*Wanna do steps? Air Force Academy Mini Incline*

I was undecided about posting this. However, this is a unique and beautiful trail so I wanted to present it for those who might be interested. As I’m living in Colorado Springs for the winter, I have found that the Air Force Academy has been an excellent resource; I’ve stayed at the FamCamp (RV Park) which is very nice with all the plugins. I’ve recently started biking the roads on base, as the main drag has wide shoulders and the rest of the roads enjoy low traffic during the weekdays. I (and my daughter) have utilized the Mini Incline, consisting of over 300 steps. I can get in over 2000 feet of climb with 11 transits. I’ve hiked the Stanley Canyon trail to the now empty Stanley Reservoir. And finally, there’s the Falcon Trail, listed as a 13 miler but Strava consistently puts my hikes at 13.4 miles with a little over 1400 feet of climb. I’ve seen primarily mountain bikers on this trail but careful selection of weekdays and weather means I have seen few people on my transits. Being retired Air Force, I have access to the base during COVID; regular public access has been temporarily put on hold, so crowds are non existent. When my daughter and I did the Falcon Trail during her visit here, we saw just a couple of hikers and a handful of bikers pass over the 13 miles. Simply put, the Academy is proving to be an excellent and enjoyable outdoor playground and covers most of the exercise and training options I would want. Bonus: the weather so far has proven to be quite different from the PNW; most days are sunny and cold is easy to deal with. But I’ve been outside running or hiking on many occasions where the temperatures are in the 50s.

On one of my Falcon Trail jaunts (November 27th, 2020) I recorded various parts of the trail to see how the new GoPro Hero 9 performs. Most of the videos in this OFF TRAIL section were recorded on the first iteration of GoPro’s software stabilization, the Hero 7. I’m embarrassed to say I lost my Hero 8 to the bowels of the under seat area of my Solis; the camera was there when I lifted up the seat to access a storage tray, sending the Hero 8 into the deep recesses of the rear area where the heater is located. But I digress.

In editing the footage I cut most of the clips to 16 steps (shoulder mounted as usual), keeping the video to about 10 minutes. This is a beautiful trail in and of itself, as you will see. I usually see deer and wild turkeys on these grounds, adding to the delights. I hope you enjoy….no music or narration, just footsteps, wind and beautiful views.