Devils Playground

While we were in Colorado Springs we decided to do some hiking on Pikes Peak northwest slope.  The trail we picked starts at the Crags Campground (near Divide) and runs up to Devil’s Playground and the summit of Pikes Peak.

We got up at 5am, ate a quick breakfast and left the house at 5:45.  In the early morning fog I missed a turn on the way to the trailhead, wasting almost an hour, so we didn’t pull in to the parking area until just before 8am.  The trailhead was located at the far end of the Crags Campground, with a very small parking area and restroom.  We left the trailhead at 7:55 am at a chilly 41 degrees.

The trail to Devil’s Playground splits off from the Crags trail a few hundred yards down the trail.  The junction is easy to miss, but we had read the description before we left and knew what to look for.  The trail at this point was wide, not too rocky, and a nice gradual climb.  It was a perfect warm up for our cold muscles.

After the first half hour, we stopped to load up on energy.  We tried the Clif Shot Bloks this time.  We both liked them; they were easy to eat and tasted a little bit better than most energy gels.  After a short break we moved on up the trail.  By this time it had warmed up to 47 degrees, and the sun was high enough to give us some warmth in the open spots between the trees.

The forest growth was extremely thick through this part, and the trail was narrower; there were several times when my shoulders were brushing the branches on either side, or I had to duck under a tree/branch across the trail.  After another break for some gel around 9:30 we started getting into the transition between the sub-alpine forest and alpine tundra.  By 10:30 we were ready for some solid food, and Stacie’s left knee was giving her some pain, so we stopped for a break for some bars and ibuprofen.

As we got closer to tree line the trail got steeper.  The last mile leading up to tree line averaged an 18% grade.  After getting above tree line (around 11,900 feet) we had to climb a long, open hill side.  This half mile was brutal; it climbed straight up the hill for 800 vertical feet.  That’s a 24% grade – ouch.  It took us almost an hour to climb this stretch of trail, and we weren’t the only ones taking our time.

As we made our slow way up the hill, we had plenty of opportunities to enjoy the view to the west, and watch the ground squirrels running around on the rocks.  We also met a couple groups already on their way down from Devils’ Playground.

When we finally made it to the top of the hill we found ourselves in a huge saddle between several high points on the north flank of Pikes Peak, and we finally could see the summit.

We stopped for a break to recover from the climb, and I tried out my new tripod along with the timer on the camera to get a picture of the three of us:

We had originally planned to turn back just after Devil’s Playground (as soon as we reached 13,000 feet), but with the summit in sight we started talking about whether or not we could make it all the way.  We had started a bit late, and the weather was forecasting a chance of thunderstorms, but we were getting summit fever badly.  We decided to keep hiking on to 13k and see how it looked from there.

The trail at this point was a wide and smooth two track; it’s actually an old spur road that is no longer used. The trail winds around the valley, through a cut in the rocks and then into the dirt parking lot for Devil’s Playground. 

From the far side of the parking lot we could look down and see both Catamount Reservoirs and Rampart Reservoir.

We had reached Devil’s Playground, but we were still short of our goal of 13k feet, so we continued on.  We had to cross the road and step over a metal cable to get to the next segment of the trail; it parallels the road on the opposite side.

After about half a mile we joined up with the road at a lookout spot where a break in the mountains allows a view to the east.  For the first time we were able to look east and see down to Colorado Springs at the foot of the peak.  As we walked in to the lookout, the expressions on the faces of the tourists getting out of their cars was priceless.  Most of them could not believe that we had actually hiked up to here.

At this point we had already hit 13,100 ft, but we weren’t ready to head back down yet.  We continued on up the hill on the far side of the lookout point.  Part way up the hill, as we were taking a breather, I noticed I had service on my cell phone, so I called my parents to tell them we had made it to 13,000 feet (that was the highest cell phone call I’ve ever made!).

When we reached the saddle above the lookout, we could once again see the summit.

We had less than 2 miles to go to the summit, but we reluctantly decided not to continue on.  We had not planned on summiting that day, and we had accomplished our goal of getting above 13,000 feet.  With the uncertain weather forecast and already being late in the day we didn't want to rick thunderstorms, plus we wanted to have plenty of energy for descending the steepest parts of the trail. At 1:10 pm we turned back and started the hike back down.

When we got back to the cut in the strip of rocks on the other side of Devil’s Playground we stopped out of the wind for a longer break for “lunch” (bars and gels with plenty of water).  During our break we met a friendly pair of hikers who had already summited and were heading back down.

After our break we continued down and tackled the steep descent.  Even with trekking poles it was hard on our feet and knees, but we were able to make much better time on the way down.  We met a large group of Bay Scouts taking their time on the way up the hill.

Eventually we made it back to the trailhead a little before 4:30.  What took us just over 5 hours to ascent took us just over 3 hours to descend.  After relaxing for a little while at the trailhead we loaded up the Hummer and took off for home.

View all of the pictures: Photo Gallery