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A Rose by Any Name

By Matt Carpenter

Several have asked me about my reference to “Rocky Mountain” at the top of the Incline stating that it is “of course Mount Manitou.” However, as strange as it may seem, the peak at the top of the Incline is 9,250' Rocky Mountain. Mount Manitou, at 9,429', is to the northwest by about a half mile. How the Mount Manitou Scenic Incline Railway got its’ name might be a story in itself. I suspect that since Manitou Springs is a prominent tourist destination, it just helped to identify the Incline better than calling it the Rocky Mountain Incline, although that’s not such a bad name. In any event it would not be the first time a landmark was named incorrectly. Consider the area referred to as French Creek on the Barr Trail. The creek is actually No Name and the south fork of French Creek is over a mile away and would have to run uphill to get to the Barr Trail at this point. No Name originates in the area to the west of the Experimental Forest and drains down to Ruxton Creek by the Cog which then runs into Fountain Creek in Manitou.