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The Ledges, Going Down (pg.2)... |
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by Jerry Cates |
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As I got closer, the knob above the Keyhole (the shovel with a notch some call the False Keyhole) started to look more and more like a knob again. The sharp spire overlooking the Dove is to its right, and up the ridge. Notice how the texture of the schist is different from that of the granite that make up the rest of the mountain. The trail gets a little hard to follow in this region of the Ledges. I had to keep a sharp look-out for the bulls-eyes, and even that didn't always work. I didn't want to get too far off the trail here, because I knew how easy it was to take a wrong step and become another Longs Peak statistic.
Do you see the small wooden sign affixed to a section of slickenside in the center right portion of the photo above? It points the way to the real Keyhole, at the base of the knob. In the upper photo, two hikers can be seen coming down from the False Keyhole. They are wearing blue jackets with khaki trousers, and are centered in the photo. They are not easily seen in this photo. Anyway, why are they hiking so far off the Keyhole trail? They may have mistaken the False Keyhole for the real thing, or- more likely- they went up to catch the spectacular view on the other side. It is said you can see all the way to Chasm Lake, and beyond to Peacock pool, from that spot. At least two fatal falls have occurred in the region of the False Keyhole. In both cases, the climbers lost their footing and fell several hundred feet onto the hard-packed snowfield of the Dove. That stuff is white, and looks like it might yield, but it is mostly ice. As good as I still felt, and as cooperative as the weather was (the threatening clouds noticed earlier had evaporated, and the sky looked really good), the temptation to hike up there was strong. I sat down for a moment to assess the exhaustion meter, and that delivered a contrary verdict. I wasn't trashed yet, but who could say how much that scramble would take out of me? And I still had the worst part of the Ledges to negotiate. So I turned away from temptation and continued on toward the Keyhole... Next: The Ledges, going down, page 3... Longs Peak Menu ... Bugsinthenews ... Books About Longs Peak |
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