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Manitou Incline reopens after flood repairs

Manitou Incline (Photo: Wikimedia)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Arguably one of Colorado’s toughest hikes reopened to the public Friday morning.

The Manitou Incline, a roughly 1-mile trail that ascends 2,000 vertical feet reopened after undergoing repairs from last year’s flooding.

The trail was closed for three months while workers conducted a  $1.5 million overhaul. It was scheduled to open at 10 a.m.

According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, workers wore climbing harnesses and replaced railroad ties and installed retaining walls.

A group of 12 to 18 laborers worked six days a week on the project. One laborer, Hugo Benitez of Timberline Landscaping, said he shed 25 pounds climbing the incline every day for work.