Ascent of Long’s Peak
August 27th
After months of hiking, we decided to challenge ourselves by climbing one of the famous Colorado fourteeners (mountains over 14,000 feet tall.) Long’s Peak in Rocky National Park is one of the most popular and most difficult hikes in Colorado but it’s not a technical climb, meaning that we didn’t need ropes and equipment. The traditional way up is to start at the Long’s Peak Trailhead, doing a 15-mile roundtrip hike. They recommend starting by 3 AM to be sure to get to the summit before the afternoon’s thunderstorms set in. We were staying in a different part of the park than the Long’s Peak Trailhead, and chose to take another route up, a 22 mile roundtrip hike starting at Glacier Creek, with about a 5,000 feet elevation increase. Though our trail was considerably longer, it was less steep and saved us a considerable amount of driving time.
The alarm went off at 1:22 AM after a fitful night of sleep. Our clothes were ready from the evening before- I tiptoed to the restrooms, but our neighbor’s dog started barking. We got in the car and drove about 15 minutes to the Glacier Creek trailhead and started the trail about 2 AM. I had never hiked at night before (in fact, it’s usually not advisable because of potential bear encounters, but getting to the summit early in the day was critical.) I was wearing my headlamp, but I followed Fabien’s flashlight which had a much stronger beam. He shined the flashlight in the bushes and there were two large elk. Those were the only animals we saw in the dark. I imagined that there were a lot of animals running around in the dark beside us, but I was too focused on not tripping over a rock to see them.
We hiked briskly and only made a few short breaks before daybreak- to eat half a bagel with peanut butter, to pee and to check the map. When we came to the junction with the Long’s Peaks Trail, we could see the sprawling lights of Denver. We arrived at the Boulder Field (essentially the end of the trail and beginning of the “route” to the summit) at 6 AM, right on schedule. By this time, there was enough daylight we didn’t need our lights. We had already been in the open tundra for several miles and had climbed to over 12,000 feet. It was cold, and my hands were feeling chapped from the wind. We could see our destination, the summit of Long’s Peak, looming above us. After a small breakfast, we started across the boulder field. It climbed abruptly, but was relatively straightforward. We passed the Keyhole (a break in the rocks) and arrived on the opposite side of the peak. The views were stunning, snowcapped peaks and lakes (which appeared black from the lack of light.) We followed the west face of the mountain on a steep rocky ledge until we came to the next ascent, a steep climb through a lot of loose rock. Just as we neared the top, there was a particularly tricky part that required some funny contortions to get over (it was even worse coming down.) When we arrived at the top, we were rewarded with views of the south side and another steep ledge called the Narrows.) Finally, we arrived at the homestretch, an exhausting climb (with hands and feet) to the summit. When we finally got to the top, we were surprised to see that the summit was quite large and there was space for everyone (there were probably about 50 people) to relax and enjoy the views. I truly felt on top of the world as we stared out at the mountain ranges around us. We were at 14,259 feet. The air was thin and crisp and we were still wearing our fleeces even after the strenuous climb. We found an empty rock, had a snack and took some pictures. Fabien was feeling a little weak from the altitude, but I was feeling very energetic. After about 20 minutes, we started the perilous climb down. I slid down the steep, slippery rock on my butt. As we retraced our steps coming up, I realized that each section was challenging in its own right, but finally, four hours after starting the mile and half climb up, we arrived back at the boulder field. In full daylight, we could see the expanse of tundra we had crossed in the dark. There were pikas scurrying around and making their squeaky noises. The hike down was long and tiring, but the threat of storms towards the end pushed us the last couple of miles. We finally arrived back at our starting point at 3:00pm, 11 hours after starting, just in time for a massive downpour. We both took a little nap in the tent before dinner and another early bedtime. I fell asleep with a massage sense of accomplishment.
Posted from Williamsburg, VA
Tags: BIG TRIP 2011, Colorado FR, In English 2005-2006
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