Pikes Peak is the mountain that epitomizes the Rocky Mountains.  It was the inspiration for America the Beautiful written by Katherine Lee Bates in 1893, when she was overwhelmed with the mountains beauty and the scenic vistas that she could see from the peak.  People have been driving to the top of Pikes Peak to see this same scenic overlook for over 100 years.  It is visited by more people than any other mountain in the and is only second to Mount Fuji in for most popular mountain in the world.  The two major events on the mountain are the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and the Pikes Peak Marathon.  During the Pikes Peak International Auto Hill Climb, vehicles of all types race against the clock to get to the summit.  The road is paved part way up the mountain and the race starts where the pavement ends.  The Pikes Peak Marathon is a 26 mile round trip race up and down Barr trail that draws runners from all over the world. 

            Pikes Peak is not, nor ever has been a volcano.  It was formed through a process called “uplifting” which is when molten rock hardens below the earth’s surface and then is pushed upward over billions of years.  Over the course of time, the loose soil is eroded away leaving the rocky, granite, and wind swept mountain that we know today.  Massive, slow moving glaciers then sculpted the mountains features into the modern Pikes Peak.  The slow moving ice carved and cut deep ravines and basins in the mountain such as the 1,700 vertical foot “Bottomless pit”. 

            Pikes Peak was bought by the from the French in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase.  President Jefferson commissioned Zebulon Pike to the area in 1806 in order to define the purchases Southwestern boundary.  Arriving in the Pueblo area in the fall, Pike was memorized by the tall mountain to the North.  He set out with a party to climb the mountain in November of 1806, but was turned back by a blizzard and made no other attempts to ascend the mountain.  The first recorded ascent was on July 14^th, 1820 by Dr. Edwin James who was a botanist and historian with an expedition led by Major Stephen Long. 

            The carriage road to the summit was built between 1886 and 1888 in order to better supply the Army Signal Corp’s weather outpost that was established in 1873 at the summit.  This outpost was manned by a single enlisted soldier, year round between 1873 and 1889.  The soldier was periodically replaced as weather permitted.  Between 1889 and 1890, the Cog railway was built from Manitou Springs to the summit as a tourist attraction.  The first automobile reached the summit on August 12^th, 1901.  It was a two cylinder Loco mobile Steamer driven by C.A Yont and W. B. Felker. 

            Fred Barr and his father began work on the Barr trail up the east face of the mountain in 1914 and completed it in 1918.  In 1915 Spencer Penrose proposed an automobile highway up the mountain along the old carriage road.  The proposal would cost $500,000 and take only a year to complete.  Work began in early 1915 and was completed in 1916.  In August of 1916, the first annual Pikes Peak Hill Climb took place to commemorate the opening of the Pikes Peak highway.

            Today, the Pikes Peak Highway is maintained by the city of Colorado Springs.   The city operates the road as a toll road in order to curtail the costs of maintaining the road.  More than 500,000 people driving to the summit each year, and another 15,000 attempt to reach the summit on foot by way of the Barr trail.  Of the 54 mountains over 14,000 feet in Colorado, Pikes Peak ranks 31^st but is the farthest East of all of them.  This is one of the reasons for the allure of the mountain and was the “Rally Cry” of the people streaming into the area during the gold rush of the late 1850s, early 1860s.  “Pikes Peak or Bust” was painted on the side of their wagons and they felt a sense of achievement when the mountain came into view.  Whether you attempt to climb the mountain, or drive to the summit, Pikes Peak is well worth the time and effort that it takes to get to the top.  Breathtaking views in all directions from 14,110 feet above sea level.