Inclinations

On Saturday, the group crossed another item off our must-do list: the Manitou Springs Incline.

The Incline is a one-mile trail that ascends over 2,000 vertical feet.

It is steep.

At the trailhead:

WARNING: THIS IS AN EXTREME TRAIL.

Because of the very steep grade, the trail is essentially just stairs.

After living in the Springs for ten months, surrounded by extremely adventurous and fit people, it felt great to finally check off another rite of passage.

I know people who have done the hike in 20-30 minutes, but that's unfathomable to me. I did it in an hour and thirty-four minutes and felt awesome. Like it was a challenge, but a good one. Not so hard that I couldn't enjoy the gorgeous views.

On this particular day, we were joined on the trail by a lot of out-of-towners. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this as a tourist attraction (it usually takes a few days for our lungs to acclimate to just being at the 6,000-ft elevation of the city, let alone taking on a strenuous hike before you've adjusted), but it was fun to see the sense of camaraderie that permeated the whole place. We were all sweating and gasping our way through this together.

I'd actually like to try it again sometime soon and improve my time. Now that I've done it, I know I could have pushed myself to go a little faster.

We made it!

The gang, minus Anna, who was spending the day visiting Royal Gorge with her host family.

So glad to have spent this year with such adventurous and determined people!