Day 9
We woke up, got dressed, left the tent, and walked in darkness to Long's Peak Trailhead and started our trek at 2am. Yes .... 2am. Climbing Long's Peak was pretty much the focus of this trip and an early-morning ("alpine") start is essential if you are to summit and get off the mountain before afternoon so as to offset the danger of the frequent lightning that strikes the mountain after morning. The catch is that the summit is a 5.5 mile walk to a section known as "The Keyhole" and then another 2 miles of mostly climbing to the summit. THEN ... for those who successfully summit ... you get to turn around and hike it in reverse!
I told you it was dark:
So what is the lure of climbing Long's Peak? Well, aside from being Colorado's northernmost 14,000' mountain and the highest peak in Rocky Mountain National Park, the summit is legendary in that there is danger (59 people have died and gone missing during their bids for the summit), there is a challenge (the summit is only open to non-technical climbing for a handful of weeks every year), and success can be elusive (average is that, of every 10 people who attempt Long's Peak, only 3 achieve the summit).
We climbed in darkness for 4 hours until we reached The Keyhole. The sun started to rise:
In case you are wondering why it is called "The Keyhole," it is a notch in the mountain thru which trekkers must pass so as to achieve the summit from that route. Here is a photo (note the poor quality is due to the fact that it was actually taken in almost total darkness):
The things you see when you get away from the visitor centers:
On this route, it gets a bit steeper near the summit:
We summited 6 hours after we set out!
We had reached the pinnacle of, both, this mountain and this trip and felt elated to stand on top, look down at the other mountains, and see for miles!
Just to put this into perspective, our campsite (and the trailhead) are pretty much in front of those two twin peaks at center and in the distance:
Of course, we eventually had to go back down. The return trek was exhausting and seemed to take forever. We reached The Keyhole and looked down on a section called "The Boulderfield" which we had crossed in total darkness. We were impressed at its size and a bit disheartened that we had to cross that great expanse. There are people in this photo. Can you find them?
The size of the mountains is just amazing. As an example, the latrines circled above are a 1 hour hike from where I took this photo (and I did not have the telephoto zoom on).
On the way down, we took John Denver's advice and pondered "the serenity of a clear, blue mountain" stream:
We returned to camp, packed, and then stayed the next two nights at an inn near Estes Park. Since we had reached the pinnacle of our journey, we spent a couple days relaxing, taking in the sights, and celebrating our journey thru Colorado.
So why did I name this trip report "Live Like You Were Dying"?? Without getting in to detail, I experienced a life scare several years ago and decided that I needed to do more living. Tim McGraw's song puts it well:
"I went sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing,
"I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu.
"And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
"And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying."
An' he said: "Some day, I hope you get the chance,
"To live like you were dyin'."
If you ride motorcycles and are reading this, then you most likely also have a zest for life and will understand where I'm coming from.
So, after years of putting off Colorado, I finally went and did some Rocky Mountain climbing. I saw the state, rode thru some of the mountains, experienced the size and scale of a couple peaks, and took in the amazing sights within several national parks. After relaxing in Estes Park, we spent two mostly uneventful days riding the slab back to Chicago. When it was all done, the trip totalled 12 days and 3,719 miles. I was relieved to return home safely but I can't help but long for the expansive vistas and the mountains of Colorado.
Thanks for following the ride!
