Cog Wheel Railway to Pike's Peak

The thought of taking a train straight up the side of a mountain to the height of over 14,000 ft was pretty frightening to me. Even as I called to make the reservation I wasn't sure I could do it. My paratrooper son Ryan was stoked of course. The man in reservation said, "Oh yes, you're lucky, it is almost sold out for the Labor Day Week-end." "Right, lucky" I thought. But damn it, I have to start getting over some of these fears that limit me and keep me from experiencing life. "So how scary is it?" I ask the man on the phone. "Not scary at all. I have a fear of that kind of stuff too and I loved this trip when I took it." I was certain he was lying. He probably has to tell people that so they sell all the tickets. As it turned out, it wasn't nearly as terrifying as I had made it out to be in my mind. This is one website you should really check out, http://www.cograilway.com
The second of its kind, the Manitou Cog Railway was built in 1889.  It is an amazing feat of engineering which allows the train to climb as much as 25 feet for every 100 feet it moves forward. This is a 25% grade and the average over the entire line is 16%. It is the highest cog railroad in the world, reaching 14,115 feet. The train is completely enclosed and literally has cogs that drop into holes in the special track that propels the train forward. A grade of 2% is considered steep for a regular "adhesion" railroad so the advantage of the cogs was tremendous. Enough of the history and mechanics of the train. We boarded at 9:30 a.m. for the hour long pull up the mountain. It really was spectacular to look back down and see Colorado Springs from an almost aerial perspective. We found out that we would only have 45 minutes at the top to take pictures, visit the gift shop and eat a freshly made donut upon reaching the peak. Evidently the donut eating is a tradition of some sort but I never did fully understand why. As it turned out the 45 minute time frame was adequate. We should have had lead boots once we stepped out because its was so windy I feared we would be blown clean off the mountain. According to the official Pike's Peak website, http://www.pikespeakcolorado.com, the mountain was part of the Louisana Purchase. President Jefferson dispatched Zebulon Pike to discover the southwestern borders of the Purchase and so Pike set out to climb the Peak on November 24, 1806. I don't know what kind of explorer sets out to climb a mountain in November but a blizzard sent him scurrying back down the granite slope and the summit wasn't conquered until 1820 by a botanist named Dr. Edwin James. I'm  not certain what everyone was doing in the 14 years between the two ascents and I'm not quite sure why they named it Pike's Peak but it literally is a breath taking experience. At the 14,000 plus foot elevation and the 40 degree temperature, taking a breath was an effort. We were told there is only about 60% oxygen level at the top. The view is indescribable and on a clear day, which we had, you can see for about 150 miles in all directions. So once again quoting Via magazine, "If you are going..........." make a reservation, bring your camera, your coat and of course your lead boots.  All Aboard!!