I have a business trip in August by Palmer Lake and I want to get in a good hike. The hike would be the last week in August. I have a buddy coming down and this would be our first trip to Colorado. Both being from the NY area we don't have anything like the Rockies.

We were thinking of hiking Pikes Peak. It would be the weekend after the Marathon, so that wouldn't be an issue. Are there any other hikes we should look at? There aren't many threads about Pikes Peak, so my guess is that it's not that popular. We're renting a car and be leaving out of Denver Airport so we can leave Palmer Lake and travel to a better hike if needed.

Anyone have any suggestions? We want a tough hike.

How experienced are you at hiking? What about altitude acclimation? Have you ever hiked at high altitude before? I would refer you to my website for further details...

http://www.100summits.com/articles/tips ... afety.html

I also have a small collection of hiking articles:

http://www.examiner.com/x-25307-Colorad ... g-Examiner

Pikes is a really tough hike - don't let it fool you. There are plenty of other easier hikes that will challenge you in the Colorado Springs area.

The highest hike I have done is Mt. Washington at 6,288 Ft. I believe my friend has done a 10,xxx ft hike once. So, I guess we don't have a lot of experience at high altitudes.

Take your time and drink lots of water. Some people acclimate faster than others. I would also suggest getting a trails illustrated map of the pikes peak area - there are literally hundreds of hikes around here. Some really great hikes are found just minutes out of town. Barr Trail is good for beginnings since it is long and you can turn around when you get tired - plus there are a lot of people. I guess it depends on exactly what you're looking for!