Trailblazers

You might not know it on the first three miles of tight, steep switchbacks.

You might not consider it possible as you climb the 16 golden stairs, a cluster of rocks that stretch like some sadistic obstacle course near the summit.

You might just be thinking, “Wow, after this is over, I’ll never have to do it again!”

But here’s a warning: Hiking Barr Trail can be habit-forming.

Those switchbacks? Payment for the deep forests lit up with stands of aspen, hidden meadows, fern-covered corners and clutches of tiny alpine wildflowers that follow.

The golden stairs?

A fittingly dramatic end to this climb that offers more base-to-summit altitude than any other fourteener in Colorado.

The pull of the peak is hard to resist. Just ask Craig Burbank, a 53-year-old who has walked Pikes Peak bottom-to-top 465 times since he moved here from Texas in 1998. Or Bert Balzer, 69, who some years walks the trail 100 times.

These two men are united in their love of a path that snakes up the mountain through four ecosystems, ending in a rock-strewn moonscape above treeline.

They are in an unofficial club whose members pay dues by hiking Barr Trail.

Some, like Burbank, keep meticulous track of their ascents. Others, like Balzer, find themselves comfortably incorporating a weekly climb into their lives.

They recognize each other on the trail where sometimes they will hike together, but just as often they head up the mountain on their own in solitary meditation.

“This is my church and my God,” Balzer says.

“This is my way to get a great workout,” Burbank says.

FRED BARR: FATHER OF BARR TRAIL

Fred Barr was a miner who also ran a summer mule-trip business for tourists. An original member of the AdAmAn Club — the group that sets off fireworks atop Pikes Peak each New Year’s Eve — he is remembered for building about 100 miles of trails in the region, including the eight miles of the trail named for him.

Barr was often mentioned in newspaper stories of the time but never quoted. By the 1930s, newspaper accounts called him the “Trailmaster of the Rockies.”

He used his own money, about $38,000, to build the trail. And he was a dedicated hiker. AdAmAn co-founder Fred Morath remembered him this way in a letter written years ago: Barr “always carried the heaviest pack . . . Up at 5 a.m. at Barr’s Camp, where the climbing party spent the first night, Barr built up the fire in the freezing cold cabin, broke the ice in the nearby stream and made strong mountain coffee in his famous 20-gallon coffee pot.”

VIEWS FROM THE TRAIL

Profiles of a few members of the unofficial Barr Trail club, and what keeps them coming back for more.

HELMUT ZENGER

Zenger, 68, finds solitude and companionship on the Barr Trail. He hikes the trail once a week in summer and less frequently in winter.

“I enjoy hiking and the serenity and the challenge of going up there, and I also enjoy being greeted by Neal and Teresa” Taylor, the caretakers at Barr Camp, he says.

Zenger is a retired mechanical engineer who moved here 3½ years ago from Houston. He has hiked throughout his life but says “the Barr Trail is really my main trail now.”

Why he goes: “It reminds me of the forests of Europe,” where he grew up.

Routine: Takes a sandwich, uses stabilizers on his boots for ice.

Favorite portion of the trail: The middle part above No Name Creek, where it’s heavily wooded.

Least favorite: The switchbacks at the bottom.

Hiking method: Starts at 7 a.m., with friends or alone.

LYNN MILLER

“The usual suspects.” That’s how Miller describes this bunch of hard-core Barr Trail hikers. “That’s what we like to call ourselves,” says Miller, 56, who drives from his home in Pueblo West to the trailhead once a week. He says he has hiked Barr Trail hundreds of times, and last year he hiked the trail 28 weeks in a row.

Miller is a teacher in Pueblo. When he was younger, he competed regularly in the Pikes Peak Marathon. “Now I love the trail just for the exercise,” he says. “Depending on the weather, I like to go once a week. I love the scenery, the wildflowers.”

Why he goes: For the exercise, the scenery, “and the camaraderie on the trail. We (the frequent hikers) are there week after week.”

Routine: About once a week; now usually ends his hike at Barr Camp.

Favorite portion(s) of the trail: About four miles up, and one mile out of Barr Camp.

Least favorite: The last two miles on the way down.

Hiking method: Usually starts in the dark.

CRAIG BURBANK

Burbank is a Fred Barr kind of guy. Barr, the miner who built the trail, believed in the power of the hike, especially if it took place on the mountain where he spent so many years.

Burbank visits the mountain religiously. Since he moved here in 1998, he has walked to the summit 465 times, about 60 times each year. And when he’s not on Pikes Peak, Burbank is walking somewhere else. He lives on the west side of Colorado Springs and he doesn’t own a car, so he walks to get groceries, to friends’ houses . . . wherever he needs to go.

He calls himself a “walking man.” In past years, when he competed in the Pikes Peak Ascent, he stood out as a walker, not a runner. Others would pass him on the flat portions of the trail, but he caught up on the steeps, walking past the runners. His best time was an admirable 3 hours and 32 minutes, even starting from the Safeway store on west Colorado Avenue (and including that extra stretch in his time).

Why he goes: “It’s a good workout. I like walking in the mountains. I used to walk in the city, but I never really liked dealing with traffic. This is a way to get away from that and enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature.”

Routine: Watches the weather and, in winter, goes on Saturday or Sunday, leaving from his westside apartment at 5:45 a.m.

Favorite portion: Anywhere he finds himself on the trail.

Least favorite: None.

Hiking method: Meticulous, both in planning and record-keeping. Usually hikes alone. Usually wears running shoes, occasionally puts on hiking boots. Prefers to walk through snow without snowshoes unless it’s more than 8 inches deep.

BERT BALZER

Since Balzer moved to Colorado Springs in 2001, he has become devoted to the Barr Trail. A retired American Airlines employee, Balzer says he has climbs Pikes Peak 100 times some years. Some weeks, he heads up the mountain three times.

“I’ve been hiking all my life, but there’s something about the Barr Trail,” he says. “There are portions where you can see great views of Pikes Peak.”

Why he goes: “Nature is my church, my God.”

Routine: Goes with friends or alone, keeps track of his time.

Favorite portion of the trail: Near a section that regulars call Bob’s Road, about 4.5 miles from the trailhead.

Least favorite: None.

Hiking method: Starts at 5:30 a.m., carries snacks, Gatorade and water. In winter, takes snowshoes.

SPENCER JOHNSTON

Retired from the financial industry, Johnston, 64, moved here three years ago and began exploring the Barr Trail. “I got hooked, and met up with some other people and we became friends.”

Johnston even began helping the Taylors at Barr Camp by stepping in as caretaker when they had to come down the mountain.

He calls Barr Trail “a special trail. The history is fascinating and there are so many people on it. I continue to meet new people. And sitting on the deck at Barr Camp is always my favorite part.”

Why he goes: “It’s a good workout and a great way to meet people.”

Routine: Takes a snack — cheese or peanuts — and goes light, with a jacket that he can tie around his waist.

Favorite portion: “The hard stuff,” the steepest sections.

Least favorite portion: None.

Hiking method: Starts early, with friends or alone.

ABOUT PIKES PEAK / BARR TRAIL

- The peak is the first fourteener in the country reached from the East.

- The peak was the first fourteener to be climbed in the United States, when botanist Edwin James reached its summit in 1820.

- The trail rises more than 7,500 feet in a little less than 13 miles. (Mount Everest offers about 5,000 more feet of vertical gain in the same distance.)

- The trail travels through four eco-systems — foothills, montane, sub-alpine and alpine.

- The trail is famous for its switchbacks, including nearly two dozen above the A-frame, a shelter at treeline.

- The trail sees as many as 15,000 hikers a year.

- The trail offers shelter at the halfway point and at A-frame (treeline). Barr Camp has two cabins and full-time caretakers, Neal and Teresa Taylor. The cabins are heated by wood fire. Hikers can stay overnight there. For more information, visit www.barrcamp.com.

ABOUT THE FREQUENT HIKERS

If you spend any time on the trail, you’ve probably met some of them. If you’re a frequent hiker we couldn’t find for the story, let us know at deb.acord@gazette.com. (We know you’re probably on the trail instead of sitting at home.) We may share your stories on the Out There blog, gazetteoutthere. blogspot.com.