Longs Peak
Longs Peak. Anyone living in the front range has heard of this fourteener complete with rock scrambling, steep cliffs, narrow ledges, and an extremely early morning start for day hikers. After moving to Colorado, we decided we would summit Longs within the year. That was our goal. Every climb, every hike, every scramble, we pushed ourselves so that we would be ready. The running joke of the summer became “Longs will be that much harder.”
In March 2016, we came home from an amazing trip in Canyonlands National Park and quickly realized we should book some overnight stays in Rocky Mountain National Park. Along with a two night trip in the mummy range in mid-June, we went ahead and booked a night at the Boulder Field for August 12. Little did we know that this would be the night of a meteor shower and would present some of the best weather conditions Longs has seen all season.
We started the trail, packs weighed down heavy with water and supplies, only to realize that water sources are available until the Boulder Field. We brought five liters each, an extra eleven pounds both of us could have avoided altogether...but on we went, climbing and climbing with smiles on our faces, grateful for the sunshine.
Pausing twice on our way to the Boulder Field, we enjoyed the peaceful flow of a waterfall just below treeline before ascending to where the trail splits for Chasm Lake. Here, we had a nice view of Peacock Pool just below Chasm Lake and then more climbing to our camp site. We went around the mountain before starting switchbacks up to the Boulder Field. We were home for the night.
Rock piles abound, we looked up at our summit for tomorrow and started to realize that this wouldn’t necessarily be the challenge we thought it would be. Sure, our legs were tired, but up until this point, the hike was no more challenging than the others we had experienced. We didn’t want to speak too soon, as the most difficult climb was still ahead, but it seemed to us that we had built this up more than we necessarily should have.
Alarms set, one for the meteor shower, one for our wake-up call, we climbed into the tent just past nine. We had a clear night with minimal wind, yet when we woke up to see the meteor shower, there was a haze over the horizon and made the stars seem fuzzy. Light pollution flooded our vision of the night sky. Even still, we were able to make out a few shooting stars, firing us up for tomorrow’s climb.
Up and at em’ at 4:30, we assumed we would be the first ones on the way up to the Keyhole. We couldn’t have been more wrong. Headlamps as far as the eye could see were like ants crawling their way up the hill. We quickly assembled our gear and joined the masses. We scrambled up the Boulder Field and were quickly up to the Keyhole. Here, many a day hiker rested and took in the sunrise. We paused momentarily to take in the view and then continued on to the Trough. This was definitely the most physically demanding section of the trail, but we soon found ourselves above the majority of the crowd and on the Narrows section. Around the mountain, up, down, and just a little ways up the Homestretch, we summited just after 6:00 a.m.
Looking around, we were surprised at the flat top of the peak. Many people were already up, so we found the most secluded spot we could and just looked out at the horizon. From here, we had a bird’s eye view of Chasm Lake and could see for miles the surrounding mountains and valleys. There was no feeling of disappointment up there. Just awe of the incredible beauty that is the Rocky Mountains.
We marveled at the resolve of so many people willing to make the trek up to the peak. At that moment, summiting Longs became less of a test or struggle for us and became more about the willingness to try something that is difficult. There is always going to be a difficult peak to summit, a heavier pack to carry, a longer way to go, but if you meet each challenge with the determination to give it your all, you will never be disappointed.