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The Ledges, Going Up... |
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by Jerry Cates |
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After leaving the Keyhole and starting down to the Ledges, I knew to look for yellow and red bulls-eyes that had been painted by the rangers to show climbers where the trail was. The trail meandered over large boulders and rocks, and without the bulls-eyes it wasn't always obvious where it was. It isn't the same as following a trail in flatland country. So I took my time and studied the terrain, scouting out all the bulls-eyes. And, there they were! But they weren't always very bright. I found them all and managed to stay on the designated trail most of the time.
The Ledges provided the first real challenge. The topographic map section above shows the route from the Keyhole (top of the map) to the Trough (just beyond where the trail drops off the bottom of the map). At the beginning of the Ledges it is necessary to walk along a narrow ledge, holding onto the rock face on the left, making sure you don't stumble and lose your footing. It was good to have a pair of gloves on. After a while, bare hands would chafe or pick up small cuts and blisters that would make it harder to maintain a good grip later. To my right was what appeared to be an almost sheer drop that ranged from 200 to over 1,000 feet. It is not really straight down, but it looked like it, and-- for that matter-- it might as well be. If I fell here, I'd probably hit a rock on the side of the mountain before dropping 100 feet, but that rock would not stop my fall. My body would just keep bouncing off the rocks until it finally splattered on a big one and lodged there, somewhere around the 300 ft. level or below. It is easy to see why that lady hiker panicked when she got to the Ledges and looked down. When I looked down from the Ledges for the first time, I became a little concerned, too. It is only natural for that to happen. If true panic sets in, your survival instinct will make you want to freeze so that you won't do the wrong thing and fall over the side. I didn't freeze, but I did think about the poor fellow who fell to his death at this very spot only hours ago, while trying to step around the woman who panicked. Because of his unfortunate experience, I had left my two walking sticks at the Boulderfield campsite; that was a good decision, as the sticks would have been highly inconvenient, all the way to the summit and back. Next: The Trough, Going Up... Longs Peak Menu ... Bugsinthenews ... Books About Longs Peak |
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