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It was late in the season, and I had been planning to do this hike with my kids all Summer. It almost did not happen, what with back-country sites being full and scheduling conflicts. Nevertheless, my 9-year-old daughter Amanda, and 11-year-old son Daniel, were still holding out hope that we could summit this year. Thankfully, we did, under gracious blue skies and relatively warm temperatures. We made it to the 14,255 foot summit just three days before a winter storm hit the Front Range.
After some easy conditioning hikes on Twin Sisters (approx. 11,300 feet), I figured the plan that would work best for my little mountaineers, carrying 15 lb. packs each, was to camp at the Battle Mountain Group site at tree-line just three miles into the Keyhole route. After a hot supper and clean-up, we spent the night there watching shooting stars and satellites streaming through the night sky. It was warm enough, even at 11,000 feet, that we could have slept outside our 0-degree bags.
Up at 6:30am, I cooked a yummy breakfast of flavored oatmeal and coffee, and loaded my pack with rain gear, food, water filter and warm clothes for all of us. The kids were only responsible for carrying their water bottles. This plan worked very well, though in retrospect I should have brought some extra food along. We traveled relatively light for the four-plus-mile hike to the summit.
Amanda took the longest to warm up and get into a hiking rhythm, but she was a much better hiker than in years previous. Once she got going, the little nine-year-old was making me look like an old geezer. She got lots of comments from our trail companions that day. I'm sure that helped to motivate her onward.
We spent some time at the Boulder Field and Keyhole. The rest was welcome, as the most grueling part of the hike was yet to come - the Trough! The Trough is steep, relentless hiking up loose rock and skree. The best plan of attack is to think about anything but the Trough, and plod ever upward to the top. The top of the Trough rewards you with spectacular views to the South. A major fire was burning close to Eldorado Canyon filling the sky with a large plume of smoke.
The Narrows, on the other-hand, was nothing but fun - for me, at least. A narrow ledge, dropping off some 800 feet, leads you across the south side of Longs to the infamous Homestretch. I love the view straight down to the Wild Basin. The kids could not resist throwing rocks to the bottom - or at least as far as they could make it.
A bouldering "crux" dropped us onto the Homestretch which is a long rampart that leads straight to the summit. Some people are a bit casual about this section. One slip could result in a tumble to oblivion. There is no end in sight if you were to take the tumble. I stayed behind the kids "spotting" them.
We summited at around 1:00pm, rested, and then ran around on top for a while. It was very crowded, even though the tourist season had "ended". Several people we met were completely exhausted. I thought to myself, "they're in no shape to make the long hike back down." The kids, however, made it with plenty of steam left over - that's what you need to get down, and lots of it! We chatted with other summiteers, and looked around. I showed the kids the spectacular views of Chasm Lake, below the Diamond, and of the infamous Lambs Slide, that the Reverend Elkanah Lamb supposedly slid down in 1871. From the north side, we could see the Boulder Field below - it looked painfully far off.
Behind schedule, we worked our way down quickly, back to the camp site and I cooked up a meal of cup-o-noodle soup. We packed everything back up and made it back to the car shortly after dark - around 7:50pm.
This was my second summit and my kids' first. My first attempt, I spent all of five minutes on top and then down-climbed in quarter-inch hail - talk about treacherous! The kids were truly blessed with near perfect conditions. What great memories to give one's children! Though the kids are not anxious to climb Longs again any time soon, like the pains of childbirth (so I hear), they will forget the discomfort and long to be on the summit one more time.
Some fateful encounters: The doctor lady and her husband who shared a bag of trail mix and some cheese with us on the way down at the Boulder Field. We are grateful for your generosity towards us. The couple I found dehydrated at the Battle Mountain site cut-off. They were told the hike was only four hours to the summit and were out of water three miles from the ranger station. I filled their bottles before going to break down our camp site and kept my eyes open for them the rest of the way down.
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