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Longs Peak, Colorado
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This is the story of our recent trip to Colorado to climb the highest peak in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). Since we've lived in Charlotte we have ranged all over the Carolinas and Georgia seeking out exciting hiking and beautiful scenery. Not content with our climbing the highest peak east of the Mississippi (Mt. Mitchell, NC - 6684') I turned my eye westward this summer looking for an even greater challenge. Soon my research led me to Longs Peak, Colorado. Longs Peak soars to 14,255 feet above the Colorado plains. The path to the top we planned, the Keyhole Route, runs roughly 8 miles from the ranger station at the base of the mountain gaining approximately 5000 feet. The route is usually only "non-technical" (meaning climbing gear is not required) for about 2 months out of the year during mid-July to mid-September, when the snow has melted off of the route. We would be pushing the far ends of that climbing window during our trip. We flew into Denver on Saturday, September 13th and drove up to Estes Park, about an hour and half north-west of Denver. Coming from the east coast we were amazed at how the flat plains of Colorado are suddenly thrust upward at the Rocky Mountains. It is an impressive geological display. Our plan was to spend three days in Estes Park acclimating to the altitude before attempting our climb of Longs Peak. Our first night we spent at the Holiday Inn, then on Sunday we moved to a wonderful bed & breakfast called the Baldpate Inn where we spent Monday and Tuesday preparing for our hike. Estes Park is a hikers, campers, and climbers paradise and we found all the gear that we purposely didn't bring from Charlotte without any problem. On Sunday we took a conditioning climb up Longs Peak's neighboring mountain the "Twin Sisters". The Twin Sisters rise to 11,428 feet and is a beautiful hike in it's own right.
The Twin Sisters Marisa and I were pleasantly surprised to find that the altitude on the Twin Sisters hike did not affect us at all. In fact, we both agreed that hiking in the heat and humidity of the Carolinas was much more difficult than the dry and cool Rocky Mountain air. While climbing the Twin Sisters, my eyes were constantly drawn to the upper slopes of Longs Peak across the valley.
Longs Peak from the Twin Sisters trail Before long Marisa and I were sitting on the summit of the Twin Sisters enjoying a snack and marveling at the views all around us. We weren't tired in the least and at that point we probably both felt as though we could climb Everest with both hands tied behind our backs!
Marisa on the Twin Sisters summit The Twin Sisters gave us our first look at relatively high-altitude hiking and we were happy with what we saw. I think one of the biggest differences between hiking in the south-east and hiking in Colorado is the fact that "tree-lines" don't exist in the Carolinas. Every mountain is covered in trees and none of our mountains climb high enough to make the trees disappear.
A twisted tree trunk claws toward the sky
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Chris stands on the summit of the Twin Sisters After climbing the Twin Sisters we went back to the Baldpate Inn for an excellent dinner. I can't say enough about our stay at the Baldpate, it was one of the most unique places I've ever stayed in with an interesting history.
The "Key Room" at the Baldpate Inn Monday was to be our "rest" day prior to embarking on our hike up Longs Peak. We had heard the drive along the RMNP's Trail Ridge Road was something not to be missed, so we headed out early and drove west up the one-way Old Fall River Road and returned to Estes Park via the more heavily traveled Trail Ridge Road. Both offered stunning vistas of the mountains and valleys of the park.
The valley at the beginning of Old Fall River Road I could publish volumes of web-pages about the drive along Old Fall River Road and Trail Ridge Road but we did come here to hike up a mountain! We went to bed early on Monday anticipating our hike up Longs the next morning. I awoke early Tuesday morning and drove up the road a bit from the Baldpate to get some pictures of Longs in the morning light. Early morning is also a great time to see the resident Elk moving through the valleys.
An elk eats his morning coffee After wolfing down a great breakfast at the Baldpate we headed for the Longs Peak trail-head. The weather was absolutely perfect with warm and sunny, cloudless skies.
Marisa next to a trail marker The Longs Peak trail is very beautiful and diverse as it winds its way up through the alpine forest. Eventually the forest thins as you approach the tree-line and tall trees give way to low shrubs, hearty miniature trees and alpine tundra.
Marisa at Alpine Brook
We stroll through Goblin's Forest
Chris near the upper section of Alpine Brook Soon the trail breaks free from the tall trees of the alpine forest and we get some stunning view of Longs Peak and Mount Lady Washington on the right. The wind picked up a bit and we decided to don another layer of clothing against the chill. The green alpine tundra really contrasts against the grey and white face of Longs. |
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