Another hike down or up memory lane. Last trip up Longs was way back in 1999 with my daughter Kelly. This time my other daughter Erin wanted to make the trek. Starting at 3:30 AM, we were greeted by some icy cold wind. A few groups in front of us had turned around, but we were prepared with backpacks full of layers. We arrived at the Boulderfield while the sun was already glowing on the Diamond.
A quick snack in the Agnes Vaille shelter and we climbed through the rabbit hole, in reality the Keyhole, to the fun part of the hike. Glacier Gorge opened up below us while rocks and rocks awaited us. First up was the section called the Ledges which traverses the back side of Longs. What was it about the rock with the two bars that used to freak me out?
More elevation gain on the next section up the Trough. The bulls-eyes marking the trail are brighter and more frequent than I remember. It also appears that there is less loose rock - maybe it's all been kicked down in the last dozen years. There is still that one tricky chock block at the top, but this time we were able to get around it unassisted.
The Narrows continue the traverse of Longs above the Trough. There is a pretty long drop on your right side, but it really doesn't feel that exposed, compared to other peaks I've climbed.
The final climb up the Homestretch and the summit is in sight. Large vertical cracks in the granite give footholds like a ladder. Unfortunately the thousands of bottoms that have slid back down have shined it up to a nice gloss. It's no longer nice sticky granite, but it will do.
The happy crowd at the top where it was actually fairly warm and the wind was only a whisper - Maggie (and Muneca), Richard, Erin, Evan and James at 14,259 feet!
Muneca found a friend that was just her size on the summit marker.
She also celebrated the summit in honor of Mary Luck.
With the help of the amazing views and a little gravity in our favor, we made our way back through all the rocky sections back to the Keyhole. Only 6 more miles of easy trail and we were back at the trailhead, just over 12 hours from when we started. And it was all worth it.
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