This is perhaps the hardest 1-mile you’ll ever do. It follows an old Cog Railway straight up the side of a mountain. It is only 1 mile long, but gains 2000’ feet in altitude. Just walking it without stopping is a feat worthy of mention. Lots of people ‘run’ the incline weekly and then come down Barr Trail – the hiking trail that runs from Manitou Springs to the top of Pikes Peak. It takes most hikers about 3 or 4 hours. Runners in good shape can do it in about 2 hours. The record for going up is somewhere around 18 minutes. Visit the Incline Club Website for more information.

The Incline was officially marked “no trespassing” in June 2000, but many people go up every day. This was done more for liability purposes than anything else. If you come to town, grab a local to take you.

Check out Flickr for more images. This guy has a great set of images.