One early fall day, d-low and I decided to again backpack the “Ring The Peak” trail.  At just under 60 miles, it is a work in progress.

A CDT hike in miniature: unfinished, a mix of single track, jeep roads, cross country and pavement. Scenic in parts and ‘connector trail’ in others. It is a trail that someone with a thru-hiking background may only appreciate backpacking.

So we loaded our packs, head for the trailhead and forged our own path for approx 55 miles around the base of Pikes Peak.

We saw alpine tundra and climbed areas that hardly saw any people. We followed old single track. And mingled with tourists, ATV traffic and day users.  A trail of mixed use and extremes.

We hiked trail, saw the mountain and ringed the peak in our own way.

I first hiked this trail in 2007.

In 2007, we hiked the trail in early summer.

Continue reading Ring Around Pike’s Peak – Ring The Peak Trail at PMags.com.

An article I wrote about the “Ring The Peak Trail”.   This ~60 mile trail circles around Pikes Peak. Currently it is not completed, but the route does give an awesome way to see a unique side of this popular 14er.

You can see Disco’s and d-low’s trip report/photos as well.

Continue reading Ring Around The Peak at PMags.com.