| The campsite was in
Manitou Springs but we still had two miles to walk to the cog railway
station. On the way we passed this original cog locomotive. |  |
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Before that was the stagecoach although I don't think it travelled up to the
summit. |
| The train arrives to take
us up to the summit of Pike's Peak. |  |
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There is a waterfall not far from the start which you can just see in the
centre of this picture. |
| This was a short works
train in a siding at one of the several passing places on the climb. |  |
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There is a family which lives in a house a couple of miles from the start.
They can get to Manitou Springs by road but it is a gravel track 17 miles
long. |
| All along the way the
aspens were in full colour. It makes for a very attractive landscape. |  |
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After about 10,000ft you begin to lose the trees and are able to look out on
the surrounding mountains. |
| There are several lakes
of which this is probably the largest. I think the water level is quite low.
It has been a very dry year here. |  |
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Higher still and almost all vegetation disappears. This is the previous
train coming down while we wait in the passing loop. |
| Some services send a
single car along with the twin car unit. Here the single car follows the
twin unit in the previous picture. |  |
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The cog system to help the trains climb the steep gradient make for
complicated points. |
| Some people climb up to
the summit the hard way although these hikers are not on an approved path. |  |
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There is a toll road up to the summit but some hardy folk cycle the whole
way. |
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The views from the top are spectacular but it is less clear than I remember
it being when we came 5 years ago. |
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The train rests for 40 minutes while we look around. The trip down will be
much easier. |
| There wasn't as much snow
as before but it is still here. It never truly disappears at this altitude. |  |
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A rare picture of us just before the train departs. |
| And just so you know, the
summit is at 14,110ft. |  |
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Back at the campsite we spotted this fifth wheel with a slideout in the
slideout! |
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