Our first Incline experience

Now that we have been at altitude for 2 weeks I thought it was time to take on the historic Manitou Incline where Apolo Ohno helped forge his massive legs.  I'm becoming suspicious that Jess' agreement to come to Colorado Springs for work is based on her hope that Apolo would be spending time at the Olympic training center.  (maybe take her out to dinner too...)

Here's a little history on the incline.  It is approximately 1 mile in length of railroad ties up the side of a mountain based in Manitou Springs.  Originally it was built to assist in construction efforts on the side of the mountain and afterwards became a tourist attraction.  After it officially shut down in 1990 it has become a  challenge to those wishing to embark on a steep and uncomfortable hike.  In 1 mile of hiking, crawling, running?, and complaining you gain 2,000 feet of elevation.  Starting elevation is around 6,405 feet.  You quickly learn why people preferred using the railway to get up the hill.

A few tips from a first timer.
1)  I wore Saucony Mirages, which I love, but when the heavy thunderstorm started and with the loose gravel and technical nature of the Incline on the way up and the Barr trail on the way down I would recommend shoes that give a confident grip to the ground.  I'm looking into a pair of Kinvara TR or Peregrine 2.
2)  Another self-explanatory tip... take water!  Many first timers on the trail were without water and needing to borrow from other hikers.  There is nothing wrong with lending others water but make sure you are prepared for a much harder climb than "1-mile" advertises.  There is a 4+ mile hike downhill afterwards as well.
3)  The base of the trail has a donation bin for restoration and improvement of the incline as it is expected to become a recognized trail, i.e. one that you are not technically trespassing on.  You'll see why it is worth dropping a few dollars in.

Now about the climb, It hurts!  Here are some pics of my new favorite workout.  The first picture is 1/2 mile up based on my Garmin Forerunner.

Unfortunately, half way up is a "false summit".  As you climb, due to the angle of incline around 40 degrees, the "top" appears too close to be true.  And it isn't true.  After cresting the false summit you come to the quick realization that you still have some hurting to do.  Below the picture from the top shows that the incline of the trail makes a large portion of the ties disappear.

At the top my Garmin claimed .83 miles, Jess' claimed 1.02... she reports doing some zig-zagging along the stairs due to the incredibly large heights and angles of many of the ties.  Curious about how much fuel this earns a 150 lb 5'11" male?  I earned 756 NikeFuel over 29:47 which is equivalent to a 5 mile run on rolling terrain around 7 minute mile pace based on my previous "Fuelsearch". 

If you get to Colorado Springs (flights are cheap now due to the Waldo Canyon Fire) and don't fear a heart attack this is a must hike for the pride and the beautiful pictures as a reward.  Enjoy!