This was easily the most intense hike that I’ve ever experienced – hands down. I think David Fox would also say the same haha!
In total, the hike took a little over 10 hours all the way up and down.
Things were pretty easy in the beginning, we climbed through the darkness with impressive speed and hung out for 10 or 15 minutes taking in the sunrise.
Early Morning Sunrise after Breaking Treeline
We headed up into the boulder fields over the next half hour.
Climbing up into the Boulder Fields
The Boulder Fields on Longs Peak
And hiked through the boulder fields up into the keyhole before climbing up and over despite strong winds and some moisture on the rocks. The narrows were unbelievably scary at first, but coming back down didn’t seem as bad with the sun out. We encountered quite a bit of fog on the way through the narrows and into the trough.
The Bottom of the Trough on Longs Peak
I think this is where the hike really began. Dave and I struggled a bit through the 600+ vertical feet in the trough helping each other through the loose rocks and obstacles.
We finished the trough and couldn’t believe what we had next in store for us. I didn’t know I was in for a little bit of rock climbing, but we clung to the ledges as we navigated our way up to the home stretch and reached the summit about 2 hours after leaving the keyhole.
The Ledges before Reaching the Home Stretch
Great Scenery from the Base of the Home Stretch
Unfortunately the cloud cover dominated our potential view (which I’ve heard is just incredible) but we favored leaving early in fear of predicted thunderstorms in the afternoon.
Summit Photo on Longs Peak
The hike down was brutal. Completely punishing on the joints and spirit to be completely honest. Tim Hole and I were practically running the last half mile down the mountain, we were so eager to leave it behind.
I would only hike this mountain again if I were in MUCH better shape OR have the opportunity to camp in the boulder fields overnight which looked like a lot of fun!
Thanks Dave, Peach, Tim, Mike, and John for joining me on what I consider to be one of the most epic hikes of my life and certainly one that I will never forget!
Photos courtesy of Mr. David Fox!
