Trail Day Adventure

[w0rw]

Trail Day Adventure
This Trail Day adventure started by boarding the Manitou & Pike's Peak Cog
Railway at Manitou Springs, Colorado. The 'Cog' is a train that can go up a very
steep incline because it drives itself up on a third rail which has big cog teeth
on it.
You can see the Cog train route pictures at http://www.cograilway.com/alongroute.htm
There are exciting times on the rails too, one uphill train engineer threw an old oil rag
out on the tracks to warn the down hill train engineer of a broken rail. Not too bad
going up but you better take it slow going down hill, He said. Of course they have 2 big
springs at the bottom of the tracks to stop runaway cars, Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs.
Hiking down Pikes Peak from the top or from Barr Camp sounds easy but it can find the weakest part of your body and blow it out. Knees, ankles and Hiking shoes can become instruments of torture and blistering is guaranteed. More hiking information is at: https://www.pikes-peak.com/hiking-pikes-peak-mountain/
To start this down hill hike (Which i called Trail Day because it coincided with Field Day)
i rode the COG train up to the 'Mountain View' siding. It was only $10 for a one way ticket (expect to pay more now). When you jump off the train in the middle of an extremely remote place like this, with your backpack on, you will see a lot of envious tourists on the train who wish they could be going along with you. i hiked across the face of Pike's
Peak over to Barr Camp, i made several contacts on the trail before Field Day
started.
Barr Camp is a wilderness cabin midway on the Barr Trail which goes from Manitou Springs to the top of Pike's Peak. Barr Camp cooks up Breakfast and Dinners, sells candy and
supplies, and has a bunk house for hikers.
It is like a mountain oasis, There are picnic tables and a bench swing that is set by the stream to comfort the tired hikers.
You can see Barr Camp on-line by going to http://www.barrcamp.com/
When i arrived at Barr Camp every one came out to inspect
my Pedestrian Radio operation. i let them talk on the radio to several other
hams.
The weather held and i was able to hike down the mountain without my rain
gear. The 7 mile descent was pretty hard on my
feet. My 40 pound back pack got really heavy carrying an extra battery.
The PRC319 radio alone was 25 pounds.
The 12 hour hike was all done using one 6AH LiIon battery.
i worked a dozen Field Day stations. It was a great field trip.
Lots of nice wild flowers, Fields of Columbines, but no animals.
When i got back home there was a doe and her 2 fawn in my back yard.

Paul w0rw/pm
Colorado Springs