Longs Peak

Robert & Robin Charlton September 2006

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Ascent to The Keyhole We start hiking at 4 am beneath an amazing starscape, see the sun rise, and arrive at the Keyhole by mid-morning

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The Last Mile (It’s a Doozy!) The ultra-steep Trough nearly does us in, but we make it, then pick our way along the Narrows to the Home Stretch

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The Summit! After 8 long miles of uphill slogging and 5,000 vertical feet of elevation gain, we’re more than ready for a rest!

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The Long Descent Eight miles back down—the Homestretch, the Trough, the Narrows, the Keyhole, the Boulder Field…only 6½ to go!

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Longs Peak September 5, 2006. Well, we made it! It wasn't easy, it wasn't pretty, but Robin and I made it to the top of Longs Peak. Man, that's a long hike.

We originally planned on going on Sep 2 (Sat) of the Labor Day weekend, but it was overcast and drizzling starting on Friday night, so we decided to postpone for a day. The forecast for Sunday was much better, so we waited…and were glad we did, because Sunday, Sep 3 turned out to be an absolutely perfect day. The forecast looked so promising that we agreed to wake up a bit later than normal for a Longs Peak hike (e.g., 2:30 am instead of 1:30 am) and begin hiking at 4 am instead of 3 am. We guessed correctly that rain was unlikely, while freezing early-morning cold was very likely.

We awoke at 2:30 am on Saturday night/Sunday morning and hit the road by 2:45. We reached the trailhead parking lot by 4 am. The parking lot was already full but we were able to find a spot on the side of the road just a few yards from the lot, so no problems there. (Later in the day, when we returned, there were cars parked all the way down the roadside for nearly half a mile.)

We signed the logbook at the trailhead and started hiking in darkness at 4 am. It was cold (about 32 degrees), and we had every stitch of clothing on that we had brought with us. I wore my convertible pants, a long-sleeve shirt, black hiking vest, hooded sweatshirt, fleece jacket, and raingear top plus cap and gloves. (I should have left my fleece jacket behind since I only wore it for five minutes that morning before the hiking warmed me up enough to take it off). The starscape above us was incredible, just like the last time I hiked Longs. We turned our headlamps on and started hiking up the trail. The first two miles are along a wide dirt path through the forest, so the hiking is easy even in darkness. The trail slopes slightly uphill but the going is a breeze. After the first hour or so, we reached treeline, and the entire rest of the hike was exposed. It instantly got colder and windier once we left the trees; I had been hiking in just my long-sleeve shirt but added my hooded sweatshirt and cap again. Still, it was much less windy than the last time I hiked Longs, and the conditions were close to perfect. We could see headlamps ahead winding up the mountain.

We covered another two miles or so by the time the sun came up around 6 am. We got passed by twenty-somethings setting a harder pace than we felt comfortable with, but that was okay. We were making good, steady progress and would later pass some of them at the boulder field and beyond. We reached the boulder field at 7 am; this was steeper than I had remembered it. I had thought it was more or less level, but it actually climbs quite a bit, so we picked our way

slowly across the boulders, watching the Keyhole grow bigger and bigger in front of us. We reached the Keyhole before 8 am and snugged right up against the top, resting on a ledge and letting the sun warm us up before crossing over to the other side where it was still shadows and cold. We ate half our sandwiches in the sun and enjoyed the amazing moonscape views of the boulder field we had just crossed.

We passed through the Keyhole. As I noted in my last Longs Peak entry—almost ten years ago to the day (9/10/96)—“When you look over the other side you’re rewarded with a stunning—and terrifying—panorama of mountains spread out below you, with apparently nowhere to go. But as you crest the Keyhole you see a narrow path hugging the left side of the rock face. You cross this very carefully, following the red-and-yellow bull’s-eyes used to mark the trail.” We picked our way along carefully with no real problems. The trail actually descends for a time before starting to climb again.

Before long, we reached the “Trough” and struggled up the steep and seemingly endless slope. You can see the top of the Trough way up above you. Those little things crawling up there are people, not ants. It’s a bit demoralizing. You claw your way up what feels like a 45-degree slope strewn with loose scree and talus. This was Robin's least favorite section of the hike, and the only time she considered giving up. She was pushing right up against her physical limits. Her heart and head were pounding with the effort (as were mine). Negotiating this slope at 13,000+ feet is taxing to say the least, and just about everybody struggles with it. More than once near the top, we reached a logjam and had to wait for people ahead of us to pull themselves up a steep “giant’s step,” a narrow bottleneck, or a challenging crevice. None of it was technical per se, but it did involve using your whole body to pull yourself up and over (or around) some tricky spots.

It was with a great sense of relief that we finally reached the top of the Trough, and Robin’s smile suddenly broke through like sunshine through clouds. “This is so worth it!” she enthused as we hiked along the aptly named Narrows. This section is the scariest part of the hike for many people; we spoke to one couple who had to turn back at this point because, in the guy’s words, “It was more than I bargained for.” If you have a fear of heights, it could certainly seem treacherous, since there are sheer dropoffs of 1,000 feet or more, but we found these “scary” parts some of the most invigorating and enjoyable of the hike. The Narrows is mostly flat and the hiking relatively easy (at least in good weather); you hug the wall to your left and look out at some absolutely stunning views below you and to the right. As long as you pay attention, it’s straighforward and enjoyable. You have to work your

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way around the “Notch” at the end of the Narrows—again, more than a little scary if you have a fear of heights or if the weather is bad.

Once you negotiate the Notch, you’re staring straight up the Homestretch to the top of Longs Peak. The Homestretch is quite steep—as steep as the Trough—but more bearable because the end is literally in sight. Instead of loose scree, you have what amounts to a continuous stretch of rolling granite at a steep angle. You can walk up most of it, but every now and then you need to use your arms as well as your legs to negotiate your way higher. We pushed our way up the Homestretch, knowing the summit was nearly ours. I waited just a few feet from the top for Robin to join me, then we held hands and reached the flat football-field-size summit together. It was 10 am. Whew! We got to the top in 6 hours, which really isn’t half bad. In fact, it’s about the same amount of time it took me on my last attempt.

It was an absolutely perfect day with nary a cloud to be seen, so we stayed on the summit for a good hour. We enjoyed the second half of our sandwiches while sitting on a flat ledge overlooking an incredible precipice. We could see Chasm Lake far below us. I took lots of photos at the summit. We fed breadcrumbs from our sandwiches to a tiny bird sharing our ledge. Robin munched on candy corns (her reward for making it to the top). She signed the logbook at the top (“R2”), and we both took naps in the sunshine. I had trouble resting because I felt like I wasn’t getting enough oxygen and I kept having visions of rolling over in my sleep right off the ledge.

At 11 am we decided to head back down. The return trek wasn't much easier than the going up. We had to crab-walk down much of the Homestretch because it was so steep and offered limited footholds. Just about everybody crab-walks down this section, which is humorous but wise if you want to get down safely. We traipsed along the Narrows again, then it was back to the Trough. The steep descent was time-consuming. We picked our way down the loose slope. It was crowded with people, so you had to wait your turn to negotiate several bottlenecks. It seemed to go on forever, but what choice did we really have? If we wanted to get back to our car, we had to keep going. We passed several twenty-somethings who looked miserable with fatigue—the adrenaline gets you to the top, but you just have to tough it out all the way back.

I felt relieved to get back to the Keyhole and over to the other side again. We crossed the boulder field again, this time on a downhill slope, which was definitely easier on the lungs but not on the knees. We reached the end of the boulder field and began hiking down in a more normal fashion. We still had six long and painful miles to go. We didn’t realize how stair-like and exposed the trail was at this point until we had to negotiate it downhill one step at a time on sore feet

and legs. We took our time and got passed by lots of twenty-somethings again. Compared to my last hike, the downhill portion took a lot longer. We stopped to add moleskin to our toes to keep the blisters at bay. With four miles left to go, we paused to drink the last of our water. Every part of our body ached by this time. The only good thing was the weather, which continued to be perfect. I won’t dwell on the agony of those last four miles except to say that we hardly stopped at all, just grimly kept on going. The last two miles, once we reached treeline, weren’t quite so bad. The trail finally got less stairlike and steep and our mood improved. The trees offered pleasant, dappled shade. If we hadn’t already been hiking fourteen miles, it really would have been quite idyllic. We crossed several babbling streams. We wanted to get back to the trailhead by 4:30 pm, so we picked up our pace as we got near the end. When we saw the sign saying 0.5 mile to the trailhead, we really pushed hard, and just made it by 4:30 pm. The entire hike took us 12½ hours, including one hour of relaxing at the top. It was a memorable but thoroughly exhausting day.

What a sense of relief to finally reach the parking lot and limp our way to the car. We shed our socks and boots and put on tevas (oh joy!). We were euphoric on the drive home, especially when we found a Coke machine and had some ice-cold sodas to quench our thirst (having run out of water with four miles still to go on the hike). It’s amazing how fast a body can recover. We chowed down on pan pizza that evening. We got showered then went to bed, absolutely dog-tired, at the ridiculously early hour of 7 pm. Robin slept through the whole night until 8 am the next morning. I couldn’t sleep at first, so after an hour I got up and watched some TV, falling asleep on the couch around 11 pm and finally returning to bed at 1 am.

Twelve or thirteen hours of sleep was enough to repair a lot of the damage we’d done to ourselves. Our legs were sore but not too bad. I read the paper and did the crossword, and we went to Chipotle’s. It felt like Sunday even though it was Labor Day Monday. It was another brilliant day weather-wise, and we actually surprised ourselves and went for a (level) walk that afternoon.

[Note: I did the Longs Peak hike on my own back in 1996. Here’s the entry for that hike.]

September 10, 1996. Climbed Longs Peak on Sunday! We originally planned to tackle Longs on Saturday, but when I called the ranger station on Friday, they said the peak was accessible only to technical climbers due to snow and ice. That canceled our plans. I called the ranger station on Saturday around 3 pm, expecting to hear that Longs Peak was still off-limits, only to hear that it was open. Robin said she didn’t want to go, so I prepared to go on my own. I

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went on a bagel and Albertson’s run for supplies, packed up my stuff, and went to bed early.

Got up at 2 am on Sunday and got started hiking by 3:30 am. Incredible starscape, with the sky completely clear and only a sliver of a moon near the horizon. In the parking lot, met up with a guy from Michigan vacationing with his family in Colorado for a few weeks, and we agreed to join up and do the hike together. We kept up a good pace. It was warm under the trees but once we hit tundra it was cold and very windy all the rest of the way to the top. I quickly went through an entire package of Kleenex and shivered with cold as I ate a half of a bagel during our one rest stop prior to the boulder field. At around 6:30 we saw the Diamond (a sheer pyramid-shaped slab of rock on the east side of Longs) glow orange with the sunrise while the surrounding rock face was still dark. Passed a campground at the base of the boulder field, with tents pitched within circular stone enclosures to protect its occupants from the wind. Used the latrines, a funny feeling at that altitude. Climbed the boulder field to the Keyhole. Saw the honeycomb-like building just to its left. Reached the Keyhole by 7:30 am. Only 1 mile to go, but what a mile.

Very windy at the Keyhole. When you look over the other side you’re rewarded with a stunning—and terrifying—panorama of mountains spread out below you, with apparently nowhere to go. But as you crest the Keyhole you see a narrow path hugging the left side of the rock face. You cross this very carefully, following the red-and-yellow bull’s-eyes used to mark the trail. A bit icy in spots, just to make things more interesting. Felt the sun for the first time here.

Eventually we reached the Trough, a very steep talus field that goes up and up forever to the Narrows. Two hikers far up above us wearing red parkas looked like tiny red ants. We climbed this without too many problems, except for having to stop every minute or so to catch our breath and watch for icy spots. At the Narrows, more powerful winds and another terrifying view greeted us as we edged around a corner of rock called the Notch. Fortunately, the wind was blowing us into the mountain, not away from it. We crossed the Narrows hugging the rock face all the way. Looking up, we saw streaks of clouds racing by at what looked like 60 mph, apparently in the process of being formed right above the summit of Longs.

Then it was on to the Home Stretch, a surprisingly technical climb up a steep stretch of granite that offered few handholds and was even more difficult because of the icy patches. My friend slid down about four feet on one occasion when an icy patch made footing nearly impossible. We took a brief rest stop just below a ridge. Cresting it, I was astonished to see that we were there, at the summit of Longs! I was so

prepared for “false summits” that I didn’t expect us to actually be there. We reached the summit by 9:30 am. It took us nearly 2 hours to do the last mile. While it had been windy the entire time we climbed up, at the summit itself it was completely calm. We sat in the sunshine and munched on sandwiches, signed the register, chatted with other successful climbers, and stared at the 360 degree views.

By 10 am we started down. Had to crab-walk backwards down many of the steep granite faces near the top. Got a good upper-body workout from this and from lowering myself down short vertical drops. My friend and I had joined up with another guy from Leadville who had hiked Longs before. He led the way and we tried to keep up. We crossed the Narrows, then came down the Trough fast, not really following the bull’s-eyes but making our own way. We made good time all the way to the Keyhole and nearly flew down the Boulderfield, jumping from boulder to boulder. We took a long rest break at the base of the Boulderfield, then pushed on nearly nonstop to the end of the hike. This was a grueling six miles. The last four, and especially the last 2½, were particularly hard on me; I just kept rolling my eyes and waiting for it to end. I could feel blisters forming on my toes and we just kept going and going without a rest. (My companion from Michigan was a cross-country runner who took incredibly long strides towards the end of the hike, and the one from Leadville was used to high altitudes and fourteener peak hikes.)

What a blessed relief to finally reach the car. We arrived at the parking lot at 2:40 pm. The entire hike took us about 11 hours, 6½ hours up and 4½ hours down. I put on clean socks and sneakers, gave my address to my friend so he could mail me photos of our triumph, said my goodbyes, took a ten-minute rest in the car, then drove home.

Robin comforted me that evening. After regaling her with my adventures, I soaked in the tub, then vegged in front of the TV while she made me red beans and rice with sausage. Later I had ice cream with blueberries. Finally, around 8 pm, I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer and went to bed. I had a cold and slight fever at that point, the results of sheer exhaustion, but by the next morning I felt much better except for the aches in all my muscles—and not just my leg muscles, but my shoulder and chest and abdominal muscles, too. Longs gave me a full-body workout.

Longs Peak Statistics Trailhead Elevation: 9,400 ft. Summit Elevation: 14,256 ft. Elevation Gain: 4,850 ft. Round Trip Distance: 16 miles