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The Narrows, Going Up... |
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by Jerry Cates |
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Stepping off the rock at the top of the Trough onto the south slope of Longs placed me at the very mouth of the Narrows. I had read much lore about this area, and was impressed even more by the view. It looked every bit as wicked as those reads said it would be. Like the west slope, the trek across the south slope of Longs is divided into two distinct segments, the Narrows and the Home-Stretch. At the Narrows the trail is cut "narrowly" into the side of the mountain. A mountain goat would love it. The mountain rises almost straight up from the Narrows to the summit. The slope downward below the Narrows is also very steep and, for the unwary, treacherous. Here, just a few weeks before, a 75 year-old man who was hiking alone lost his footing and plummeted into the valley below. Nobody witnessed the incident, so the cause cannot be known for certain. Rangers inspecting the trail above the body found a small stretch of black ice at a notoriously constricted section of trail, leading to speculation that he lost his footing there before he had been able to secure a good hand hold. I made sure not to take a step in the Narrows without first having a good grip on the mountainside. The Narrows commences at about 13,870 ft., rises to 13,990 ft., then drops back down to 13,920 ft. or so- at least according to the topo map... While passing through the Narrows, a hiker advances horizontally about 1,000 feet, while ascending vertically some 200 feet over the first half of that route, then descending about 70 feet over the last half, assuming the map was correct in the placement of the trail At the west end of the Narrows you are at the base of the Home-Stretch.
While gingerly hiking the length of the Narrows, I took stock of my mental and physical states, and was surprised to find that I actually felt better now than I remembered feeling at sea level. This was a welcome change from the three previous trips up the Longs Peak trail. Though not quite through the Narrows yet, I knew that reaching the summit was practically a sure thing. It was a good feeling... But first I had to get through the Narrows -not to mention the Home-Stretch -and that meant surmounting a few remaining challenges. The biggest of these involved negotiating through a few constrictions in the trail, where its width thinned, sloped treacherously downward, or practically disappeared for a few inches. That sounds really bad, but it isn't. Where the trail gets nasty, the hand-holds are great. I just had to take my time, move with care and deliberation, and test each foot-step before pressing on... Next: the Home-Stretch... Longs Peak Menu ... Bugsinthenews ... Books About Longs Peak |
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