workday
Manitou Incline Work Day Sept 13, 2014
This Saturday, September 13, will be the first of 3 work days this fall for the Manitou Incline. The other 2 are October 11th and November 1st.
This first work day will be on the trail that connects the top of the Incline to Barr Trail. This connector trail has been a social trail with serious erosion issues and multiple paths. The social trails will be closed and a new sustainable trail will be built.
Participants must be 12 years or older, anyone under 18 must have a guardian accompany them during the workday. Check-in/late registration the morning of will begin at 7:30 a.m., in the Barr Parking Lot. The project will begin at 8 a.m., ending at 3:30 p.m. Please come prepared to work the entire day and hike 3 miles up Barr Trail to the project work site.
Tools will be provided and brought to the project work site by staff. You will need to bring and hike with your own gloves, water, hat, sunscreen and lunch.
You can sign up by going to the Colorado Springs Parks and Rec volunteer page and searching with the keyword “incline”. The direct link for the September 13 work day is here
Incline Work Day October 2013
Last Saturday, October 12, 2013, I got up early and headed up the Incline at 6 AM to get some Incline sunrise photos. I ran down the Incline to get back for the Incline Friends work day.
Volunteers filled erosion gullies on the lower part of the Incline. Gravel that has made the Incline narrow through the hill cut was removed and made that area the widest it’s been in several years. Some social trails were also blocked off and seeded. Please stay on the trails!
A big thanks to everyone you came out and to La’au’s Taco Shop for the yummy lunch!
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Incline Work Day
The Manitou Incline is constantly being eroding with it’s steep grade. This summer’s rains have been hard on the Incline. A planned workday in September got canceled since city resources to support the work day were needed elsewhere because of the flooding.
The Incline work day has been rescheduled for October 12th, 2013. Volunteers will meet at 7:30 AM in the Barr Trail parking lot with work commencing at 8 AM. Trail work will end around 1 PM.
The work day will be for trail clean up and some trail restoration. LA’AU’S taco shop will be providing lunch for volunteers.
Details are still being worked out but there may be a shuttle for volunteers from the Tajine Alami restaurant. Registered volunteers will be given details closer to the work day if there will be a shuttle.
To register, please call 385-6532 or e-mail Tilah Larson at tlarson@springsgov.com as they’d like an accurate head count prior to the work day. If you’re able to go last minute and haven’t registered, you can just show up at the Barr parking lot. Really try to register though since it’ll help them plan work and lunch.
Check the Incline Friends site for the latest updates.
Incline Work Day May 12, 2012
Last weekend the Incline Friends held a Manitou Incline workday and about 60 people helped out. Hiking the Incline is still illegal and most likely will continue to be so at least for another few months. In spite of the Incline still not being legal, the focus of the workday was implementing some of the provisions of the Incline Management Plan.
A fence was built around the Barr Trail parking lot. The social trail from the parking lot up to the Incline was covered up. A sign was put up at the bottom of the Incline with the Incline rules. The rules include the controversial no dogs allowed and dawn to dusk rules. The base for a donation tube was also installed.
Thanks to Tim Bergsten of Pikes Peak Sports for these photos of the workday.
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Incline Work Day May 12
The Incline Friends have a major volunteer work day planned for the Incine for May 12th. You’ll have the opportunity to be one of the first volunteers to help improve the Maintou Incline. Join the Cities of Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs, REI, Incline Friends, Trails and Open Space Coalition, and Friends of the Peak to help
- Prune vegetation and remove rebar from the trail corridor
- Install fence around the Barr Parking Lot
- Close social trails
- Install wayfinding signs
- Rehab portions of Barr Trail
Parking is only available at Manitou Springs High School. Buses will transport volunteers to the Barr Parking Lot. Do not park at the Barr Trailhead parking lot as this parking will be reserved for recreational users.
Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m., with work starting at 8 a.m. Work will finish around 3 p.m.
The first bus will leave the high school’s parking lot at 7 a.m., with the second bus leaving at 7:20 a.m.
Please dress in layers so you’re prepared for our Colorado weather; closed toe shoes, water, work gloves, and lunch are a must! Sunscreen and hats are recommended.
Trail work is no fun for dogs, so please leave your pooches at home. This project is limited to those 12 years and older, children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult and have a waiver signed by a guardian. Sign-up for the work day at on the REI site.
Please note the Incline is not officially open or legal, hiking the Incline is still considered trespassing. Due to the nature of the Incline, trail work will range from moderate to difficult. If the weather is inclement please visit Incline Friends or Trails and Open Space Coalition that morning to see if the project has been canceled. If canceled the make-up day will be May 19th.
21 year old and over volunteers will get free coupons to enjoy a “tasting” of “Manitou Incline Malbec Wine” at D’Vine Wine in Manitou Springs immediately following the volunteer project.
The Incline Friends ask that you arrive prepared to work since you can hold up your whole group if you aren’t prepared. You shouldn’t have to run back to your car for anything. In the case of this work day, that would mean a long trek from the Barr parking lot back to Manitou High School. Being prepared means having your sun screen already applied, being appropriately dressed in long pants, sturdy footwear (no sandals), gloves to wear and (in your pack) another clothing layer or two, including rain gear, maybe a hat. You should have everything with you that you will need for that day: water, snacks, cell phone, sunglasses, sun screen (for re-applying as perspiration takes a layer away), anything you feel is important to have with you out on the trail, medicine, bug dope, etc.
Incline Trail Project November 5th
The Incline Friends group is asking for volunteers to help with a trail project beginning at 7:30 AM on November 5th, 2011.
Part of the plan for legalizing hiking of the Manitou Incline is to close the trail from Barr Trail parking lot up to the Incline. The official trailhead will be in the Pikes Peak Cog Railway’s parking lot and there will be a trail connecting from the Barr parking lot.
Currently there is a social trail that cuts from the Barr Trail parking lot to the bottom of the Incline. Volunteers on Saturday will help reroute this short social trail to match the one in the Manitou Incline Site Development and Management Plan.
Those interested should plan to meet in the Barr Trail Parking lot. They should dress for the weather, bring work gloves, plenty of water and pack a lunch.
The workday is an important step in the process of legalizing use of the Incline. While citizen volunteers have organized successful clean-up days and made repairs to loose railroad ties, no official work has been done.
Creation of the Incline Friends group – which will soon become a nonprofit organization – was required in the Incline Management Plan. The group is responsible for education and outreach, as well as fund raising and volunteer coordination.
Cleanup on the Incline
It isn’t legal to hike he Manitou Incline just yet but the Incline Friends are cleaning up after the hikers. Help the Incline Friends clean up the Incline this Saturday, September 17th, from 8 AM – 11 AM. Meet at the true bottom of the Incline at 8.
Bring gloves and water. Trash bags provided. The group will clean up trash around the base of the Incline and then work their way up to the top, cleaning as they go.
