Poor Justin was still bummed last night that Pike’s Peak was closed and checked several times to see if maybe, just maybe, it had opened.
At 7, he woke us all up and said we needed to get ready. The moment was here…the summit was open!
It was only the 7th day this entire year that the top was open.
The 7th day!
We all excitedly loaded up, made sure our coats and hats were in the car, and off we went.
We had a tight schedule because our checkout was 11, so we had to be quick.
Off we went. Into the park. Up to the 13,000 foot spot where we had stopped and played before.
All was good.
And then it got me.
That last 1000 feet is no joke.
It was windy and it was high.
Have I mentioned before how much I hate heights and drop-offs?
We knew this going in, obviously, but none of us, including me, had any idea just how scared I would actually get.
Justin laughed finding my nervousness adorable and reassured me he had this. Other cars were doing it and the park wouldn’t open the top if it wasn’t safe.
Yada-yada-yada
My body wanted to hear none of it.
I was sweating in places I didn’t know sweated.
Finally, I put my head between my legs thinking if I couldn’t see it, I’d be fine.
Nope.
Turns out your body knows.
My brain was trying to be logical, but my body was having none of it.
At the top, when we finally reached it, I couldn’t get out of the car.
My legs were literally twitching. Not the whole leg, just tiny muscle fibers in my upper legs. I wanted to get out (kind of), but I was stuck.
I was able to eventually open my door and get out, which was also challenging considering how hard the wind was blowing.
Aubyn and Avett ran a few feet ahead to the visitors center while I grabbed Edley and “ran” her in. Poor Avett was outside the door crying when I got to him.
Justin was loving it (he didn’t know Avett had been crying). He and Aubyn both, loving the adrenaline rush and the excitement of it all.
Once inside the building, I could appreciate what we had just done and could look out from the top behind the safety of handrails and windows.
We have a friend who competes in a race every year to the top and who won last year for diesel engines, which always sounded pretty cool. Having ridden to the top now myself, I have absolutely no clue how he does this drive at top speeds. Its mindbending.
And how did explorers hike over this? And why would they do that? And how did all these people in the early 1900s come up here? And why? So many questions I will never understand. It’s just not in my genetic makeup.
That said, I’m glad they did and I’m glad they paved the way for my family to be able to enjoy it, albeit briefly.
Now if you ask Justin about our drive, he will give you a totally different experience that’s way cooler and adventurous than mine, but he’s not writing this is he? Maybe I can convince him to share what it was really like, because I know getting to the top is a dream come true for him and way more exciting than my experience. He so badly wanted to join in with the backcountry skiers and hikers. He could have climbed on all the boulders and lookouts and sat out there for hours looking at the expanse.
But… he had a poor terrified wife to look after and a camper needing to checkout from the campground.
Plus, we had a gorge to go walk over.
I kid you not…
