448 Managing Recreation on 14,115ft Pikes Peak

On this week's podcast, Bob talks with Skyler Rorabaugh, the manager of Pikes Peak - America's Mountain.  While the mountain is owned by the U.S. Forest Service, the Pikes Peak Highway and amenities from the bottom to the 14,115' summit are operated by the City of Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department as an enterprise, the only one of its kind in the world. They discuss the challenges of keeping the highway open year round, managing a $70 million, state of the art visitors center at the summit of Pikes Peak, also the only one of it's kind in the world. Rorabaugh tells of the additional challenge of finding people to work at the thin oxygen environment on the mountain, the special skills needed to maintain the highway, the other recreation opportunities on the mountain, but not on the highway, and future plans to expand the visitors experience.  Whether or not you've ever visited Pikes Peak, you'll find this podcast fascinating. Pikes Peak- Americas Mountain website: https://coloradosprings.gov/drivepikespeak Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast! Visit: https://www.patreon.com/hikingbob for more information Hiking Bob website: https://www.HikingBob.com Wild Westendorf website: https://wildwestendorf.com/ Where to listen, download and subscribe to this podcast: https://pod.link/outdoorswithhikingbob

In a first time event, we replay podcast episode #48 from June, 2017, in which local adventurer Jerry Rhodes tells his story of being on Mt Everest during the Nepal earthquake of 2015. This replay coincides with the new Netflix documentary "Aftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake" which also tells the story of the same event through the eyes of people on Mt. Everest and in Kathmandu In the intro to this re-play, Bob suggests that listeners watch the Netflix documentary along with listening to Rhodes give his first-person account of the earthquake. Jerry Rhodes Pottery website: http://www.jerryrhodespottery.com/ Netflix documentary: https://www.netflix.com/ Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast! Visit: https://www.patreon.com/hikingbob for more information Hiking Bob website: https://www.HikingBob.com Wild Westendorf website: https://wildwestendorf.com/ Where to listen, download and subscribe to this podcast: https://pod.link/outdoorswithhikingbob

On this week's podcast,  Wild Westendorf returns and joins Bob for a varied and lively conversation. They discuss a case out of Wyoming regarding publicly owned land intermingled with private land in a checkerboard layout, and how the private landowner, who has lost previous court decisions, is now asking the US Supreme Court to forbid the public from hopping over his land to access the public lands. While the implications are serious, Bob thinks the idea that someone owns the "air space" over their property is stupid. Also, Bob talks about social media topics where recreationists provide opinions, often not nice ones, about what other hikers wear, or equipment they use, or how fast or slow they hike. Bob wonders why these posters seem to think anyone cares about their opinions and why they think they are necessary. Also, El Paso County is looking for new members of its park advisory board; Bob has added a new gallery to his photography website; and why this podcast isn't also a video production. Wyoming "air space" case: https://tinyurl.com/bek5jsu2 Bob's photography website: https://tinyurl.com/4yfupr3b El Paso County Park Advisory Board opening: https://tinyurl.com/24vjxaef Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast! Visit: https://www.patreon.com/hikingbob for more information Hiking Bob website: https://www.HikingBob.com Wild Westendorf website: https://wildwestendorf.com/ Where to listen, download and subscribe to this podcast: https://pod.link/outdoorswithhikingbob

On this Bonus Episode for July, Bob talks with Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department Director Britt Haley about the 2025 department-wide Master Plan process.  It's been almost 12 years since the last department-wide master plan, and Haley talks about what has been accomplished since the last master plan, how the city has grown in the intervening years and how that affects the need for a new plan, what the department expects to learn from the master plan, how this master plan process is different than the last, and most importantly, the need for public involvment in the process. They also discuss the recent Trust for Public Land report on the economic benefits of parks in Colorado Springs, and how the information in that report pertains to the current master plan process. Colorado Springs PRCS Master Plan website: https://coloradosprings.gov/ParkSystemMasterPlan Trust for Public Land report: https://tinyurl.com/39y83yer Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast! Visit: https://www.patreon.com/hikingbob for more information Hiking Bob website: https://www.HikingBob.com Wild Westendorf website: https://wildwestendorf.com/ Where to listen, download and subscribe to this podcast: https://pod.link/outdoorswithhikingbob

On episode 444 of the podcast, Bob chats with National Geographic photographer Jonathan Kingston. They discuss Kingston's journey from Virginia to the western U.S. and from being a world class rock climber to a world class photographer. Kingston tells of how luck, being in the right place at the right time, and of course, having the required talent, landed him with a prestigous publication.  Also, the evolution of camera technology from film to digital to mirrorless, what kind of editing Nat Geo allows and much more, in this entertaining conversation. Kingston's website: https://jonathankingston.com/   Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast! Visit: https://www.patreon.com/hikingbob for more information Hiking Bob website: https://www.HikingBob.com Wild Westendorf website: https://wildwestendorf.com/ Where to listen, download and subscribe to this podcast: https://pod.link/outdoorswithhikingbob

On this week's podcast, Bob goes on a short hike with Chris Gonazales, the Executive Director of the Teller Trail Team in Teller County, Colorado.   They talk about the origin of the organization, it's mission and goals, and projects it's working on, including the new Avenger Open Space in Woodland Park. They wrap up with a discussion of upcoming events and how people can lend their support. Teller Trail Team website:  https://tellertrailteam.org/ Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast! Visit: https://www.patreon.com/hikingbob for more information Hiking Bob website: https://www.HikingBob.com Wild Westendorf website: https://wildwestendorf.com/ Where to listen, download and subscribe to this podcast: https://pod.link/outdoorswithhikingbob

On this week's episode Bob is joined by co-host Kevin "Wild" Westendorf.  Bob answers listeners - and Kevin's - questions about his recent trip to Iceland. Questions about food, culture, hiking and more are answered. Also, the discuss the Colorado Springs Parks system master plan process, now underway. Kevin tells about his recent encounter with a rattlesnake in a Colorado Springs park, which leads to a discussion about what to do if you encounter a rattler and they also debunk some common myths about the snake. Park system master plan website: https://coloradosprings.gov/ParkSystemMasterPlan Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast! Visit: https://www.patreon.com/hikingbob for more information Hiking Bob website: https://www.HikingBob.com Wild Westendorf website: https://wildwestendorf.com/ Where to listen, download and subscribe to this podcast: https://pod.link/outdoorswithhikingbob

On this week's podcast, Bob talks about his recent trip to Iceland with National Geographic Expeditions, and his day-by-day experiences there.  He also invites listeners to send him questions they might have about the trip and he'll address them in a follow-up podcast. Note: The podcast was recorded in three sessions, with two of them on a ship ( of which one was during a storm) so while we tried to equalize the varying audio quality, you will notice some changes. We tried our best, so please bear with us. Photographer Jonathan Kingston:  https://jonathankingston.com/ National Geographic Expeditions: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/expeditions/ Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast! Visit: https://www.patreon.com/hikingbob for more information Hiking Bob website: https://www.HikingBob.com Wild Westendorf website: https://wildwestendorf.com/ Where to listen, download and subscribe to this podcast: https://pod.link/outdoorswithhikingbob

In this week's podcast, Bob talks with Martin Palmaz about the sport of paragliding. They discuss the difference between paragliding, parasailing, hang gliding, and ultralight flying. Palmaz, who is an experienced paraglider, talks about what it's like to paraglide, what kind of training it takes before one can paraglide, including how much it costs to learn and then equip yourself for the sport  He also talks about where in the Pikes Peak region paragliding takes place, and the inclusion, but not yet implementation of, paragliding in the Blodgett Open Space Master Plan in Colorado Springs. Bob tells of his experiences seeing paragliders at two local open spaces.  U.S. Hanggliding and Paragliding Association website: https://www.ushpa.org/ Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast! Visit: https://www.patreon.com/hikingbob for more information Hiking Bob website: https://www.HikingBob.com Wild Westendorf website: https://wildwestendorf.com/ Where to listen, download and subscribe to this podcast: https://pod.link/outdoorswithhikingbob

On this week's podcast, co-host Wild Westendorf joins Bob for a wide-ranging discussion about the proposed 2026 federal government budget and it's effect on the National Park Service. Also, they discuss the pros and cons of various types of emergency beacons for hikers, and how one segment of the industry is using a flawed and incomplete statistic regarding other devicesto promote their own.  Regardless, the message is you should have something other than a cell phone to signal for help. Rounding out the show is Colorado Springs' city wide parks and cultural services master plan process that is starting up, what it means and how the public can participate. Colorado Springs PRCS Master Plan website: https://coloradosprings.gov/ParkSystemMasterPlan Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast! Visit: https://www.patreon.com/hikingbob for more information Hiking Bob website: https://www.HikingBob.com Wild Westendorf website: https://wildwestendorf.com/ Where to listen, download and subscribe to this podcast: https://pod.link/outdoorswithhikingbob