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With a Little Help From My Friends, I Can Do Hard Things

With a Little Help From My Friends, I Can Do Hard Things

Two of my 2025 resolutions were to experience adventures that challenged myself and spending time with girlfriends to take breaks from daily routines, enjoying new experiences, and reconnecting with my friends.

Back in January, I shared that hiking the Manitou Incline at the base of Pike’s Peak in Colorado Springs was on my goal list if anyone would like to join me. This challenging hike, although just under one mile, is 2,768 stairs up a steep incline. The trailhead begins at 6,500 feet and the summit is at 8,500 feet. What goes up, must come down. The return options are to take the stairs back down or follow the three mile Barr Trail that winds down with many switchbacks.

My friends Julie, Anne, Shelley, Jennifer and I settled on early May for the hike. We reserved an Airbnb near Gardens of the God and started planning travel and training. Having this trip to look forward to during winter was motivating for me and I was excited for the girlfriend time!

However, in April, a respiratory virus derailed my training. I was feeling better in May but still not as strong as I had intended to be and wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to do the full hike. The incline offers three opportunities for bailouts. I mentally planned to be prepared with a book and extra snacks, take the third bailout, and meet everyone back at the trailhead when they came off the trail.

The weekend of the hike, we all road tripped to Colorado Springs on Saturday and spent Sunday hiking around Garden of the Gods to help acclimate to the elevation and our equipment. If you have not been to Garden of the Gods or have only driven through the park, I highly recommend exploring the hiking paths around the grounds. Although I have driven through the park on several trips, this was the first time I had done any
hiking. The views of the rock formations and Pike’s Peak are amazing from different vantage points in the park. In the distance, we could see the incline and I think we were all in disbelief we would be hiking it the following day.

Our first view of Pike’s Peak when we arrived in Manitou Springs, Colorado.

Views of the rock formations as we hiked throughout Garden of the Gods

We could see the Incline during our Garden of the Gods hike.

We picked a Monday for the hike to (hopefully) avoid crowds and started about 6 am with a goal to watch the sunrise further up on the incline. We were prepared with water, snacks, sunscreen, and a sense of optimism looking forward to breakfast when we
finished. We took our time to rest when we needed to and met some great people along the way. Step signs every 100 stairs gave us encouragement to keep going but every time I looked up, I just saw more and more never ending stairs. As for the bailout plan, my friends would not let me take it. They pushed me to just keep moving as a team, taking breaks as we needed to, and making friends with chipmunks along the way.

Sunrise at the beginning of the Incline steps.

Sunrise views as we worked our way up the steps.

Anne made it to the top first. When I saw her at the top being our cheerleader to finish strong, I was so grateful. The views at the top overlooking Garden of the Gods and looking up to Pike’s Peak were amazing-completely worth the challenge. While we were excited for the descent down Barr Trail, we found the trail was challenging in its own way and just as scenic but easier for us to talk. The full trip took us several hours, but I loved the time together! We celebrated over breakfast, got some rest, dinner, and hot tub time in and then traveled home the following day. Reflecting on our weekend, I was inspired to write this blog entry highlighting my thoughts from this trip:

*We can challenge ourselves to do hard things, but a support network helps you going. I do not think I would have reached the summit if my friends had not been with me to encourage me. This experience was so incredible to do together. We saw all ages and body types on the incline and strangers encouraging other

*Mental and physical preparation are both important. When tackling anything challenging or starting anything new, how we fuel our minds and bodies keeps us strong. Researching the incline to help mentally prepare was helpful but I definitely didn’t physically train well enough for my first trip up the incline. The hike the day before and making sure we were all hydrating helped us shake off the long car ride from the previous day. There is something about Colorado fresh air-being outside was very energizing.

*Find a role model for guidance when trying something new. Several of us followed Incline Facebook groups to help us prepare for our hike. The day of the hike, people familiar with the incline were running the stairs. Seeing them tackle the incline with confidence was inspiring but I tried matching my pace with hikers who were slower and steadier.

*Use tools and practice with them to save time and be more efficient. In this case, our new tools were hiking boots, clothing layers, hiking poles, backpacks, and water reservoirs. I wish I had practiced more with my equipment. My backpack was too big, my reservoir leaked, and one of my hiking poles broke. I wore too many clothes and should have worn a hat versus a visor. But I was glad for my snacks, Gatorade, and sunscreen.

*Rest when you need to. There is no shame in resting when you need it. My favorite part of the climb was resting with my friends to chat, catch our breath, hydrate, get a snack, stretch, and just enjoy the views. Our breaks gave us a chance to look where we had come from which was not as disorienting as I thought it would be.

Near the top-almost there!

*Reflect on how far you have come. We loved the step signs as we got closer to the summit. While this was literally a “one step at a time” experience, the same concept
applies to starting anything new. Just do the next thing in front of you one step at a time but also take time to reflect on the completed work behind you.

*Girlfriend time and sharing your story. I have always felt balancing family time, couple time, friend time, and “me” time is important. When either of these get out of balance, I feel the lack of inspiration. I learn so much from my girlfriends when we spend time together. We talked about lots of topics on this trip such as balancing our careers with our families, being empty nesters, hobbies, relationships, dealing with menopause, and nutrition. I appreciated my friend’s perspectives and insights.

*Pack light. As a habitual over packer, this is something I am really trying to embrace. For this trip with limited trunk space for the road trip out, Anne and I were flying back home. We we had to pack light and also plan for what could be taken on the plane with us. Overpacking and clutter just really weigh us all down. I’m reminded of this every time I pack to heavy. There is peace of mind being prepared but also from being organized and traveling light. In 2026, this is an area I am challenging myself to improve upon.

*We all have different strengths that are unique gifts. I am always in awe of how strengths bubble up when my friends and I meet up. Driving, navigating, photography, reading maps, technology, cooking, shopping, finding restaurants that can make everyone happy, guided stretching, using humor, praying, storytelling, feeding squirrels, or watching out for the deer and horses that walked by our Airbnb every day (that was me!). Since many of us have known each other for many years, we sort of naturally fall into our roles but even if we had just met, I think our strengths would have easily kicked in quickly throughout the weekend.

*The power of being outdoors. There is something magical about being in Colorado every time I am there. Our Airbnb had two outdoor spaces, one with seating and a hot tub and one with swings. It was just outside the Garden of the Gods with easy access to hiking trails. We saw wildlife every day, loved walking around downtown Manitou Springs, and then sharing the experience of tackling the Incline. Looking out over Garden of the Gods valley in the early morning sunrise was beautiful. We engaged all our senses-feeling the breeze and sunshine, smelling the pine trees and fresh air, hearing the birds and other hikers encouraging each other, and enjoying our water and snacks. We were fully present in the experience.

One of the two outdoor areas of our Airbnb. We could watch the trail rides go by during our morning coffee.

Daily deer watch from the second outdoor area of our Airbnb. Deer, rabbits and squirrels came and went during the day.

Normally, I try to keep my blogs to 1000 words or less. I have edited this one down as much as I could but continue to reflect back on the inspiration from our experience. Will I do the incline again? Probably. I will at least be more prepared next time. The challenge of the hike and the time with friends was really inspirational and I continue to reflect on this weekend in the following months.