Regardless of how long it is between visits, Colorado Springs will always been my home. I will never get tired of seeing the Front Range mountains. I enjoyed the time I’ve spent living there and most of all, I enjoy the sight of the monolithic peak just west of nearby Manitou Springs. No matter how many people move into the region, no matter how many houses pop up, Pikes Peak will always be the ultimate standout in the region. It’s the one geographical feature that you can’t miss. Even with the Auto Highway fully paved, even with that tourist trap on top that I worked at while I was taking a district-enforced “vacation” from high school, Pikes Peak is as formidable today as it was when Zebulon Pike first laid eyes on what he dubbed “Grand Peak” in 1806. One of the best memories I’ve got is taking an extended break from my duties on the peak on a clear, sunny day, and seeing the view that literally spread from Wyoming, to Kansas, to New Mexico. Awe-inspiring is a very overused statement, but it’s the only thing that works to describe the feeling.
As racers know, making it up the Peak is a sign of strength, skill and in a celebrated way, a method of showcasing man’s abilities against nature. The problem with the Pikes Peak Hillclimb is that it uses the Auto Highway. Even when it was dirt, it was effectively a fire road, graded gravel. When a Toyota Corolla can make that drive, how rough is it, really? In 1957, Chevrolet commissioned two trucks to climb to the peak of the mountain without using that trail. Straight up that sucker. Nice. After leaving a Colorado Springs that is unrecognizable by modern standards, they headed up through Gold Camp Road, a place where many great stories tend to begin at, and from there stay off the path completely.
