Long's Peak

Later in the summer of 1976, Sarah asked if I wanted to hike to the top of Long's Peak with Paul Bender. He was looking for a hiking companion, and I'd already been to the top of Mt. Elbert so I seemed like a good candidate. Paul knew Sarah through classes at Boulder High. Also, the Benders were somewhat neighbors, since they lived on Stanford Avenue.

Paul picked me up at 8:30 and we arrived at the trailhead at 9:30. It was later than Paul had hoped to be on the trail. It was common for thunderstorms to develop in the afternoon on summer days, and he did not want to be on the peak much after noon.

We were planning to take the popular Keyhole route. There is a different route that goes up the East Face, but it is more of a technical climb. Early climbers had installed ropes or cables on the East Face, but we chose the longer, easier route. We took the lower trail at a pretty good pace. But by the time we got to the boulder field, I was trailing behind Paul. Paul stayed in sight until he got to the keyhole. Then, he disappeared onto the south face of the mountain.

Green Mountain and Bear Mountain
from Long's Peak

I paused for a bit at the rock shelter. It was constructed entirely of rock, and was big enough for about one person to stand in. A marmot came out from the rocks below to investigate. But I'd learned from another marmot that they don't like people food, so I finished my rest and went on.

Mt. Audubon and Arapahoe Peaks

Forest Canyon and the Never Summer Range

Once past the keyhole, it's only a short distance to the top. I let Paul know I'd arrived and then proceeded to take in the panoramic view from the summit. We spent about 15 minutes there and headed down. It was a glorious day, so we could have stayed longer. But I guess Paul wanted to set some sort of personal record. We had reached the summit around 1:30 and got back to the car around 3:30. I'm guessing that's a pretty good time.