Pike's Peak was named after Zebulon Pike an explorer who first clapped eyes on the mountain in November, one year late in the 1800s. Gazing upon the fields of waist-deep snow that lay between him and the distant peak, Zebulon Pike declared the mountain unclimbable. Later, an English explorer¹ climbed to the top.

Though a lofty peak, Pike's is not as dramatic as some because of its gradual rise to eminence at 14,110 feet. There are three ways to gain the summit: there is a gravel toll-road for automobiles, the cog train, or shank's pony² along the hiking trail. Before installation of the cog railway it was possible to ascend by horse-drawn carriage, the ruts of which are still visible in the ground even though it hasn't been possible to do so in ninety years. One-way tickets are sold on the railway to carry hikers halfway up where they are put out and left to hike down to the bottom.

Ascend the mount by taking the train from the Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway station, located about a mile west of downtown Manitou Springs. From Mantou Avenue, the main street through town, go along Ruxton Avenue leading to Winter Street, the station is on left about a third of a mile from the intersection of Ruxton Avenue with Winter Street.

All along the track there is a litter of twisted metal and old railroad ties; the stream-fed water tanks for the old steam locomotives still exist in working order, though it is uncertain what use they would be. An hydroelectric plant is built part way up that produces about one and one-quarter megawatts of electric power for Manitou Springs; a neat lodge is provided for the keeper among the trees beside the tracks with a dirt driveway that runs sixty miles back through the hills to civilization -- an enviable job.

Above the tree-line there were mountain goats in the distance. Close by the train among the rocks, marmots came out expectantly while we were halted waiting for the decending train to pass by.

Carriages of the train are manufactured by a Swiss company and powered by four 850 hp³ Cummins diesel engines. When the railway was built in the 1890s by Simmons the mattress manufacturer, the single wooden carriage was pushed by a steam tank-engine; these engines are now retired, one is located at the station above Manitou Springs and the other is on display downtown on Manitou Avenue.

Pike's Peak remains a challenge. Every year there is a race on foot up and down the peak, and an automobile race against the clock. One winner of the automobile race was clocked at 70 mph⁴ around the last hairpin turn at the top -- there are no crash barriers at the side of the road.

On top of Pike's Peak there is a gift shop where visitors can buy teeshirts and other gifts emblazoned with various Pike's Peak motifs; a cafe serves fast food. Outside there is a professional photographer ready to record your presence on top of the world. A painted signboard is available as a background for the amateur photographer. It all had an aura of people intent on having a peak experience. Temperature at the top was about thirty degrees Fahrenheit cooler than at the start 6,000 feet below.

Cabin altitude of a high-flying jet liner is usually maintained at 8,000 feet. Federal Aviation Authority mandates that pilots of unpressurized aircraft breath bottled oxygen while operating above 12,000 feet. On top of Pike's Peak the air is thin enough to cause altitude sickness⁵.