Una Guía Para Excursionistas Paisaje Natural De Barr Trail Y Pikes Peak
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
A HIKER’S GUIDE TO THE NATURAL LANDSCAPE OF BARR TRAIL AND PIKES PEAK Una Guía para Excursionistas Paisaje Natural de Barr Trail y Pikes Peak By Teresa A. Taylor A HIKER’S GUIDE TO THE NATURAL LANDSCAPE OF BARR TRAIL AND PIKES PEAK Una Guía para Excursionistas al Paisaje Natural de Barr Trail y Pikes Peak Teresa A. Taylor © 2013 Teresa A. Taylor This guide would not be possible without the support and help of many wonderful people. Thanks to my husband Neal, who supported my return to college, and who knows a walk in the woods with me means lots of stopping, looking, listening, smelling and analyzing, and that something from the outside will always come inside with me - be it a rock or pinecone. Thank you Neal. My professors at Colorado College have inspired me to look at all land- scapes in new and exci ng ways. Thanks to San ago Guerra who helped me with the Spanish transla ons. Thanks to Ma Go ried for his assistance in the GIS lab Special thanks to Tass Kelso for her pa ence as I idenfi ed the plants collected on Pikes Peak and for her support of wri ng this guide. Tass, you have been instrumental in my experience at Colorado College. A big thanks to Eric Perramond whose lessons and assignments inspired me to think and write at a whole new level, and whose support and direc on have been a great help. Thanks to the thousands of hikers who have stopped in at Barr Camp while hiking Barr Trail. They have informed this guide with their ques ons, and proved that engaging with the landscape does create a connec on and a sense of place. Many of these hikers have become stewards of the Pikes Peak landscape, and landscapes everywhere. Thanks to the Barr Camp community of hikers, board members, and friends who encouraged me and supported my eff orts. Happy Trails, Teresa A. Taylor Colorado College Colorado Springs, Colorado I have had the good fortune to live at Barr Camp on the shoulders of Pikes Peak for eight years. As a caretaker of a remote yet busy cabin on the main hiking trail to the summit, I have had the opportunity to share the landscape with hikers from around the world. Barr Camp provides shelter, weather and trail informa- on, fi rst aid, and rus c overnight accommoda ons. It also provides a unique opportunity for hikers to pause on the deck and to ask a lot of ques ons about the cultural and natural history, the trail, and the fl ora and fauna. It is with these ques ons in mind that I have wri en this guide. While not all inclusive, I have tried to provide the type of informa on that hikers most commonly request. Ul- mately, my goal is to encourage stewardship of the Pikes Peak landscape. With a be er understanding of the landscape, we can all be be er stewards. Happy hiking! IntroducƟ on Pikes Peak is the hallmark of the physical landscape of Colorado Springs. Ris- ing above the plains, it stands as a modern-day beacon to those seeking outdoor adventures as it once did to pre-historic peoples in search of food, and to the gold-seekers of the 1859 “Pikes Peak or Bust” gold rush. It invites new residents in search of a quality of life that includes natural beauty and easy access to the outdoors. It beckons tourists from near and far to its summit, and hikers to its trails. Pikes Peak is an icon that announces ones’ arrival to the Rocky Mountain West, and the Red Rocks and pinion-juniper forests of its southern fl anks lead one to the American Southwest. The breathtaking views from the summit in- spired Katherine Lee Bates’ poem “America the Beau ful” which has given rise to the branding of Pikes Peak as “America’s Mountain.” The city of Colorado Springs, the county of El Paso and many businesses and organiza ons use its likeness in their logos and literature. Pikes Peak is a symbol, rich in natural and cultural histories; it is a na onal treasure. For residents and visitors alike, Pikes Peak inspires a sense of place with its rich natural and cultural history. Pikes Peak may well be the most popular of Colorado’s fi y-four Fourteen- ers—mountains that rise over 14,000 feet above sea level. A cog railway, a toll- road, and hiking trails to the summit make Pikes Peak one of the most accessible mountain summits in the world. Barr Trail is the most popular route for hikers. While the hike to the summit is long (approximately 12.9 miles) and the eleva on gain is signifi cant (7,410 feet) Barr Trail is rated class one, meaning it is a good trail with li le exposure to steep slopes, no technical sec ons and no need to use your hands to hoist yourself up the rocks. Barr Camp at the halfway point and the Summit House at the top provide a sense of security not found on other Fourteeners. The diffi culty of the hike arises from the distance and eleva on gain, and the thinner air. At 14,000 feet, there is 43% less available oxygen than at sea level. HIkers no ce a shortness of breath with gain in al tude, and a slow- ing of pace. This is normal. It is helpful to stand up straight while hiking, and to be conscious of breathing. It is common to bend forward when climbing up- hill, which causes a reduc on in lung capacity. Occasional pauses to stand erect 1 while exhaling deeply and then inhaling slowly and with purpose help with the shortness of breath. These pauses are more helpful than prolonged stops, and they off er an opportunity to take a look at the mountainside and the new and diff erent landscape while considering your breathing. The temperature decreases with eleva on gain at a rate close to 5.4°F per 1,000 , which means the summit is o en forty degrees colder than the trail head. Snow is possible at the summit any me of the year. Summer thunder- storms normally occur shortly a er noon. It is advisable to start early, in the cool before sunrise in order to make the summit before the a ernoon thunderstorms. Once above mberline, there is no shelter and lightning is common. It is recom- mended that hikers dress in layers of moisture-wicking fabrics rather than cot- ton. At a minimum, hikers should carry water and some means to treat stream water, food, and a waterproof layer. A cheap rain poncho works well and can be used to hold in heat as well as keep you dry. See the list at the end of this guide for useful resources. regarding essen als, weather, and other hiking concerns. The more prepared you are for your hike to the summit, the more you can enjoy the Pikes Peak landscape. This guide focuses on Barr Trail, the most common route to the summit of Pikes Peak. As an interpre ve guide, it is designed to help trail users understand the landscape. This guide covers the lower half of Barr Trail to Barr Camp, and general overview of the trail from Barr Camp to the summit is included. A hike up Barr Trail to the summit passes through four life zones. Observing the changes in vegeta on can help hikers iden fy the diff erent life zones and the specialized ecologies of each zone. While the pines, spruces and fi rs can be idenfi ed year around, many of the plants are only iden fi able during their season of bloom. The purpose of this guide is to encourage considera on of the landscape as a complex of interconnected systems of nature - both human and non-human - that are Pikes Peak. In doing so, it is the author’s hope that through an under- standing of the landscape including cultural and natural history, a sense of the place can develop enhancing concern for both the Pikes Peak landscape, and the landscape that found in your own backyard. How ex- ci ng the crumbly Pikes Peak granite is with its sparkling mirror-like mica! What rocks exist at home? Is there a unique microhabitat with diff erent plant and animal life that you can iden fy? The mundane is interes ng in a new landscape, and it is my hope that you might take a new look at your home landscape and to consider the inter- connected systems of human and non-human nature that exist within it. Understanding all landscapes, urban and rural, mountain and meadow, is the fi rst step in connec- on to and stewardship of them. Caring for your backyard Social trail from the incline. or neighborhood park is as important as caring for the wide Note broken ground cover open prairies and the majes c Rocky mountains. and larger rocks eroding from above. 2 While enjoying Pikes Peak or any other land- scape, it is important to realize that we do leave an impact wherever we go. Being conscious of this fact is the fi rst step toward minimizing that impact. Consider the term “conscious footprints” when you hike in any landscape. If stepping off the trail to explore rocks and fl owers consider where you Th ere are many aspen along the trail step. Above mberline, stepping on alpine plants refl ecting human impact.