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Destination: Barr Camp (10,200 ft.) along the Barr Trail, Pikes Peak, Colorado : Colorado Locator Map
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Barr Camp is a one-of-a-kind base camp for Colorado's most popular "fourteener," Pikes Peak. Since 1977, the caretakers of Barr Camp have provided services for hikers, campers, runners, and mountain bikers. Barr Camp also serves as the base for dozens of search and rescue missions each year. Barr Trail is 12.6 miles long with an impressive altitude gain of 7,500 feet. This makes Pikes Peak one of Colorado's most difficult peaks to attain. Barr Camp helps by allowing climbers to break up the ascent into two days. Spending time at this remote place, in one of the most beautiful and historic settings in the country, is an experience that will stay with you forever.
Joy Oram formed a group of ten women from Woodland Park and Colorado Springs who would spend a weekend exploring “America's Mountain.”
A few of us in the group have made the grueling trip to the summit before, but most had never conquered a 14er.
We broke into two smaller groups and started from the Barr Trailhead on a Friday morning. Most of the ladies had trained several times on the Incline; however, they stuck to Barr Trail with their packs. A couple brave souls started with the Incline first. The Incline, an old cog railroad line that boasts a steep slope of railroad ties, meets back up with Barr Trail in two locations. We all arrived at Barr Camp around lunchtime and enjoyed distractions around the camp for the rest of the afternoon.
A few of the ladies felt the need to stretch their legs after a morning of hiking with full packs. Penny and her dog Chance explored a good portion of the Elk Park trail behind our cabin. Joy and Kathryn headed out to see the cog railway, which is about a mile from the camp. This is where the cog drops off supplies for Barr Camp. The cog happened to come by at the time Joy and Kathryn were there, and the travelers waved enthusiastically to the happy hikers.
Two of the most appreciated services that Barr Camp provides are drinking water and meals. Most hikers go through several liters of water on the trail. Having a refill location halfway up the Peak certainly lightens one’s pack. On most days, the camp staff prepares breakfast and dinner for hungry backpackers. While the dinner menu is almost always spaghetti, hikers are always grateful for the home cooking after a day on the trail.
The next morning we woke to a breakfast of coffee and pancakes. Fully carb-loaded, we headed out without packs for a day hike to the Bottomless Pit. The Bottomless Pit is a spectacular destination that most folks who summit the peak never experience. The trail ends at a dramatic glacier-formed bowl on the north face of the peak. We continued to rock scramble into the cirque, enjoying the scenic waterfalls and tundra all around us.
A herd of Bighorn Sheep grazed as we approached treeline. The group watched them scramble up the sheer rock face until they became specks of white. As we enjoyed lunch in this breathtaking location, we noticed clouds forming overhead right in the nick of time. It is unwise to be at this altitude, in the afternoon, because lightning is very prevalent above treeline. This is a very predictable factor during the summer months, and we timed our excursion perfectly.
A mixture of rain and snow hit us as we returned to the cabin. We heard a short burst of hail hit the roof as we read and played games. The skies were clear again by evening and after dinner we obtained the camp staff's approval to start a campfire. Soon most of the campers that were staying in the main cabin and tents joined us, as MariAnne and John played guitars and sang. It was a cloudless night, and we had trouble leaving the stars behind to turn in and get some rest before our final day on the mountain.
We woke at dawn and most of our group packed up before breakfast. After their pancakes were consumed, they quickly hit the trail with the hope that they would reach the summit before the afternoon storms rolled in. Dorie and I lounged around camp a little longer before we took another route, the Elk Park trail. Usually, the only traffic on this trail is a few mountain bikers who start at the Elk Park trailhead and ride down to the Barr Trailhead in Manitou Springs.
On this trip, the only people we passed on the trail had an interesting story. They are retrieving skis. The young man and a friend had skied down the Bottomless Pit on Friday. Due to sustaining an ankle injury during the treacherous attempt, the man left his skis behind. He returned with his fiancée to try to find them. Dorie and I look into the cirque, from the Elk Park trail and view ski tracks on the seemingly impossible slope that we had not noticed the day before.
We continued our way up and across the mountain to the Elk Park trailhead. The distance of 6 miles is almost the same as what the rest of our group is tackled to reach the summit. However, they had 2,000 feet more in elevation gain, most of it above treeline. We met our ride right on time and drove down the Pikes Peak Highway. As we enjoyed fish tacos in Manitou with my husband and our friend Maleesha, we thought of the rest of our group who were at that moment enjoying the rush of arriving at the summit.
The eight women hiked together to the picturesque A-frame that is found along Barr Trail at treeline. The four ladies from Colorado Springs decided to make it a short break and marched onward instead of losing momentum.
The four Woodland Park gals, and one hikin' dog, spent a full hour at the A-frame, enjoying the wildflowers and the feel of the cool air on their toes. All felt a grand sense of accomplishment upon reaching the summit. Some were quite emotional, shedding tears upon reading the "America the Beautiful" plaque at the observation deck.
We all had such a wonderful time that we are already thinking ahead to next year's trip. So many of us have friends who are interested in the climb that we may need to book main cabin beds in addition to the upper cabin. All reservations for Barr Camp, including meals, are now made online, and these should be booked as early as possible. If you plan on visiting, you may also want to e-mail the camp staff before your visit and see if they have any special requests. You'll never notice a little extra fresh fruit in your pack, and it will be well received by the often under appreciated camp staff.
If you head up to Barr Camp this summer, be sure to check the status on the water supply. During our visit, Pike National Forest personnel were meeting with the camp staff regarding their practice of providing filtered stream water. Service will most likely cease (temporarily) at some point this summer while a chlorination system is installed. Hopefully the pristine Colorado stream water will not end up tasting like city tap water. Those of us who are picky can bring our own filters. Regardless, I know I'll visit Barr Camp again soon.
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Additional Resources: www.barrcamp.com
Photos copyright Denise Symes & Kathryn Sneckner
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