While in Colorado Springs we planned to drive to the top of Pikes Peak. The summit is 14,115 feet which scared me because I’ve been getting pretty queasy and light-headed at around 9,000 ft. But, I read that a study had shown that Sumatriptan helps with the effects of altitude sickness and I have a supply for my migraines. So, I took one this morning and we headed out.<\/p>\n
The scenery is beautiful and the drive is very steep and windy! It’s just 19 miles from the gateway entrance to the summit, but that 19 miles take you from about 6,500 ft to 14,115 ft in less than an hour!<\/p>\n
At the summit I was a bit light headed so I chose to stay in the car. Jeff and Laddy walked around the saw the 360 degree view. At the top it’s basically a big pile of loose rocks, because over time the soil has washed away with the snowmelt and wind, and the rocks also have fractured and broken up. There’s no vegetation right at the summit although just a bit lower there is some moss and grass. A bit lower there are lots of pine trees and aspens and underbrush and grasses.<\/p>\n
There’s lots of wildlife on the mountain, but we only saw a marmot who sat on a rock and checked us out.<\/p>\n
While not the highest peak in Colorado, Pikes Peak is one of the ‘Fourteens’, meaning it’s one of the few mountains that tops 14,000 feet.<\/p>\n
Here are some pictures we took:<\/p>\n
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