The Manitou Incline is less than a mile long.
That sentence leaves out a lot. It leaves out 2,768 steps, roughly 2,000 feet of elevation gain, and the moment somewhere on the way up when you look behind you and realize the trail basically falls straight down the mountain.
I didn’t show up in Manitou Springs one morning and decide to wing it. I’d been reading about the Incline for months, following Incline groups, learning what to expect, and figuring out how to give myself the best chance of actually enjoying the experience instead of simply surviving it.
I’d been working out consistently for months before the trip, and after arriving in Colorado I gave myself a few days to acclimate. I did some shorter hikes at elevation, stayed on top of hydration, and packed plenty of water and snacks for the climb.
And then it was time.
The beginning almost lets you believe this might be reasonable.
Then you keep climbing.
By step 1,000, any illusion of that is gone. The steps get steeper, the air gets thinner, and the mountain starts making its point very clearly.
My assessment at the time was essentially: now shit gets real.
Accurate.
One of the strangest parts of the Incline is how quickly your perspective changes. Eventually you turn around and Manitou Springs looks very, very far away.
There was still roughly another thousand steps to go when I took this photo.
At that point my advice was: don’t look back.
Naturally, I kept looking back.
The climb becomes very simple after a while. Step. Breathe. Sip water. Step again.
People pass you. You pass people. Everyone is climbing their own version of the same mountain.
And despite how hard it is, there are moments when you stop, turn around, and remember exactly why you wanted to be there in the first place.
Eventually, step 2,768 appears.
There’s no dramatic finish line. Just a number on a railroad tie telling you that you finally ran out of stairs.
And for a few minutes, you get to stand there knowing that every single one of those steps is below you.
I went to Colorado wanting to climb the Manitou Incline.
I left understanding why people come back and do it again.
Not because it’s easy. Definitely not because it’s comfortable.
Because sometimes it feels really damn good to pick something that looks a little ridiculous, prepare for it, and find out you can do it anyway.
2,768 steps later, here you are.
The Manitou Incline Collection was made for the people who’ve climbed it, are training for it, or just can’t get it out of their head.
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