Longs Peak - A Journey with Old and New Friends

July 30, 2018

Peaks: Longs Peak (14,256')

Trailhead: Longs Peak Ranger Station
Elevation gain: 5,100'
Distance: ~15 miles

Start time: 2:35am
Return: ~3:30pm

Climbers: unclegar (Gary), Jeff, Hailee, MtnHub (Doug)

Introduction:

Every year I try to come out to Colorado to hike and climb in the mountains. Initially, my wife and I usually spend a little time with family and friends living in CO, and then we rent a room in various places of the State depending on where I plan to do some hiking or climbing. We usually spend our last full week in Estes Park. I love RMNP and will attempt to climb Longs Peak at least once every year.

I usually get my annual physical in late spring or early summer, about a month before we leave for our vacation. At my last appointment, I first met Jeff, who is a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist. He was reviewing the medications I was currently taking.

During my interview, we got to talking about hiking, where each of us has been, and what we've done. He mentioned that he and his daughter, Hailee, have always wanted to climb Longs Peak. I offered that if our schedules ever coincided, I'd be happy to climb it with them.

After looking over our calendars, we realized that our time in CO this year would indeed overlap nicely. Hailee is a UI medical student and would be finishing a special rotation in orthopedics in Denver. Jeff would be flying out there in late July to meet her when she was done and then spend a couple of nights in Estes Park.

We made plans to climb Longs together on July 30.

The Climb:

I meet Jeff and Hailee in the Estes Park library parking lot, which is halfway from each of our motel rooms. They load up their gear into my vehicle and we are off to pick up Gary who lives just north of the Ranger Station.

I've climbed with Gary a few times in the past and when he heard that I was planning to climb Longs again this year, he asked if he could join us.

Because of the increasingly large numbers of people who attempt to climb Longs every year, we wanted to arrive at the Ranger Station no later than 3am. In the past, I've always been fortunate to find a place in the parking area, but I know from experience it fills up fast, and late-comers may need to park down along the road necessitating in added distance and elevation gain.

This time, we are pleasantly surprised to find the lot only half full, so we have our choice of parking places and we are on the trail earlier than expected.

We set a leisurely pace, and Gary offers to lead us up a park service trail to bypass a section of the standard route. By the time we start heading up to Granite Pass skirting Mt Lady Washington, the sun is just beginning to rise in the eastern sky. It is beautiful!

Once we pass Granite Pass, we begin our climb up the switchbacks leading us to the Boulder Field.

We reach the top of the slope just as the sun is blazing brightly on the Longs Peak Diamond and the Keyhole Ridge. What a sight!!

The Keyhole lies directly in front of us and entices us like a carrot on a stick. But it is still nearly a mile of boulder-hopping, requiring careful footing over the uneven terrain before we can attain it. The groomed trail is now behind us.

I reach the Keyhole first and I document the rest of the team's arrival as they climb up to join me.

Taking a short break of water and sustenance, we scope out the magnificent Glacier Gorge which opens up to us on the other side.

We also find someone to take a photo of our small group.

The Ledges give Jeff and Hailee their first taste of some real rock scrambling. Initially they're a bit tentative, but soon they take to the rock like a couple of mountain goats. It's a blast!!

The day is perfect. We have comfortably cool, clear weather right on top of us, but some beautiful wispy clouds drift by around us creating some lovely photo ops.

A trio of climbers from Michigan catch up with us, but after hearing that Gary and I have around 30 Longs summits between us, they are content to follow along behind us.

The Trough is the next section we need to ascend. You gain a lot of elevation quickly and the loose scree and gravel can make it a bit tedious at times. But once the top is reached, the Narrows is a fun relief.

The Narrows is actually not as treacherous as one may fear. It's really quite solid and secure, and is frequently several feet wide with a high rocky curb.

And the views into the Wild Basin are amazing!

I always regret that the Narrows goes by so fast. You climb up to a bend in the rock face and soon you find yourself at the base of the Homestretch.

At about 10:30 we finally hit the summit!

After enjoying the summit for about half an hour, we begin our descent.

When we reach the Chasm Lake Junction, Gary once again offers to lead us down a different way bypassing the high stone steps of the standard trail. We take the ridge down to the trail below us weaving through scrubby trees and alpine vegetation. We pass by some old, weathered tree stumps which remind me of one of my favorite poems, Materfamilias, by Luci Shaw:

Mother tree, bald, old, with shoulders white as bones bleached

but still green as a girl where mosses crust your south

and life tufts some of your knotted fingers.

You cup small jays in your elbows, wrinkle your brown skin

to shelter larvae and your roots beam and buttress marmot halls.

Today the morning mountain is a breathless gold,

yet you bend to an eternal gale.

You are a signal to weather, a signpost in time

pointing the way the wind went.