Pikes Peak

Note to self: next trip to the Rockies, don't schedule a quick trip to 14,000' on the first full day. In planning the trip, my main concern had been whether to drive up Pikes Peak or to reserve seats on the cog railway. The latter turned out to be a great way to do the trip. We dodged a few rain clouds and although the top wasn't completely clear, we could see back down to the prairies (not all the way to Kansas, nor west to the next major ranges). We heard some rolling thunder and saw some rain drops, but not much.

M did okay on the excursion itself, but spent the next several days fatigued and a little out of sorts, pretty likely an altitude response. I will know better next time.

I found the railway impressive and fun. It was a pretty crazy place to build it and amazing to think they run it year round. Must be because the weather is so much tamer here than on Mount Washington!

Pikes Peak is only 30th on the list of more than 50 peaks in Colorado between 14,000 and 14,500'. It's amazing how so many mountains can all rise to such a similar height. Geology - uplift history, isostasy, and glacial erosion have all been invoked (some problems with each explanation, although I guess the latter seems to have gotten the most attention recently). What's even more remarkable is that the other two highest peaks in the continental U.S., Mount Whitney in the Sierra Nevada and Mount Rainier in the Cascades, also are in the same basic range, despite completely different geologic histories and locations.