Longs Peak (Colorado)

In late September 2019, I got the itch again.  The fading light of late summer and the impending arrival of cold weather made me realize that I would lose the ability soon to do a major hiking trip.  My brother moved to Colorado earlier in the year, which suddenly gave me a jumping point for trips to the west.  The ability to go there without needing a car rental or paying for lodging for at least a couple nights made the opportunity hard to pass up.

Though I went to Colorado the year before to summit my first 14ers, I felt I needed to go again to tackle the famous Longs Peak that I had to abandon the year before.  I distinctly remember getting light-headed the year before when I tried to go to above 10,000 feet on the first day.  I decided to give myself an extra day to acclimatize.

To get an early start to Longs Peak, we camped in Estes Park near the Rocky Mountain National Park entrance.  This was probably a mistake because it was very cold and rainy and our tent had collapsed while we went into town to eat dinner.  The result was pools of cold water inside the tent I had to avoid while sleeping.

Additionally, we set up the tent poorly and water got in anyways.  Needless to say, waking up cold and moist was not the best start.  Getting to the trailhead at 4:30 am, I was not feeling that warm or energized.  We started the hike, but I struggled to acclimatize as we ascended past 11,000 feet – huffing and puffing for frequent stretches.  It was also really humid and the going was tough.

Day broke around 7am and it was inexplicably beautiful.  The amount of alpine flora was more than I’d ever seen before.  We were at a good pace and in no danger of running behind at that point.  My physical condition was not great though.  I brought a thin jacket suitable for fall, but did not expect the bitter cold up near the summit.  As more snow appeared on the ground, I worried what the summit would look like.  Neither my brother nor I brought micro spikes or any equipment to keep us from slipping on ice.

I noticed that Colorado hikers were ridiculously fit and athletic.  On the east coast, I would almost never get passed ascending a mountain.  I prided myself on my ability to pass slower hikers and be one of the first people to summit for the day.  On Longs Peak, my brother and I were being humiliated.  At least a dozen lean, skinny people dressed in shorts and t-shirts at times zoomed past us going up.  Truthfully, though, had I been better acclimatized, I probably would’ve been able to keep pace better.

As the hours and miles passed by, we noticed more and more snow on the ground.  Around 11 am, we get to the boulder field.  This mountain was unique for me in that getting to the top required several stages.  The boulder field was really the beginning of when things got interesting.  I worried as I crossed the boulder field because there was a lot of ice and my hiking boots were slipping a lot without spikes.  I cursed myself for leaving my spikes back home in Maryland, thinking that snow wouldn’t come in September.

I was wrong, however.  Not only were we slipping all over the place.  I was properly cold.  We had lunch at that time and I hoped it would give me the warmth I needed to at least see what conditions were further up.  However, it was too cold, we were unprepared and decided to turn back.

Though I would have felt disappointment having not reach the summit, I knew we were not alone.  Scores of people turned around at around the same point because the top had some steep, narrow areas where loss of traction could have meant a serious fall.  The walk back was very leisurely and I think the both of us were looking forward to proper lodging for the night.  The pine forests below treeline were beautiful in the daylight and very typical of Colorado pine forest.

By 2:30 pm, we’d be back at the car on our way to the next day’s adventure – The Great Sand Dunes National Park!