“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.” -Helen Keller
Background
My brother Abram is getting married this October to his fiancée Ashley. For his bachelor party, instead of the usual customary spectacle, he decided he wanted to hike Longs Peak in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. I agreed to this long ago, but didn't really do much research until the date started to approach. I had just assumed it was a nice scenic stroll through the outdoors of Colorado. I was mostly wrong, it was a lot more than that, it was a challenging hike and climb that would really test my endurance and determination. Here is an overview of what the hike entails: 14ers Route of Longs Peak The hike is about 7.5 miles each way (15 miles total) and goes from about 9,405 ft at the trail head to 14,295 ft (about a mile up) at the summit. It doesn't sound like a lot of distance, but it is time consuming, especially for a novice.
Here is a model of the mountain that was in the Ranger's office that gives you an idea of what the mountain looks like. You can see the trail starting at the top left and the peak right in the front is what you climb.
This is a topographic map of the trail we took:
Photos from the trip
I tried to take as many photos as I could on the trip and here are a few of them: Flickr Longs Peak Photos. They came out a lot better than I expected and am glad we were able to capture those memories. There are also some photos on my Facebook Album.
The Preparation
I was surprised to read in the description that it was more of a climb than a hike, so it became apparent that I had a lot of preparing to do, especially considering that I had never been on a hike before in my life. I was never much of an outdoors person, something I attributed to my allergies. I've been having a good year allergy wise and luckily, I had been running a lot more often and had just finished my first 5K and was working on moving on to my first 10K on the way to my half marathon goal.I started doing a lot research online and doing a lot of practice hikes on the weekends with friends that really pushed my limits. I bought some hiking supplies, like a camelbak backpack, hiking shoes, a headlamp, and even hiking poles. I really enjoyed the process of preparing and like the feeling of having a goal that I'm working towards. Sometimes I worry I might get too narrow sighted in the process, but that is how I do things. By the time the hike came along, I felt as prepared as I could be, but knew I was getting into something more challenging than I had ever experienced.
The Adventure Begins
It was Wednesday, August 8, 2012, and the trip to Denver, CO was set to begin. The group of close friends Abram assembled for this trip included Norbert, Cory and Todd. They took off from Austin on a road trip in his new Xterra for Denver at 3am on Wednesday and I joined them that night since I chose to fly to Denver instead so I could get in an extra day of work.
Arrival in Denver, Colorado and the Campsite
Wednesday night, I got into Denver late and took a shuttle to meet everyone at their hotel. We all got a good night's sleep and then headed really early to the Roosevelt National Park campsite at around 6am to try to find a place to camp out. When we got to the campsite, we had to find an open site in a first come first serve setup, which lucky for us, there was only one spot open and we got it right before another group.I had never been camping in my life, not counting that time I was 6 years old and set up a tent in the backyard, which I stayed in for a few hours before coming inside to sleep in my bed. Everyone started setting up and I helped in what ways I could as they put up the two tents that Abram brought.
I was ecstatic to find that the campsite had a restroom, the one thing that kept me from being interested in camping to begin with. Camping was more fun than I expected and I do see myself trying it again. We didn't have any cell phone reception which matched well with Abram's "Unplug, Run, and Hike" project that was also the inspiration for this hike.
The Day Before the Hike
It was early in the day on Thursday and after setting the campsite up and getting in trouble for hanging our big Texas flag on a nearby tree, we had the rest of the day to fill. The plan was to go to bed by 8pm and wake up at 2am that night so we could leave at 3am for the Longs Peak hike which was estimated to take anywhere from 12-15 hours. These times were recommended in many guides and seemed like the best approach.The park was absolutely beautiful and made me proud that our government has preserved such places for the public.
The group decided to go on a short hike spanning the first 2.25 mile part of the trail so that we could be aware of what the forest portion of the trail looked like since we would be going through it in the dark of night. I thought a rest day was in order and didn't think doing any hiking was a good idea, but I went along because I too was itching to do something and everyone was really excited to enjoy the outdoors. It was also hard to argue with the idea of trying to acclimate to the higher altitude so that we could be better prepared. The decision didn't affect the hike the next day for anyone, but probably did for me a bit.
Here is a photo the Cory took of us out in the forest on our practice hike:
The forest was exactly the way you would imagine a forest in a fairytale with brooks and high dark green trees. I was told to watch out for bears and that my defense plan of curling up in a ball was not a good one. We hiked a total of 4.5 miles that day, which is in itself still quite a hike in my book, but we all felt great. We took in the nature and it was a really nice experience that made me appreciate Colorado more. I really understand why people move to live there.
After returning from the short hike, we found a local general store and stocked up on welcomed, but over priced water and supplies. Everyone then went to a nearby lake to hang out while I took a nap in the tent. When they returned to the campsite, we all prepared our hiking backpacks for the next morning, hung out, started a fire and the guys cooked some burgers that we picked up. They didn't cook well, so we ended up making a burger/onion/chips mashup that actually tasted good as a sandwich. It went by many names from campburger helper to campfire helper, but it did the trick.
Good laughs were had by all and then we all hit the sack at about 8pm to rest up for our big hike that night. It was my first time sleeping in a tent. I wished I had a blindfold and used a shirt to cover my eyes and ended up sleeping well.
Long Story Short - We Made It!
The story of the hike on Longs Peak is long one, full of twists, turns, good deeds, triumphs, adversity, laughs, and multiple dangerous situations for beginners. But I will skip to the important part as a preface. Abram's goal of summiting Longs Peak was accomplished by everyone one of us and we all stood atop the mountain triumphantly, worn down and tired, but proud. It was an awesome experience that I will never forget, but more on this later.
My Fears and Anxieties
Back to the play by play though. The longest hike I had been on while I was practicing was my first one with Abram and my cousin Rino a bit over a month ago. It was 16 miles in the Greenbelt in Austin and it took us about 7 hours to complete. By the end, I could not walk, was cramping and wondered if I had twice that amount of time in me. (The mileage would be the same, but it really isn't comparable since no real climbing was done.) I had a feeling that I would be fine endurance wise since I knew I wouldn't give up, but I worried that altitude sickness cause me to have to give up. My next concern was injuring my ankle or worst case slipping or falling. I know it is rare, but from what I read, at least 2 people a year die on the trek, usually from either falling, lightening strikes, or hypothermia. I also have a fear of heights that I have been fighting since I was a kid that I knew I would have to battle. I try to stand up to it by riding the highest rollercoasters or going to the top of the highest buildings, but it still can make me freeze up at times. I know some of my concern was irrational, but considering we were not experienced, my main concern was safety and getting everyone back in one piece. I tried to be the safety monitor the best I could and the most important part of safety is preparation.
The Characters
The characters on the hike were, myself, my brother Abram (the bachelor, four years younger than me and the outdoors type), Norbert (Abram's college roommate, my current roommate, who trained hard in the gym with a lot of running, but this was his first hike), Todd (Abram's friend who managers a very cool bar, 6ft 7in who has great endurance from playing basketball, was dealing with 10 stitches on his head from a recent game, but was experienced in hiking), and Cory (Abram's best man and college roommate who was coming off of a knee injury that had him bed ridden for over a week, but who was a strong athletic guy who coaches football among other things.)Here are Abram's good friends that were able to make it:
My Perspective of the Hike
My perspective of the hike is just that, mine and I don't
mean to speak for any other people on the hike because although we all
shared many of the same experiences, we also had very different ones and
most people frankly did a lot better than I did. I know it is apparent that I'm an inexperienced beginner, but I'd like to note that when I describe my experience because I'm sure it will sound more dramatic than that of a more experienced person not encountering many of these obstacles for the first time.
The Journey Begins
The soft sounding alarm rang at 2am and we all woke up and got ready in the dark as Norbert graciously cooked egg tacos for everyone. I tried to hydrate as much as possible that morning and made sure I had my 5 liters of water for my hike. It was cold and I had wind pants over full leg running tights, a long sleeve workout shirt, wind jacket and my hiking boots. I put on my workout cap with the attached headlamp to see in the dark,which made me feel like a miner. I gave one walkie takie to Todd and one to Cory so that we could have communication if the group broke up. I had my reception-less cell phone in my bad to track the trip and "Don Diego," a small stuffed dog who I take on adventures like visiting Spain, Italy and France for photos.
The Forest 2.5 miles
We signed into the hike log at about 3:35am and headed out in darkness with our packs, a fog of sleepiness and a lot of hope and inspiration.
The hike through the woods in the darkness is a bit of a foggy memory now. We hiked about 2.5 miles until we cleared the tree line tracking the path we had leisurely done the day before. The sun rise was a sight to be seen as it came up over the background of the Rocky Mountains. The group was mostly together until this point when Todd and Norbert continued in front at a faster pace while Abram, Cory and I went at a slower pace to conserve energy.
Granite Pass at 4.1 miles to Boulder Field at 6.0 miles
The next section was called the Granite Pass, and it felt like it went forever. At this point I was already feeling it, I felt winded and my breathing was more labored. I wondered how I would be feeling hours later since there was still a lot to go. We finally got to Boulder field, something I wasn't quite sure would be like, and then traversed boulders for what felt like a long time.
The Key Hole at 6.25 miles
About 4 hours into the hike, we approached the Key Hole, which was where the hike ends and the climbing really begins. It was the landmark we constantly talked about and were looking forward to reaching. I looked up at the climb to the Key Hole from Boulder Field and thought that I was really in for it, not knowing that what I was looking at was a piece of cake compared to what was coming.
Todd and Norbert waited for us at the top of the Key Hole and when we got to the top, I could feel the fatigue. I was also having an issue where I was peeing often and losing water that way which didn't help. When I was at the top and looked around the corner, I saw the Ledges and knew I was in for a challenging experience. There is a part near the end called the Narrows, where it is just that, narrow ledges with a huge drop off. Well I think that would be apt to describe the Ledges as well. I looked down at the steep fall into Glacier Gorge and fought the urge to let my fear of heights reaction take over. We had about 4 more hours to traverse the last 1.25 miles to the summit of Longs Peak. It made sense to me why only 30% of people who attempt to climb to the Longs Peak summit succeed and why the Keyhole is the point where most people turn back. This where it becomes a Class 3 mountain for those of you that understand those classifications.
The Ledges through the Trough
Todd and Norbert took the lead and we headed off for what we came to do. I stayed close to the wall along the ledges and was very careful to watch every step and make sure I had a hand hold whenever I could. My concern was that in my tired state, would I be as careful as I needed to be. You could see the Glacier Gorge down to the right. Slowly, but surely, we made out way until we hit an area of the mountain called The Trough. You had to keep following the bulls-eyes painted on the rocks and sometimes they were hard to find, but they helped tremendously. It all felt the same, just a lot of climbing over rocks moving up higher and higher and then sometimes having to go down to go back up. I now understand what scrambling means, as I was mostly on all fours climbing up over the rocks. I was with Abram and Cory for most of this time and Norbert and Todd were nowhere to be seen because they were pretty awesome and were far in front of us. I was also going through water at a faster pace than I anticipated and felt the effects of dehydration starting up, but knew I would be good for some time. It felt like it would never end, but it was also a lot of fun. I had never done anything like that before and part of me felt like a kid in a jungle gym. At the end was a huge upward climb that felt like it just kept going with no end in sight.
The Narrows to the Homestretch
We finally reached the Narrows. From all I had read, this was my dreaded segment because of the drop off. A lot of people, including most people in our group thought it was fine and overrated, but for me it was my personal ghost I had to battle. I vowed to myself not to look down and stayed even closer to the wall than I had already been. I thought about taking some time to look down and reflect on what I was doing, but I didn't want that imagine in my head on my way back. I just wanted the particular section to be over, and I was proud of myself when I got past it, not wanting to think about how in the world I was going to get back later on.We finally got to the final climb called the Homestretch, a 300 ft climb to the summit which I was told looks more daunting than it is. There is an adrenaline rush feeling that comes over you as the summit is in sight. Abram moved ahead and Norbert and Todd I assumed correctly were waiting at the top already triumphant in their climb and enjoying their spoils at the top.
This was my view of the guys waiting for me as I was just about to summit:
We met a lot of new friends along the way and there was this father son combo who I spent a lot of time climbing near. They both had the blondest of blond hair, orange sun burned skin and hailed from North Carolina. At the bottom of the homestretch, the 17 year old son was done, he didn't want to keep going, even with the summit in sight, the last climb just looked impossible for him. The father, a built, late forties ex-military man, was disappointed and tried to motivate his son by telling him not to be a quitter, the same way he quit football and how he would regret quitting. We each took a second to impart a bit of wisdom to the kid as we passed by. Mine was that he needed to decided if he "wanted" to climb to the top. If he felt he "needed" to climb, or "should" climb, that that wasn't enough, he had to "want it" for himself and not his Dad. If he did want it, then there was no keeping him from going on.
What I was probably doing was talking to myself because I did question my ability to make up there, but I tried to turn that thought of and just keep moving. It just looked so upright and breathing was getting harder. Cory and I climbed up near each other and as I got closer, the feeling exhilaration gave me the extra energy I needed to make it to the top. My chest swelled up with pride as I got closer and closer.
This is me reaching the summit with Cory in orange not far behind:
The Summit of Longs Peak
The moment I climbed past the last rock and got up there was better than I expected, complete joy and pride of accomplishing this feat. I could really give a shit for the actual summit, or even the beautiful views which I did later make time to take in, but it was the internal gratification of meeting my goal that meant everything. It had been 8 hours of very hard work and months of preparation. I knew I was by no means done, but the most important and exciting component of my goal was achieved. 
We all took pictures, signed the summit log and most importantly rested. Norbert gave me some of his water which helped a lot too. I know the altitude affected me and any altitude sickness I may have had I could not differentiate from exhaustion and dehydration. I felt foggy, but didn't have a headache or nausea. The happiness also clouded out any ill effects I was dealing with.
I made some time to take Don Diego, my stuffed dog, out and get a picture of him on the summit, another adventure he joined me on. The view was breathtaking:
The Way Back
The way back is where my real journey of self discovery and determination began. I knew I had the energy and endurance to make it to my goal, but the feat would not be complete until I made it back to the trail head where I started. This was a journey that tested me like I have never been tested before. Abram's fiancée, Ashley, had said that she was concerned that we would be able to make it to the top, but not have enough energy to make it back. That was a legitimate concern and coincided with the stats that 80% of climbing accidents happen on the way down and that you are not done at the top, you are done when you are back. This made me extra aware of each action I was taking, but it was hard to be careful when your body was depleting of energy and your knees hurt. The ironic part was that everyone talks about how the trip down is usually easier and faster than the trip up. That is normally the case, and was for most of my group members, but it was not the case for me. It all just felt harder and I felt like I had to be more careful since my body wasn't as tough. I probably should have eaten more energy bars in retrospect, but I really did have a lot of them.
Down the Homestretch back to the Narrows
The first part was working my way down the homestretch, the 300 ft wall that I just finished climbing. I was told that sliding on my butt was the safest way to move downward, so I tried that out. There was a lot of sliding on my butt for the next few hours, though there might have been parts I could have walked down, but I was not taking any chances. and utilized this slower approach. It didn't take long before I had a long slide where I hit a rock with my feet to stop my momentum downward. It hurt as my legs hit the rock with a thud instead of a spring like I imagined in my head. I didn't like the feeling of loss of control when I slide too far and knew I had to be more careful. It was not a good time to be learning lessons by trial and error.Everything on the mountain just felt longer than on the way over. I was constantly searching for makers trying to make sure I was going the right way, but I was mostly focused on the very next step or action right in front of me. My knees hurt, but I was proud of how well my ankles were holding up. Even with the water Norbert gave me, I was quickly running out of water, but I had left a bottle of coconut water at the bottom of the keyhole in the boulder field and I was just hoping that would be my saving grace.
I started the climb down with Cory and Abram, but they ended up going at a faster pace than I could keep. I was very lucky that the blond father/son combo, who did finally summit, climbed down right behind me and the father gave me a lot of good advice and looked out for me I think. When we hit the narrows, I knew this was my most feared section, so I hugged the walls again and methodically kept one foot in front of other never lacking a hand hold. When we made it to the trough I was elated to be past that obstacle once and for all.
Back through the Trough through the Ledges
Next, we worked though the trough and at some points had to climb up to later climb down to make progress. My legs were really hurting and each descent down from one rock to another made an impact on my knees that I could really feel. They held up though, but I knew that I would pay for this later. This segment felt very long and wasn't as fun and exciting as it was on the way over.We finally made it to the Ledges, which to me were too similar to the Narrows, just not as narrow. There was one point where I couldn't find my foothold and was supporting my body by my upper body strength. I lost my balance a few times, but I was lucky that it wasn't at an inopportune time. I was in good condition, just tired and at no point felt like I had no business being there. There was this one rock that I had trouble figuring out how to get around without risking slipping. We used team work at that point and made it past it.
The goal was to get back to the key hole, but it always felt so far away and each time I turned a corner and thought I was getting closer, it was still a ways off. Your mind spends a lot of time thinking about how far things are, which is why I keep mentioning it.
The Keyhole
When I finally got back to the Key Hole, I felt so accomplished and knew
that I was now out of the the danger of slipping, but it didn't mean
all dangers had past. The rest would just be a hike back and I was
looking forward to being back. I was still making good time, but it was the rest of the hike that would take more time than expected. We all rested at the top of the key hole and I glanced out at the boulder field and could see nothing but boulders for as far as I could see. This was where I started to really feel the dehydration kicking in, but my water bottle wasn't far away.
Boulder Field
Norbert and Todd waited for us at the key hole and we all talked about how happy we were to be back. We all then started our way down the rocks to where boulder field began, but this descent wasn't too bad except for that I was moving especially slow.When we got to the bottom, there was a small campsite in Boulder Field that we rested again at. Norbert was able to find a guy who had a water filter and was able to fill up on some water. I found my coconut water and mixed that with water Norbert has gotten for me. I was very lucky to have him looking out for me and the water helped me a lot.
As we were hopping boulders making our way back for the last 6 miles left of the trip, I felt the worst pain in my left Achilles. It was unlike any pain I have ever had and I didn't need this complication. It was like a sharp burning pain that hit every third or fourth step. I couldn't figure what was different when I stepped that made it hurt or feel fine so I could make sure to step on it right. I pulled out my trekking poles and started to use them. This really slowed me down, so I took a walkie takie and everyone else headed back in front of me. I felt bad for holding people back and slowing down the group. The next few miles was the longest period I spent alone, just taking one step at a time with my trekking poles which severed as crutches of sorts. As time passed, it started hurting less and less.
Rain, Thunder and Lightning through Granite Pass
We thought we were in the clear from danger, but then one of our biggest concerns, rain and lightning started. It started off as rain, but it quickly turned to bb sized hail that stung as it hit. Everyone raced to the tree line ahead to get out of danger, but I just kept up the best pace I could hoping I wasn’t unlucky enough to invite a lightning strike. At this point I really wished I knew more about how lightning works and what I should be doing. Were my trekking poles a bad accessory? Should I hide under a rock? I just kept moving because I was already behind to begin with. The rain would die down and I would get hope, but then it would just pick up again. Each lightening and thunder sound made me tense up. While this was going on, there was also a beautiful rainbow that I took a second to appreciate.
Wrong Turn
Six miles is a long way when you are stumbling along. As I was approaching the end of Granite pass, I was so disoriented that I misread a sign and started up a hill instead of turning left towards the forest. Luckily, when I got to the top, Abram, who was kind enough to wait for me, spotted me and yelled up at me that I was going the wrong way. I turned around and headed back and missed my turn again, honestly, not a hard turn to miss, and ending up going the wrong way back towards Boulder field for a bit when I decided to turn around and I finally got it right. I finally met up with Abram and we ran into a hiker who gave us a message from Norbert that their walkie talkie was out of battery. That was kind of him.
Granite Pass to the Forest
I finished the rest of granite pass with Abram as the rain finally died down and we were happy when we hit the tree line where we ran into Cory. He had hurried ahead of us to try to avoid any more possible rain. Then it was just 2.5 miles to go, but at least we were out of danger from lightning and knew it wouldn’t be long before we were done.
The End of the Hike
This was the second time I had hiked back through the forest, but it felt longer than the stroll from the day before. We actually had a fast pace and I tried not to take any more breaks. There was nothing that was going to stop me from getting to the finish line, but the idea of rest being on the other side was also inspirational.Abram and I arrived at the trail head 16 hours 49 minutes from the moment we left that we hit the trail head the night before and were finally done. My goal was complete and I felt great, but my body was in a numb pain that didn't seem to matter anymore. Abram signed out of the trail log that we had returned. This didn't have the exhilaration that being at the summit had, but it was a special moment of accomplishment for me.
Here is my tracking of the trip: Every Trail Tracking
Back to Base Camp
When we got back to the camp, before we could even sit down, we found out that our that the insides of our tents were soaked from the rain. Apparently, my rain prevention tarp idea ended up causing rain to go into the tent when normally it wouldn't have. I had never been camping before, so give me a break. It was cold, all our stuff was wet and we were wet, so I decided to just rent a hotel room and give up on trying to camp out that night. Everyone as in and we packed up the campsite, a task which isn't enjoyable in the best conditions, but is worse when everything is wet and it hurts for everyone to move. I probably didn't help as much as I should have, but we somehow got everything back into the Xterra. Somehow it felt like we had more stuff than we arrived with.
Back in Denver
We headed back to the same hotel in Denver that we had stayed at the first night. It was a long drive, but it was the only place we could find on such short notice now that it was 10pm. We also picked up some fast food since we were done with energy bars, took showers and I had the best sleep I have had in years.The next morning we had lunch, reminisced about the trip, and then checked out of the hotel. Abram dropped me off at the airport a few hours early as the rest of the gang headed on their roadtrip back to Texas.
Closing Thoughts
I'm glad that Abram decided to make this his goal. At first it became a project where I didn't want to let my brother down, but as I got more into it, it became my own goal and something I wanted for myself. I feel like I grew closer with his friends since we were able to share this unique experience together. I really challenged myself and pushed myself to depths were I chose to keep going instead of quitting. I proved a lot to myself and it made me want to pursue more goals in many different aspects of my life. I look forward to what comes next.Here is Abram celebrating his bachelor party at the top of Longs Peak Summit:
determination