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Base Camp
Up
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- Statistics:
- Date Hiked: May 6, 2007
- Miles Hiked: 8.5
- Elevation Gain: 3,350'
- Hiking Partner(s): Jeff
Shafer, Don Holt
- Description:
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Despite the dismal forecast, Jeff, Don, and I decided to head up the Rocky
Mountain National Park and check out Longs Peak. Our original plan
was to attempt the north face in winter-like conditions. It had
rained most of the previous evening, and when Jeff picked me up at 1:30 am, it
was still overcast. I wasn't very optimistic about the day.
We picked Don up on the way and were hiking by 4:00. The trailhead
parking lot was empty and there were 2-4 inches of new snow on the
trail. Although the trail was moderately packed down, the new snow
made things a bit more difficult. By the time we broke tree line,
the wind was fairly strong and the trail disappeared. We decided
to take a more direct line towards Chasm Junction as we took turns breaking
trail and the wind (breaking wind would include both natural wind like
NASCAR drafting and Don's digestive wind). We post-holed up to our knees in places and
progress was slower. We took our second break at Chasm
Junction behind a rock as we eyed the diamond, the Notch, and Dreamweaver.
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Once behind Mount Lady Washington, the wind seemed to subside some.
We continued on to Granite Pass and then the Boulder Field. It was
fairly obvious once we saw the north face that nobody was going near it.
Compared to other winter photos of Longs that I have seen, it was
extremely snow loaded. Beyond this, I hadn't been out hiking
for nearly six months and was fairly wasted from the heavy pack, poor
trail conditions, and post-holing. In addition, five minutes after we
started to head down the weather turned, the temperature dropped, and
the peak became shrouded in clouds. We chalked it up to a good
training hike. We were back at the trailhead by noon.
- Maps:
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Click here
to view a
2D
map of the area where this hike is located.
- Photographs:
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www.
just
hiking
.com
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