Meet Rachel Jones, known as the "Incline Queen" after completing 1,000 Manitou Incline hikes in 1 year

The Manitou Incline is 2,768 steps and the popular hike in Manitou Springs attracts all kinds of challengers. One group is very exclusive with only four members.

Two years ago, Rachel Jones joined the 500 club, which is comprised of people who have climbed the Manitou Incline 500 times in a year. But she said that proved too easy. 

Last year she decided to climb the incline 1,000 times in one year, something that just three people, all men, have achieved. 

Jones faced the usual hurdles early on, sometimes having to fit as many as 12 inclines a day around working a full-time job and being a mom to a teenager. 

Then in September 2022, she found out she was pregnant and had to discuss the extra challenge with her doctor. 

"Because I had already hiked so much leading up to the beginning of my pregnancy, my body was accustomed to continue going, so she was fully on board with me continuing, but I would need to work around the symptoms of my first trimester, which were brutal," said Jones. "Of the 1,003 laps that I hiked, she was with me for 440 of them." 

Now, she's known as the Incline Queen and wrapped up her challenge by climbing those steps five times on New Year's Eve.