Number of Stairs: 2,744
Elevation Gain: 2,000 feet
Distance to Top: Just under a mile (one way, straight up - well almost straight up).
Total Distance: A smidge over 4 miles (coming down via Barr Trail).
Grade: As steep as 68%
Not too far from Garden of the Gods is The Incline. I won't sugar-coat it - this is a popular area, which usually takes it off my list. But we had decided to do a little family microadventure on a Saturday early in March, so we decided to brave the crowds and give it a shot.
The apparent top of the stairs (look near the sky) is just that - apparent. There is a false, soul-crushing summit.
Our youngest is 6 and thankfully he was a little ball of energy and led the way for most of this climb, but yo-yoed around a bit. We had some other commitments and had decided to turn around at noon regardless of where we were. So my 9-year old son and I (while very near the top) dutifully headed back down. We ran into the rest of the family, who decided the other commitments could wait - we were too close to walk away. So, we turned around and headed back up.
In real life, it makes you feel a bit dizzy looking back down the stairs.
After reaching the top, we caught our breath for a bit and then opted to take Barr Trail back down. It is a switchback-rich trail that loses the hard-earned 2,000 feet of elevation change over the course of about 3 miles.
Hitching a ride on the Uber-Mom for part of the hike out.
