So how do you beat the crowds on the weekend at this popular mountain summit? You just get up there first. Kevin (my Bighorn pacer) and I summited the 14,255 foot Longs Peak a half an hour before sunrise, stayed at the top for nearly an hour, and had the entire peak to ourselves. The sunrise was spectacular! We took the popular Keyhole route from the Ranger Station trailhead which gets you to the summit in approximately 7 miles with 5000 feet of climbing. I was even able to avoid most of the steady stream of hikers coming up later by returning to the trailhead via the North Longs Peak/Boulder Brook/Storm Pass loop. This loop is one of my favorite trail runs in Rocky Mountain National Park.
GPS data for today
Nice! Just back from a trip up there myself. Straight up and down the keyhole. Left at 6:15 (Tuesday) and the traffic was way more manageable than the last time I did this on a weekend. Perfect morning: cloud cover and very little wind.
ReplyDeleteSweet pic, BTW.