Pikes Peak, elevation 14,109 feet, is the easternmost fourteener in the United States. The mountain has the largest elevation gain of any mountain in Colorado. The peak rises 7,800 vertical feet from downtown Manitou Springs in a horizontal distance of 7.25 miles. No other Colorado peak can match that. More than 400,000 people, ascend Pikes Peak each year. More than 300,000 people float Colorado’s rivers each year.†Dead Man’s Canyon, 10 miles south of Colorado Springs, is said to be haunted by the phantom of a man with an ax in his forehead. The “ghost” of William Harkins has haunted the area since 1863, when he was murdered by a gang of Mexican religious fanatics. Over the years, dozens of people have reported being chased by the angry phantom near his cabin on Little Fountain Creek.†The United States federal government owns more than one-third of the land in Colorado.
