This morning my knees are aching and my quads are incredibly sore thanks to an excursion up to the Keyhole on Longs Peak. I got a leisurely start, arriving at the trailhead around 9 am and started up feeling pretty good. After an annoying encounter with a horse train, the way was clear up to Chasm Junction where I stopped before. I could see individual climbers on the Diamond pretty clearly from there. I headed off to Granite Pass which went very quickly and then the Boulderfield was in sight. After a bit of rock-hopping, I was at the Keyhole by 11:15. While I would have liked to get the summit, it was at least an hour away still and I had to be back in Boulder. So back down, more or less uneventfully, to the car by 1 pm, a slow time induced by not quite enough to eat and dehydration, a state which persisted well into the night.
To do this mountain fast requires a lot more food and water than I carried yesterday but I think I have learned my lesson on that point. I look forward to a proper summit attempt soon, hopefully under six hours round trip. I will post pictures once I figure out how to download them from my phone.
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4 comments:
Way to go Peter. If you are looking for speed, you can also take the "old" trail that goes directly up behind the ranger station at the trailhead. It cuts off about 20+ minutes and there are no horses on it.
Did you see the big boulders down around Peacock Lake below the Diamond? Good stuff, but a looooong way in...
Thanks for the tip Peter. I will definitely look for that trail. The horses were a real pain.
Yes I looked down at those boulders on the last run and there does appear to be potential. Could be difficult to get to though.
Once you've summitted via the Keyhole ...
1. Record to summit from Ranger Station via Keyhole Route - 1:49 (Kraig Koski).
2. Record for round-trip from Ranger Station via Keyhole Route and back to Ranger Station - 3:35 (Bill Wright).
Go for it! =)
Thanks for the inspiration Chip!
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