The Longs Peak Trailhead August12-13, 1999 |
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| by Jerry Cates | |||
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Longs Peak lies in north-central Colorado, halfway between Mexico and Canada. At 14,255 ft. above sea level, it is the highest point in the Rocky Mountain National Park. Unlike some mountain peaks, the Longs summit cannot be reached by automobile. Nor can it be reached simply by hiking, since certain parts of even the safest routes require using the hands as climbing aids. These challenges make Longs Peak one of the most popular mountains in the world. There are several routes to the top. Before the white man came, Ute and Arapaho braves climbed it from what is today called the Wild Basin, on Longs south slope. Hikers in the Wild Basin report seeing others, including young children, hiking that same route, disregarding the dangers. Today, there are no trails to the Longs Peak summit that originate in the Wild Basin. Several years ago two inexperienced hikers got lost on the Loft route, starting out on Longs east slope. They were found alive several days later on Chief's Head Peak, after passing through terrain at least as forbidding as that used by native Indians. Even amateurs sometimes manage to accomplish amazing feats. Sometimes they live to talk about it. Too often, though, the price for leaving established trails is serious injury or death. A number of hiking, riding and pack trails approach Longs from the north. The north Longs Peak trail built by Mike Donahue's grandfather is one of these. It originates at the Glacier Gorge Junction trailhead, 10.6 miles from the summit (2.1 miles further than the trail from the Longs Peak trailhead). The Glacier Gorge trail to the east is used by skiers, when a good snow base is available, to climb up to the top of the Trough and ski back down. It is likely that experienced hikers also hike to the Trough from Glacier Gorge after the snow pack has subsided.
For most, however, the journey to Longs Peak starts at the Longs Peak trailhead, shown in the photo, above (click on the photo for an enlarged version), on the left side of the ranger station (click the link for a list of GPS coordinates pertinent to Longs Peak) some 8.5 miles- via the Keyhole route trail- from the summit. The conspicuous sign to the left of the trailhead, readable in the enlarged image (click on the smaller photo, above), warns hikers that pets are not allowed on the trail. Not long after this photo was taken (8/13/99, at 12:56PM), a hiker with a large dog came marching back from a successful trip to the summit. Ignoring this sign, he took his dog all the way to the top. It never occurred to him he was endangering the lives of others. A number of hikers reported to the ranger that this dog posed a serious hazard on the Keyhole Route. Where the trail is narrow and tricky, even a minor misstep can end in disaster. In fact, two days later a hiker made such a misstep and fell 150+ feet to his death. There are other reasons for not bringing a dog to Longs. The backcountry trail leading from the ranger station to the summit travels through bear country. A hiker with a dog who chances upon a bear is much more likely to have an unfortunate encounter that ends in serious injury or death than one without a dog. Trying to restrain a dog in the presence of a bear is nearly impossible, and a sow with cubs will do whatever necessary to protect the cubs from a frenzied dog and its human companion. One simply cannot have a "friendly" encounter with a bear with a dog along.
Unlike theirs, none of my previous day hikes up Longs were successful. Being a long-time resident of the nearly sea-level flatland around Austin, Texas, the day hike approach to climbing Longs was a bad idea for me. On those previous trips, by the time the Boulderfield came into view, altitude sickness had me firmly in its grips, making it impossible to proceed much further.
Above is a map showing the ranger station (bottom right), with a dashed line depicting the trail leading west to the summit (An enlarged map can be viewed by clicking on it). Alpine Brook, which originates in Jims Grove (off this map), passes nearby to the south for the first 2/10ths of a mile up the trail. There must be a lot of waterfalls on this stretch, because the sound of rushing water is very noticeable. I remember hearing those sounds on the left side of the trail on every trip up this section in the past. In the early morning hours, hiking in the dark, this sound greets- and reassures- every hiker at the beginning of the Longs Peak trail. This map and the maps that follow will have only a few annotations added, to keep them as uncluttered as possible. Next: Moore Park Longs Peak Menu ... Bugsinthenews ... Books About Longs Peak |
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