The Barr trail was very pretty and kept offering glimpses of the peak during the portion before Barr camp. 

We arrived at Barr camp and stopped for a lunch of cheese and turkey sandwiches.  I drank out of the fresh water spring that the camp had and later found out it was untreated.  I spent about a week worried about giardia but never got it  After the Barr camp we needed to don our snowshoes.  We headed up the steepening trail towards the A-frame above treeline.

Once we got to the A-frame we pulled out the stove and had a hot dinner of soup followed by some hot-chocolate and candy bars.  The A-Frame was god awful uncomfortable and I'll bring a sleeping pad or sleep on the ground next time because it was impossible to get comfortable on the wood.  I was also dead tired as I somehow needed up being the pack animal of the trip and carried ~70 lbs up the trail.

When we woke up I felt pretty bad and made the mistake of drinking coffee but not enough water.   We all had a quick breakfast and headed towards the top.  As we climbed I began to get dizzy and uncoordinated.  I tried to push on and we were within a thousand vertical feet and maybe a mile or a half mile when I began vomiting.  At this point I realized I had to turn back.  Luckily Jen and Brian helped me down to the A-Frame where I drank a liter of water.  The walk back to Barr Camp was horrible and passed in a daze.  We all sat down at the camp and I ate as much as I could.  I guess the elevation loss and food helped because I soon felt great again.  Unfortunately we were out of time and had to get back to the car.  I was probable the most upset because my companions aren't quite as summit oriented as I am but none of us were happy about turning back so close to the top. 

Fast forward about a year.  Since Pikes I had climbed ~ 20 mountains culminating in the Little Bear trio last September.  After Little Bear I had to stop and concentrate on passing my PhD comprehensive exam (well I did manage to sneak in Mt. Massive).  This basically meant I spent two months sitting in a chair reading and working problems.  It also meant smoking, allot of smoking.  The combination of no exercise and tobacco knocked me way out of the shape I was in during the summer.  Luckily comps came and went and I passed with flying colors.  Now the hard task was going to be getting back into shape.  Over the summer I could take 10 mile/4000 ft trips in less than 5 hours easily.  I knew I would have to beat myself back into shape if I wanted to keep climbing with strong partners so I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and try Pikes Peak again.  This time only Brian went as Jen went solo to Chasm Lake below Longs.

I was particularly motivated to go because my original weekend plans had been to do some winter training with the guys from Little Bear but this was rescheduled due to an illness and my lack of money.  Since I wasn't going to do that I decided I still had to get out.  This time however we decided on the Crag trail.  The Crag trail starts at the Crag campground and heads up to the Devil's playground at the Pikes Peak Toll Road.  From there the path wanders just above the road until a steep talus slope which take s you pretty much to the top.  The road to the campground was open and relatively clear although it was quite icy.  Brian and I arrived at about 8 in the morning and set out. 

The weather for the day was much nicer than forecast and stayed in the 40's for the most part with mild wind (except above 13000 where the wind was stronger and the temperature a good bit lower).  The trail was easy to follow and firm enough that snowshoes were not needed. To start the hike we basically turned quickly off ahead of  three pipes, crossed a stream, crossed another, walked a mile and crossed back under the following rock formation.

I was feeling OK but in no way was I quick.  I didn't mind though because the day was mild and the views were spectacular.  We always had a constant layer of clouds beneath us to look at.  After the beginning we headed up a steep trail in the snow towards the saddle.  It was here I was glad that Dave Hale and Dave Gibson had previously found the way because it would have been difficult otherwise.  We followed their tracks up through the surprisingly firm snow (snowshoes were not needed on the way up and not available on the way back).  Brian started to lag at this point and I had to stop and wait several times.  I checked with him to make sure he was OK and he kept saying he was fine and to keep going. 

Once past the trees there was a steep climb to the saddle.  I waited about an hour for Brian to show up and started getting nervous so I headed back down.  He was still coming and said he was fine but slow so I took his pack from him and carried it to the saddle.  I figured as long as he was OK I didn't care how long it took because the day was beautiful and we both had headlamps.  Once past the saddle the trail follows a closed road for .7 miles to the actual toll road. 

We walked both on the trail and the road for a time with cars passing us regularly.  Rangers also passed and waved so I guess they don't care about hikers this time of year.  It was about 1:00 and I was staying right with Brian but it became pretty obvious that he wasn't going to make it.  I asked him what he wanted to do and he said he was tired but felt fine and that he would just have a seat and wait for me to run up and back.  I checked to make sure he wasn't suffering any actual symptoms and headed off. 

I have to say it was during the final approach that I realized how badly the last couple of months had hit me.  It took me an hour from the start of the talus field to summit.  I had to use all of my willpower to keep going and could barely breathe the thin air.  I don't think I have ever worked so hard to move up a mountain before but I was not coming back for a third time after 33 miles and 10000 ft of attempts.  I finally arrived and sat down utterly exhausted.  I hunkered below one of the walls as the wind was blowing pretty fiercely.  I stayed long enough to eat a candy bar, power bar, and a sandwich as well as drink a liter of water.  After doing this I headed back down realizing I really needed to get back in shape.  I met Brian who informed me that he was feeling very badly. 

I once again asked him if he felt dizzy or uncoordinated and how his vision and breathing was.  He said he didn't think it was altitude sickness and said he hadn't eaten anything all day.  I gave him a candy bar and  kept at him until he agreed to eat some nuts and drink.  I think he was just not ready for the level of exertion and didn't fuel himself well enough.  I also didn't think he should walk back with me both because it would take hours and because I was concerned for his health.  Fortunately some nice people stopped and agreed to drop him off at a winery at the bottom of the road.  I told him to go ahead and that I would pick him up as soon as possible.

Brian headed down with his bag and my snowshoes to alleviate the weight I was carrying.  Unfortunately it turned out I should have kept the shoes because I was post-holing badly the whole way down.  I didn't want to try to find my way back in the dark so I poured on the speed going down and made it back in under an hour and a half (including a 15 minute detour in the woods near the car).  Once I got back to the car I ate my last sandwich and headed back out to US 24.  I had to call Jen and have her give me the directions to where Brian was (it turned out to be impossible to miss).  I met him at 5:30 and we headed home. 

All in all it was a long day and I was pretty beat.  I'll do the Barr trail again in a year or two but for now I'm skipping a return trip to Pikes.  Right now I am planning on climbing every week or so until I am back in shape.  The most important thing though is that I am back in the mountains and done with the life draining portion of graduate school.