One of the wonders of the world is right our back yard. Bristlecone pine trees are some of the oldest trees in the world. We have been to see these trees at Great Basin National Park where there are trees that are over 4000 years old.
On Mount Almagre right near Pikes Peak there is a grove of Bristlecone pine trees that are between 2 and 3 thousand years old. Many of the trees have number plates on them from a few studies that have been done. These Bristlecone Pines are a living climate history of the Pikes Peak region.
Up the road from the pine grove the top of Mount Almagre can be walked to. There is an old dam called Stratton Reservoir that is no longer being used.
Stratton Reservoir
Walking beyond the old reservoir to the saddle and you can look over the south slope water district which includes a number of reservoirs for collection of water for Colorado Springs.
LJ Looking over the South Slope Watershed
Pretty cool to see your info about Almagre and the old res.My brother,my dad and myself have hiked to the top of Almagre from every angle,its a pretty nostalgic place for us.If you hike above the res to the north and descend a few hundred meters you can see the PP cog railway.On our first trip to this vantage point we came upon a modern porcelen toilet that had been cemented into the earth——we couldnt believe it !!!!!Of course it became a landmark destination point for us—we took pics to show our mom and friends,evan took friends and vistors on hikes to check it out and get all the crazy opinions as to how this might have come about.we never used the damn thing—-hiked there in 02 and of corse some idiot had smashed it. —see ya Jack