Though considered one of the premiere mountains in Colorado and the peak the stands over all of the front range, I found the climb to be much more worth the adventure than the actual summit shot.
Blame it on the early morning? Maybe. Say it is too hyped and crowded? I guess. Regardless, it was a mixed bag as far as mountain climbs for the summer go.
We got up to the parking lot at about 9 p.m. From there, we slept in the car until about midnight when the alarms sounded.
By 1, we were on the trail, ready for anything the day could throw our way. We made an attempt at this one back in July, but were turned back a few hours up. We were out for redemption.
As we seemingly marched alone, the time passed amazingly fast. I guess when you can't see anything but the moon and what your headlamp lights up, your mind can't wander as much as in broad daylight.
This is the sort of hike that seems to have an “initiation” period in which one simply trudges through the boring part until the fun, rock-bounding adventures come into play.
Fast-forward 5 hours, and the sun began to crest the far-off horizon. However, after the trudging, endless march up about 5 miles of easy trail, the morning began to get to us. After working a full week and day just 12 hours prior, Mel and I felt the effects of no sleep, fatigue.
Mel chose to head down to a rock clearing just beyond the boulder field, but forced me to continue on without her. Trusting her decision and judgment, I continued up through the keyhole in the rocks atop the boulder field.
From there the route winds along the west side of the ridge, overlooking Mills lake and numerous others. This is where the fun began, and luckily there was light to navigate.
I haven't hiked solo in forever, and never at such a high altitude, so early. It truly is an almost eery sense of isolation, even though there were dozens of hikers in front and behind.
Regardless, I bounded on and caught up to Mark's group at the trough – a Class 3 section of slick and loose section of rock and gravel the.
We continue on, around the ledges, the jutting out boulder, and up the homestretch – my favorite part. Essentially, you are crack climbing and leaping to grab a solid point of contact until, suddenly, you crest the final ridge and peer atop the summit.
Only, the summit was a football field-sized expanse of rock. Only a few others had made it to the top before us. I just felt a lack of... awe? I don't know, but La Plata, Massive, and even Elbert made a more accomplished sense.
Maybe I was just confused because Mel wasn't there... who knows.
As the herds of people continued to summit, I decided to cut my stay short in an effort to get back down to Mel to see how she was feeling. Plus, I really just wanted to bound, leap and climb over the tough terrain on the way down, passing people who must have thought I was in a race.
From there, trekking across the now lit boulder field, down to the Chasm Lake overlook, and down throughout the valley near the parking lot was just a walk (though long) in the woods.
I will let the pictures tell the story, but the fact remains – Longs Peak disappointed, by the journey up to it made for one pretty spectacular climb.
Reflections:
I am at a loss for what to put here. On one hand, I definitely felt a sense of accomplishment as I passed folks struggling along the steep and slick homestretch. But at the same time, as I stood at the summit, I felt like something (besides my partner in crime) was missing. It was almost as if that this mountain was so talked about – so over-hyped – I expected more.
I will definitely be back. After-all, Mel has to reach the summit too. In the mean time, there are plenty of other lesser known adventures to be had.
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