Hiking to Longs Peak Summit

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Longs Peak (14,255 Feet)

Tuesday July 25, 2000, the alarm clock went off at 1:00 AM. The waiting and agonizing was over and we were as ready as we were ever going to be for the attempt to climb Longs Peak. Dick, Jim and I crawled from our beds, dressed, had some breakfast, finished loading and got in the truck for the drive to Rocky Mountain National Park. We were on the road by 1:30 AM.

Why were we doing this? Dick Ashburn the youngest of our band was responsible. Jim Leathers had never heard of Longs Peak and I had only a passing knowledge from a trip Carol and I had taken to Rocky Mountain National Park twenty five years before. Dick's experience with the mountain was about the same time, when he and his first wife were hiking in Rocky Mountain and decided to try Longs Peak. They had started out in the dark and managed to get to the Boulder Fields but Chris was having trouble and they had to turn around and come back down. We didn't know Dick at the time, but we met him shortly thereafter and once or twice a year he would tell us of his fixation with Longs Peak. After many years of listening to his story, we felt like it would probably always be just talk.

In the spring of 2000, we planned a trip to Colorado to attend a Blue Grass Festival at Lyons, Colorado. Carol and I, along with Jim and Cathy Leathers were going to take our travel trailers and camp outside of Boulder. We were telling Dick our plans and he said we should try to climb Longs Peak since we would be nearby. Dick thought that maybe he and Kathy could get off work and meet us out there and we could try the hike. I wasn't sure how serious he was but I talked to Jim and he said "Sure, we can do that!". We did realize that we would have to do some training. We were all past 50 and Jim and I were at lot closer to 60. I don't think anyone really had much idea of what kind of effort it would be and we didn't want to get our hopes too high.

Jim and Cathy's daughter Lynn along with her husband and family came to Troy, Illinois for a visit. Lynn's husband, Kurt Smith, is a real mountain climber with El Capitan and numerous other mountains to his credit. When Jim told Kurt of our plans, he was a "little" skeptical and told Jim that it would be difficult, but if we were determined he would try to work his schedule to accompany us. Kurt and Lynn live in Eldorado Springs and we would be camping nearby in Golden Gate Canyon State Park. As summer came things began to get more serious. No one was backing out.

We put together a draft itinerary and selected Tuesday, July 25 to make the attempt. Everything began to fall in place and It looked like we were not going to be able to get out of trying to make the climb.

We all left for Colorado, Tuesday, July 18. The second day we arrived at Golden Gate Canyon State Park. We came in the back side of the Park on a secondary road that we were assured was the easiest route. We weren't sure we were going to get our "Lead Sleds" up the hill. The park is at 9000 feet altitude but we finally made it, set up camp and went for a hike on the Raccoon Trail. We wanted to begin getting accustomed to the altitude and get a taste of what we were up against. We were still apprehensive.

The next day, Thursday July 20, we hiked the Snowshoe Hare trail and spent the rest of the day doing touristy things. Dick and Kathy, Carol and I went for a drive to Golden. Kurt and Lynn, with their children, Heather, Gretchen and Robbie checked in their camp site and Grandpa and Grandma Leathers spent the day with them. The park service had their camp site reservations for Wednesday and Thursday, but they planned to stay Thursday and Friday. The site was already reserved for Friday and everything in the park was full. The ranger said they would try to work something out and Kurt said, "We will worry about it tomorrow."

Friday, Dick, Kathy, Carol and I had reservations for an all day white water float on the Cache Le Poudre River near Fort Collins. The guides assured us the float was exciting but the water was lower than normal and tipping a rubber raft with a professional guide was unlikely. They told us if we fell out to make sure we didn't lose our paddles because that was our ticket back in the boat. About half way down the river we got caught on a rock and Carol and Kathy fell "jumped?" out. When they came up downstream, they both had their paddles. In fact, Carol also had Dick's paddle? The guide was yelling for them to swim for shore but Carol was finding it hard to swim with two paddles and she was afraid to let them go. I guess she thought they would kick both Dick and her out of the raft. She and Kathy finally made it to shallow water and Andrew helped them back in the boat. Andrew was about 13 and a real pal of Kathy's! He couldn't understand why they had fallen out! When the raft began to tip he simply smacked the guide with his paddle, shut his eyes and he didn't fall out? We were finally able to finish the float.

Kurt hadn't heard from the Ranger about their camp site and check out time was around noon. Taking the bull by the horns everyone went for a hike. Jim and Kurt hiked the Mule Deer Trail and returned late in the afternoon. The rangers were waiting and they weren't happy. Kurt was able to work something out with the group who had the site reserved and was able to ignore the rangers. Jim was sure that we all were going to be asked to leave. It had been an eventful day.

Saturday, Kurt and Lynn packed up and returned home. Jim put all six of us all in the truck and we went up to Rocky Mountain Park to hike and scout out Longs Peak Trail Head. We all hiked from Bear Lake up to Emerald Lake and then drove up to the Alpine Visitor Center. We took a trail from the visitor center which got us up to 12,000 feet. The altitude wasn't bothering anyone. We were getting closer to zero hour.

Dick had been thinking about this climb for 25 years, and he was so excited that he was having trouble getting any sleep. We were all getting a little bit worried. Sunday we all went to Kurt and Lynn's home in Eldorado Springs near Boulder. We used their house as the trail head and everyone took a hike in Eldorado Canyon State Park and watched the climbers scaling the canyon walls. Kurt talked to Dick about Longs Peak and said that even if we didn't make it to the summit the hike would certainly be worthwhile. Dick came away feeling much better.

Monday is the eve of our climb. Everyone took it easy. The weather was beautiful all week and the next day was supposed to be just as nice. Carol and I took a short hike, Dick and Kathy went to Blackhawk and panned for gold and hit the casino. Jim and Cathy stayed in camp while Jim got psyched up. We packed, repacked and tried to make sure we had covered all the bases. Dick had read somewhere that ski poles used during hiking saved 2 pounds per step (something like that ?) and if you took a million steps you would save two million pounds of effort (something like that?). He had purchased a pair of poles and had used them on a couple of our previous hikes. He was agonizing over whether he should carry them up the mountain. He was beginning to get attached to them. We had an early supper, the girls made spaghetti (carb loading). We went to bed early to try and get some sleep.

We arrived at the Longs Peak Trailhead at 2:30 AM. Dick hadn't had much sleep and he had resigned himself not to worry about reaching the summit. Kurt planned to arrive at 5 o'clock and catch up to us on the trail. Not many cars in the parking lot but we did see a gentleman there who had went up the trail the night before. He had reached the Boulder Fields and lost the trail. The wind was cold and blowing a gale. He had planned to meet his son there this morning to make the final climb but he had to return. It was cool at the trailhead but comfortable. We put on our gear and were on the trail by 2:45 AM. The trailhead is at 9,452 feet. We each had a flashlight and Jim had a two-way radio with which he planned to contact Kurt.

The trail begins easy through the trees but since we were using flashlights there was little scenery. By 3:00 AM we had gone a half mile and by 3:20 AM we reached the Goblin Forest Campground. We were moving steadily with Jim in the lead, Dick next and I was bringing up the rear. We had been on the trail about an hour and a half when we got to the Battle Mountain Cutoff. It was 4:10 AM and we had come 2.5 miles and had reached 11,000 feet. Since it was about 6 miles to the Boulder Fields, we were making good progress. Dick was concerned about burning himself out and felt that Jim's pace might be a little bit faster than he was comfortable with. He told us to go ahead and he would follow. We told him to take the lead and we would follow him. We continued to make good progress and I couldn't tell much difference in the pace.

We had passed tree line and it was windy and cold. The sky was clear and there was a sliver of moon. We bundled up and trudged on. I was surprised that the trail wasn't that steep and was easier than I had anticipated. At 4:50 we reached the Chasm Lake Cutoff at 11,500 feet. We had came 3.5 miles. We were over halfway to the Boulder Fields. We wanted to reach them by at least 7:30 and we were ahead of schedule.

There were other hikers on the trail and when we looked back we could see a line of lights moving slowly up the slope. A couple of groups passed us but we were holding our own. One of the groups was a young lady and gentleman. It wouldn't have been striking except they were carrying a gallon milk jug with water and she was wearing "shorts". We passed them a little later and never saw then the rest of the hike. Dick was feeling a lot more optimistic and beginning to believe the summit was not out of reach. The sky was beginning to turn red.

We arrived at Granite Pass at 5:20 AM. We had come 4.2 miles and were at 12,000 feet. It was 1.7 miles to the Boulder Fields. This is where the North Longs Peak Trail joins the main trail.

Sad Sacks at Daybreak with Keyhole in the Background
(Jim, Dick and His Poles)

It was now light and we headed up the switchbacks to the Boulder Fields. Kurt should be on the trail but we'll probably be on top before he catches us! We met a group returning from the campground and they had decided that it was too cold and the wind was too high to make the attempt on the summit. We plodded on. An hour later at 6:20 AM we reached the Boulder Field Campground. We have come 5.9 miles, reached 12,700 feet and have been hiking a little over 3½ hours. Jim and Dick visited the latrine and returned to tell me I missed quite an experience.

There were a lot of groups camped here and many of them were starting for the top. A lot of people make this a two day trip. Now we would have a lot more company on the trail. After a short break, we started through the Boulder Field. The field was a lot of large rocks where you climb from rock to rock and there was only a very general trail. The idea was to keep climbing up toward the Keyhole. Jim was able to get in touch with Kurt on the Two-way radio and he was getting close. We decided to get to the Keyhole and wait for him to arrive. The weather was cool with some wind but the sun was warming things up and it was rather pleasant.

We got to the Keyhole at 6:55. We were now at 13,100 feet with only a little over a thousand feet to go. We do know that the hard part is still ahead but now there is little doubt that we will be able to reach the summit. Waiting in the Keyhole, the wind was cold so we told Jim to gave Kurt a call and tell him we were going to go ahead and start for the summit.

Jim and I started on the trail and Dick was trailing. We had only gone a short distance when Dick caught us and said that just as he was leaving the Keyhole, Kurt popped up through the gap. He was changing his gear and he would catch us shortly. Kurt had run most of the way and what took us over 4 hours he was able to negotiate in 2 hours.

The trail initially loses altitude and you hike for about 20 minutes before reaching the "cone of suffering". When Kurt caught up he gave us a pep talk and Dick finally realized that he was going to the top! The cone of suffering is hard work. You are scrambling up a very steep trough of boulders and with the lack of oxygen, it is tough. Jim was in the lead with myself and Dick next with Kurt bring up the rear. The trail is marked with bulls eye or fried egg symbols. We would climb three or four minutes and rest. Then we would begin again. A few people passed us and we even passed some people and we continued to make progress. Kurt was following and encouraging us. Jim was doing a little better and we finally told him to go on to the top of the cone and wait. The rest of us reached the top of the cone a few minutes later.

I felt that we were almost at the summit. We were now at a portion of the trail called the narrows. It is a short distance but the trail is narrow and a real drop off on our right. We negotiated this but the trail wasn't clear. Kurt told us to climb up and to our left. We picked up the trail and rounded a corner. I then realized we had some more work to do. The last push for the top is about a 200 foot climb up a steep face. We began to climb and would stop and rest every minute or so. As we neared the top Jim was ahead and we sent him on to the summit. Dick and I were together and about 30 feet from the top we sent Kurt on up. I was now climbing about 30 seconds and resting. Dick was hanging out with me and we reached the top at 8:40 AM. We had climbed 4,800 feet, reached 14,255 feet, covered 7.5 miles in under 6 hours. We were pretty smug. All of the trail guides portrayed the most dangerous part of the climb as the afternoon thunderstorms and lightening. They indicated you should be off the top by noon. We were well ahead of schedule.

We're on Top of the Summit
(Dick, Jim and Garry)

On top we did all the conventional activities. We took our pictures, signed the register and looked at the view. Jim had experienced his share of discomfort and remarked, "I would never do that again. Once is enough!" There were 20 or 30 people on top besides us and Dick knew most of them before we left. Kurt took in the scenery and meditated, Dick and I walked around looking at everything and feeling giddy about reaching the top and of course Jim was bored and ready to move on. We were able to keep Jim on top about 45 minutes and we started down at 9:25 AM.

Kurt On the Summit in Meditation Mode
(Dick, Jim and Dick's Poles)

Down hill suits a 200 pounder a lot more that going up and I was ready to roll down. Dick was so happy that he was floating down. Kurt and Jim were taking the more conventional tact and hiking down. We reached the "cone of suffering" and started down. We were running into a lot of "suckers" who were struggling toward the top. Jim, very uncharacteristically, remarked that he felt sooo sorry for them. We're not sure whether Jim had any fun making the climb or not?

"Some Suckers" Climbing Up the Cone of Suffering

Coming down can be tricky and we did a lot of slipping and sliding. We reached the bottom of the cone about 10:15 AM and headed for the Keyhole. We decided we would let Dick lead and sure enough as we neared the Keyhole he got us lost. Jim didn't want to backtrack and suggested we climb to the top of the ridge and see if we couldn't get down that way (Maybe rappel with our coats tied together?). Cooler heads prevailed and Kurt finally got us back on the trail. We reached the Keyhole at 10:45 AM. We had gone 8.8 miles and it was now just a matter of putting up with a little discomfort for the next 3 or 4 hours. Dick was still packing his ski poles, but I must admit they did make him look good.

Back At Keyhole (It's All Down Hill Now)
(Jim, Dick and his Poles, and Kurt)

Another 30 minutes and we reached the Boulder Field Campground. Kurt took the lead and we moved on down to Granite Pass at a nice clip. We arrived there at 11:40 AM and by now had almost 11 miles under our belts. (Give me that downhill stuff!) We headed for the Chasm Lake Cutoff and somewhere along the way Dick picked up a knee problem. He was beginning to limp and he pulled out his ski poles! No one offered to carry him down. As Jim's boredom began to grow so did his discomfort. He wanted to be back! We got to Chasm Lake Cutoff at 12:20 PM and we had 3.5 miles to go. Someone suggested we could go on down to Chasm Lake, only a couple of miles round trip and elevation loss of 600 feet. No one thought it was a very good idea but Jim was ready to mutiny!!

We took a break and began again. Dick now decided that it was easier on his knee if he ran. That was fine with Jim and I. We alternated between walking and jogging and reached the Battle Mountain Cutoff at 12:45 PM. A young man was sitting on a bench and Kurt ask if he was waiting for the shuttle. Jim became very excited and wanted to wait with him and pick up the shuttle also. We finally convinced him that there was no shuttle and he resigned himself that he was going to have to walk to the trailhead 2.5 miles away. We were still about an hour and a half away. Dick wasn't getting much worse and he was holding his own.

To Jim, the last part of the trail was miserable. It was too rocky, too long and he was tired. We should have been there by now. Of course, as we neared the end, Dick met an old associate from school. Jim wasn't sure he was ever going to get back. To break the monotony Jim and I began to sprint down. Running downhill in hiking boots is not the brightest thing you can do but we survived and finally reached the parking lot at 1:55 PM. We had been hiking over 11 hours and had covered 15 miles. I had projected that we would probably get back between 3 and 4 o'clock. Jim decided that if we had went faster, he wouldn't have gotten so tired. (This is probably Maine logic!)

I didn't realize it but everyone else had packed aspirin in case someone had a "Heart Attack?". Kurt even had some drug that he could inject that allows you to hike on two broken legs. Some people must have been even more apprehensive that I thought.

Kurt talked an attractive young lady into taking a group picture and we decided it was over.

The End of The Trail
(Kurt, Garry, Dick and Jim)

Everyone piled in the truck, and headed for a restaurant in Nederland. Kurt followed in his car. We were a little worried about Kurt since he had failed to bring his drivers license and had already been stopped on his way to the trailhead earlier. He was speeding with no license and somehow managed to talk his way out. (That guy is good. Park Rangers, Police, etc.)

After a good meal, we headed for camp. We were all feeling pretty good. When we arrived we hid Dick in the back seat and told the girls he met some old acquaintances and was still visiting and that Jim and I had left him. They thought it was believable but a bad joke. The girls told us how proud they were of us. (According to Jim, we were supposed to get a just reward)

They say your memory gets shorter the older you get and I think we can give that theory a ringing endorsement. The next day we all thought that the climb wasn't that bad and it would be a piece of cake to do it again. Dick was finally able to sleep and I was very surprised that we actually weren't very sore the next day. We made a good memory and Dick had accomplished a long time dream.