Manitou Incline - Round 2

I was so fascinated with the Incline hike that I wanted to do it one more time before leaving. While casually mentioning this to the manager I work with in the US, he told that he would join us. He does the hike several times a year and can complete it within 45 minutes. On the 7th March, Dilip and I drove to Dave’s house in Manitou Springs. Dave’s house is of Santa Fe style architecture and is located at a picturesque location overlooking the mountains. He tells me that they often see deers and bears. Their  dog Webster, a Gordon Setter is adorable. Webster has a chip implant to track his identity and the house has a invisible dog fence that gives a light shock if he crosses the line. But, Dave says that within a week webster had memorised the boundary and never stepped out of it. « Otherwise, Webster would chase deers visiting our backyard and now we don't have to worry of him getting lost. », he adds. 

We drove near to Dave’s mother in law’s house and parked our car there. It is located at a walkable distance from the incline. The steps were covered with a lot of ice. But climbing up was not that bad after all. 

Dave obviously was much faster than us. He was waiting for me at the top when I finished in an hour and fifteen minutes. It was a great climb. Going down was tough. The Barr trail was bad and so we decided to take the steps. Dilip was still behind, so considering the time, we requested him to wait midway for us. 

The melting ice made the climbing down difficult. One of my colleagues at office Mike, had lent me the chains that go on shoes, which would dig into the ice and make the climb easier. Without those, it would have been difficult to get down. 

It was a great hike and the view was spectacular from the top. While dropping Dave back at his place we spotted a few deers grazing near his house.

A good hike such as this makes you feel fresh, happy and of course hungry. Dilip and I did not want to try any other cuisine but Indian when we were this hungry. So we stopped at « Little Nepal » restaurant and had their Okay tasting but filling buffet lunch. My last day in Colorado Springs had thus come to an exciting and exhilarating end. We met Chung Hee for dinner where she handed me over more banana cake to be carried back home. 

Previous Experience Recorded...Here