Long's Peak Boulder Field Camping

[kyleberthel]

Hello all,

I am planning to climb Long's this August with a friend who is an inexperienced climber/hiker, so I figured I would split the trek into two days by camping at the boulder field on the way up. My question is whether prior registration is necessary for a camping spot in the boulder field, or whether it operates on a first come first serve basis.

Additionally, any further information about the boulder field camping experience would be much appreciated, we will plan on a cold night despite the August climb date, but more specifics on the weather conditions in this area at night would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[Brian C]

I'd call the NPS and ask. Although I've never camped there, I'd be pretty surprised if the camping spots there don't get booked ahead of time. I've never seen an empty spot there in the summer.

NPS Backcountry Site

[highpilgrim]

Boulderfield camping is by reservation and is usually booked far in advance. There are other camping areas on the standard route that are easier to reserve...

[edhaman]

It's been a few years, but I've camped at the Boulderfield twice. I'd suggest checking the NPS website, or calling the RMNP Backcountry office (970-586-1242) to find out about availability and permit procedures.

Unless things have changed, the Boulderfield has 9 campsites. These are areas where sand has been dumped to cover the boulders and create a flat campsite. There is a low rock wall around each site. When I camped there one August, we had an inch of hail drop, and the day we were planning to summit we were socked-in with clouds and it rained most of the day. Fortunately, we had 2 nights reserved, so we were able to summit and hike out on the third day.

Water runs under the Boulderfield, so there are places where you can access water. The elevation there is 12,760 feet. If you have even mild altitude sickness, you may have difficulty sleeping. I awoke one night feeling like I couldn't catch my breath, but the feeling passed after I sat up, opened the tent door, stuck my head out and took some deep breaths.

If you get in early enough, you can hike up to the saddle between Long and Mt. Lady Washington for a nice view of Chasm Lake and the Diamond.

The fun part is the toilet. There are two elevated, open-top outhouses. You walk up several steps to get in, and the walls come up about waist-high. In the morning there is a line, and you can look down on those waiting and converse with them while doing your business. Just hope you don't have my experience of it starting to hail while you are sitting there.

Camping there is a great experience, and I'd highly recommend it if you can get a reservation.

[bob863]

camping at the Boulder Field (if you can get a reservation) can be quite an ordeal...the afternoon/evening thunderstorms can wreak
havoc....

[dannymiller15]

I camped at the boulder field several years ago and it was a great experience.
As others point out, you need a permit and at 12,700 feet you're pretty exposed if there is bad weather. Also, the wind can be brutal -- we broke a tent pole during the night. As for water, we could hear it under the rocks but did not find it. We brought it up from the lakes so we did not look too hard. So just check with the rangers when you get there regarding the water. The out houses are unique.
Camping at the boulder field does break up the trip. It was a great time with good friends and I would definitely do it again.

[edhaman]

To follow-up on the water issue, I had to wander around the Boulderfield a bit until I found a small spot between the rocks where I could get access to the water. The space I could get water from was probably no more than 6" x 6". I found several such places in a fairly short period of time, so it wasn't a needle in the haystack situation.

[SuperiorTrailHiker]

I camped at the Boulderfield - as others have confirmed, you do need reservations. I made mine three months in advance - Ranger told us that there are often cancellations or no-shows, so if the day you want is booked, you might snag something anyhow.

It was a great time - there were some interesting folks there to wander around and talk to. I enjoyed it a lot.

I had no issues with the elevation or sleeping, except for a story I told in another post here a while back about one of the early-morning folks poking my bivy before 5 AM and loudly wondering to the rest of his group what it was. I thought by splitting the climb into two days I could sleep in to a reasonable hour on Climb Day, but there's a steady stream of folks from the early hours onward past and sometimes through the camping area. Be ready to be woken up early.

My hiking / climbing partner did not feel well at all, though - barely slept. I was out solid all night until the Poker came along.

Lots of marmots that are very inquisitive, and other rodents too, so use the metal ammo cans they have placed near each stone ring to store anything you don't want chewed.

Finding water was a little bit of a challenge, but not too hard. You can hear it trickling under the boulders - we lowered the hose of a Katadyn Hiker down and tapped into it without a problem. It seems to change daily, though, because the next day we couldn't reach water from the same area (found it a short ways off, though).

I really enjoyed sleeping up there - stars were astounding, and it was cloudless with nearly a full moon, so it was very bright and clear. Temps and wind were fine the night we were up there (being "mild' and "almost none" respectively), but of course on any given day your mileage may vary.

The outhouses are - interesting. I limited my interaction with them.

During the climb, we obviously left the majority of our gear in place while we went up - no problems at all. We were back down and had it cleared before noon for the next folks.

[pepsi]

There are other camping areas on the standard route that are easier to reserve...

I am also planning on August and would appreciate any advice on other camping options for Long's

[highpilgrim]

There are other camping areas on the standard route that are easier to reserve...

I am also planning on August and would appreciate any advice on other camping options for Long's

There is at least one camping area on the route other than the boulderfield: Goblin Forest is not as far along the trail as you might like, but the sites are easier to come by at that location. They are still available by reservation but not quite as difficult to secure. Below is a link to a page from the park service describing Goblin Forest and other sites in the vicinity of Longs:

http://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/site_details.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[blackjackdavey]

how big are the spots? is each spot designed for one tent only or can you fit multiple?
seems like there is 7 people limit for induvidual spot if i understand it correctly.

[Sugar Madison]

As someone who's climbed Longs a LOT, both in a day and in more than one day:

It's a lot easier to climb Longs in a day than it is to haul overnight gear to 13,000'. There may be other reasons to do it (seeing the stars, the experience of it, whatever), but avoiding fatigue isn't going to be one of them.