It has been a few years since I last hiked the trails at Pulpit Rock.
There was absolutely no signage indicating where to turn off of Nevada Avenue or where the trail head actually is located. And the entrance for the parking lot is quite different looking. But we did find it after a couple of U-Turns after driving past it the first time.
At first it looks like an easy hike, and I left my hiking pole behind. Big mistake!
The trail soon took a turn for the rocky and challenging.
As we began to hike upwards off the flat trail, we discovered that there was no signage to guide us to which trail to take up to the formations. And the ones we took were very poorly maintained trails leading up and down from the main formations.
But up we went.
There were a couple of places I had to ask for a hand up from my hiking partner.
But having no worries about being embarrassed about this request, chose to do that rather than risk a fall.
And coming back down, actually sat down to get back down in a couple of places.
Walking among the beautiful formations was worth taking this challenge to get up there!
Years ago, after a bad car accident, I developed had Panic Attacks when I was in high places and looking down. I quickly decided I wasn’t going to live with that and took steps to overcome that health challenge. Tested myself a couple of times on this hike when the trail ended in a steep drop off.
I was fine! So happy I was able to make that shift in my mental and emotional state all those years ago.
There were incredible views of to the west towards Pikes Peak.
At the top of a trail that went east from the Pulpit Rock White formations that everyone sees from below were a few cairns on the trail.
Got some nice photos of this one with Pikes Peak behind.
And this awesome “grandfather” tree caught both of our attentions.
Had to take a few moments to honor it and give it some respect for how it has survived so many years in a rocky, windy place above the city.
I am certain it will someday become one of my abstract photos, but for tonight, just sharing it in its natural state.
I had picked up a heavy stick to use as a pole in one of the more challenging areas. Then when we saw what looked like an easy trail down, left it behind. And we even encountered some icy areas on this downward trail.
So I soon regretted that decision. I would definitely recommend anyone doing this trail take a good hiking pole with them to stabilize themselves in many sections going up and down from the white formations.
At the bottom we went a bit farther to the east on very smooth and wide trails before heading back to the car. 
No need for a pole here, so if you just hike the lower section, you can hike without one.
The birds were singing and the sky was very blue above.
It was just too beautiful of a day to turn back quite yet.