Tour Across America Blog #3

Manitou Springs is a cute little city about 5 miles from downtown Colorado Springs.  It has gift shops, restaurants and a ton of character.  It has a unique tourist feel.  In the athletic realm, however, it’s popular for the hiking trail most commonly known as “the Incline.”

The Incline is an old cog railroad track and is approximately one mile long, going up the base of Pike’s Peak.   It’s at the trailhead of the Barr Trail which goes 13-miles to the top of the peak.  The Incline has an average incline of 45% and as steep as 70%.  The steepest parts forced some of our athletes to bear crawl.

The bus dropped us off about a half mile from the trail because the tight, twisty road was not suitable for large vehicles (more on this later…).  We walked to the starting position, snapped a team picture and started the hike at 7:00 PM.  We knew we would have to hustle to the top and hurry to the bottom because the dark would surely bring several more challenges that we were not prepared for.  Coach Chad Shilson laid down a challenge: whoever made it to the top in less than 30 minutes would get a fresh $100 bill.

Some took off swiftly while others attempted to find a steady pace.  Each step is different, so it’s difficult to develop any sort of rhythm or cadence.  Looking up to the top provides a false sense of security because the “false summit” is what you see when you begin and there is still several stairs to the top.  I started at the back and of pack and enjoyed conversations with several of our athletes as I passed them going up.  I might be getting old, but I can still work hard…

We crossed paths with a mule deer making his way around the scenery.  He even climbed a few stairs before jumping back into the trees.  That wasn’t the only wildlife we crossed paths with as we encountered a cinnamon color bear at the bottom of the trail around 10:00 PM.  He wasn’t interested in us, though, as he was digging in dumpsters.

When we arrived at the top.  We took some pictures, talked about the experience and forged a new bond as a group.  Whenever a team suffers through a grueling workout experience, they come out on the other end more unified because they have something memorable to draw from.  It was, indeed, memorable.  Several of our athletes made mention to me that it was the most difficult thing they had accomplished in their life.  One of them - Nathan - ran to the top in 29:57 and he's fortunate that Chad is a man of his word.  He got the $100 bill.

As a coach, the attitude and sense of accomplishment among the group is what makes trips like this worth it.  Climbing the Incline was hard work and everyone made it to the top, so it was a successful adventure.

Our adventure didn’t finish when we got to the bottom.  Finding the bus in Manitou Springs, making our way through the ever lingering smell of marijuana smoke, tasting the mineral spring water and taking the bus up to get the final two team members (getting stuck and taking down a fence to make the y-turn).

All in all, it was another great day for our crew.  Back-to-back life changing moments.