“I have to report at 12:30p, what hike can I do with enough time to clean-up and catch the van?”
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One hour and 2,744 steps later, I made it to the top of the Manitou Incline!
It wasn’t the usual Easter celebration, rarely is in this industry, but a week post-flu and my grandma passing, I craved getting lost in something outside.
Bonuses including fellow hikers gladly sharing their water supply with me when I ran out halfway up, and reaching the summit to find an Easter basket with candy filled eggs for the finishers.
I felt like I earned the two chocolate peanut butter eggs that went down with ease.
It was also just nice to experience the communal engagement and encouragement to and from hikers as we made our way to the top, as there was at least two times I didn’t know if I could.
But, I knew the ol’ mental trick was to stop looking at the summit and just keep putting one foot in front of the other until boom!, you’re there.
As I made my way back down feeling those post-summit vibes, I smiled as I looked at all the people coming and going on the track. All of the polarization, isolation and fear that separates us today fell away. Here we were, just a bunch of humans, spending some time together in this space outside, sharing stories and being awarded with Easter candy from some kind, unidentified person, just because.
The Manitou Incline is located in the adorable town of Manitou Springs, right outside Colorado Springs. The Incline itself is an old railroad track that was used to deliver supplies to Colorado’s beloved Pike’s Peak, until it was abandoned.
Today the old track has been turned into the infamous “Incline”, which apparently attracts all kinds of athletes who want to test their grit, along with folks like me who just want to enjoy some Colorado outdoors (in a time crunch). Although that short term sense of accomplish felt pretty nice.
#ohColorado #sundayfunday #layovers #skywestlayovers
amiga del mundo 