A NIGHT AT THE BOULDER FIELD - THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE UGLY

Trailhead: Longs Peak Trailhead, Rocky Mountain National Park Starting elevation: 9,400 feet; Highest elevation on the hike: 13,000 feet Route: East Longs Peak Trail past Chasm Junction and Granite Pass to the Boulder Field. Late evening scramble to a viewpoint of Chasm Lake and the East Face of Longs Peak, followed by an overnight camp at the Boulder Field. Hiked back out to the trailhead the following morning. Total trip distance: About 12 miles. Weather/trail conditions: Day one - sunshine throughout the morning and early afternoon with developing storms (including a hailstorm). Very high winds throughout the evening and continuing in to day two. Partly to mostly cloudy and cold overnight and in to day two. The expedition team: Joining me were Bill Kelly, Brian Spellacy, Eric Ruethling, Erik Fasano, and Matt Fulton.

We started planning for this trip in March of 2004, reserving a campsite at the Boulder Field with our goal to reach the summit of Longs Peak. As the final weeks approached, it became clear that the cold weather and precipitation that had plagued Longs Peak throughout the summer would hinder our attempt to reach the summit. As it turned out, our two-day hike with 26 total hours on Longs Peak was a mix of good, bad and ugly. THE GOOD - As always, the landscapes of the Rockies were spectacular. We were treated with jaw-dropping panoramas of cliff faces, views to the distant plains and peaks of the Continental Divide, as well as vibrantly colored sunrises and sunsets. The camaraderie of our group also made this hike great, as we all were challenged to laugh in the face of adversity. THE BAD - Our goal of reaching the summit was fleeting from the start of the hike, as numerous reports of icy conditions beyond the Keyhole poured in from descending hikers. As a group, we were not prepared for a technical ascent. Most disturbing was the report that fresh snow had kept anyone from reaching the summit just two days ago. THE UGLY - The overnight stay at the Boulder Field was somewhere on the scale from "unbearable" to "Hell", with violent winds battering our tents all night and making sleep impossible. Frequent attempts to salvage the campsite in the middle of the night only resulted in the concession that we could not overcome the conditions.

Warning sign at the trailhead

Starting the hike

We began our journey around 8:30 AM on Sunday, August 22, 2004 from the Longs Peak Trailhead. We passed a warning sign reminding us that the Keyhole route was still rated technical, along with a note from a park ranger emphasizing the unsafe conditions beyond the Keyhole. With gear in tow, the six of us began the 5.7 mile hike to our campsite at the Boulder Field.

Battle Mountain from timberline

The first of many breaks

We made good progress and enjoyed sunny skies as we hiked toward timberline. The ugly weather that had been shrouding Longs Peak in recent days appeared to be taking a brief break. Still, as we reached timberline and headed for Jims Grove, morning thunderstorms were developing all around us. After about 2 miles of hiking, we enjoyed our first good views of Longs Peak and Mount Lady Washington.

Longs Peak and Mount Lady Washington

Break time at Jims Grove Junction

Beyond the Jims Grove Junction, the grade of the trail became steeper as we hiked toward Chasm Junction. Stopping frequently to catch our breath, we made slower progress, but soon reached the junction at the 3.5 mile point. At the junction, we were greeted rather rudely by a hailstorm, which dropped small pea-sized hail on us for about 10 minutes. Despite the hail giving a nasty sting when it hit bare skin, we decided it was still better than rain and continued toward Granite Pass, now painfully aware that we were in the middle of an unpredictable weather pattern.

Longs Peak from Chasm Junction

Approaching Granite Pass

The sunny skies returned overhead as the hailstorm passed, and we now hiked toward Granite Pass and 12,000 feet. The grade mercifully lessened as we proceeded along the north edge of Mount Lady Washington. After arriving at Granite Pass, we all sat down for a lunch of peanut butter sandwiches, which were extraordinarily delicious as food often is on the trail.

Hallett Peak from Granite Pass

Granite Pass

View west from Granite Pass

From Granite Pass, we only had 1.5 miles to hike and about 700 feet of elevation to gain to reach the Boulder Field. As storms dumped precipitation all around us, we continued to hike under sunny skies. After being hidden behind Mount Lady Washington for the last mile, the summit block of Longs Peak came back in to view as we climbed toward our campsite.

Enjoying the view, five mile mark

Longs Peak from below the Boulder Field

Just as Longs Peak, The Dove, The Keyhole and Storm Peak were coming in to full view, thick clouds began to develop to obscure that view. However, our spirits were high as we approached our campsite and had little elevation left to gain.

Hiking to the Boulder Field

Clouds developing over Longs Peak

Approaching the Boulder Field

We soon reached the Boulder Field campsite and picked out our two-tent site to set up camp. We set up our tents quickly and secured them using nearby boulders to help hold down tent stakes. Brian and Matt elected to start boiling water for a lunch of ramen noodles. By the time the water was boiling, blizzard conditions had struck the Boulder Field. Snowflakes filled the sky and obscured the view of nearby Longs Peak. Fortunately, this wave of the storm passed within minutes, leaving us to our lunch and to ponder the wonder of an August snowstorm.

Our camp at the Boulder Field

Matt and Brian cooking lunch as snow falls

Ramen lunch in an August snowstorm

The expedition team after the snowstorm

Additional waves of the storm system hit, with each calm period marked by an exodus of hikers descending from safety at the Keyhole shelter. Fortunately, the system was losing momentum and the evening weather looked relatively promising. We decided to embark on a short adventure by ascending to the ridge between Mount Lady Washington and Longs Peak, at a point east of our campsite. After about fifteen minutes of boulder hopping, we reached the dramatic ridge and were welcomed by breathtaking views of Chasm Lake, The Diamond on Longs Peak, and the surrounding cliffs.

Chasm Lake from east of the Boulder Field

The Diamond, East Face of Longs Peak

Rock towers along the ridge

Brian at the top of the cliffs

Eric and Bill along the ridge

Sun fades and clouds form over The Keyhole

After exploring the ridge and enjoying the magnificent views, we retreated to our campsite. The daylight was beginning to fade, but we still had time for a quick pasta dinner. It was turning in to a cool evening, already approaching freezing temperatures before the sun even set. As the day faded in to twilight, we enjoyed more dazzling colors decorating the sky as clouds shone with varying shades of red and orange. The light faded quickly, leaving us in cold darkness at the Boulder Field.

Evening alpenglow on Longs Peak

Clouds at dusk

Matt watches the Boulder Field sunset

Nature had one last treat for us before we called it a night, as the moon began to shine brightly in the western sky. First appearing at twilight over the North Face, the moon danced along the top of Keyhole Ridge, occasionally ducking in and out of the cliff faces. Despite its brightness, the moon was dwarfed by the massive block of Longs Peak and appeared relatively small on this grand scale. After photographing the moon for about thirty minutes, the cold air was taking its toll, and I decided it was time to retire to my sleeping bag.

Moon over North Face of Longs Peak

Moon and clouds above Keyhole Ridge

After a wonderful day of hiking, photography, and hanging out with friends, I crawled in to my sleeping bag with fond memories of the day, and anticipation of more good things the next morning. Unfortunately, at was at this point that the trip turned suddenly from "the good" to "the ugly". As nightfall hit the peak, wind velocity picked up significantly, and began to batter our campsite. Despite all the reinforcements we had made to secure the tents, our equipment was no match for Nature's fury. Each time one of us would start to fade to sleep, a violent wave of wind would batter the tent, tossing the canvas into deafening flapping motions and startling us out of sleep. Every twenty or thirty seconds this cycle would repeat, often bringing the tent walls down on top of us, and seemingly trying to suffocate us. We were all fated to endure a sleepless night with tents on a constant verge of collapse. After hours of this brutal cycle, the process became torturous, challenging us all to maintain our sanity. This combined with repeated need for emergency tent reinforcement in the freezing dark at 12,760 feet made for one of the longest, most difficult nights any of us have ever endured.

Alpenglow on the North Face

Alpenglow on The Keyhole

The morning finally broke with first light just before 5:30AM, a moment I had longed impatiently for throughout the sleepless night. The lack of sleep and continued exposure to high elevation air left several of us, myself included, in less-than-ideal physical shape the next morning. So, with the combination of ice beyond the Keyhole, skies filled with thick clouds whipping above the mountain around 50 miles per hour, and our marginal physical condition, the decision to turn back was unanimous. Despite our disappointment, there was an understanding from all of us that Fate was not on our side, and we all resigned to that fact and made the best of it. So, we began to pack up our campsite under fierce winds at first light.

Sunrise from the Boulder Field

As typically happens to me in the Rockies, even as the weather made matters almost unbearable, there was also magic in the scenery around me. In between efforts to pack up my gear, I paused to admire the glorious colors of the sunrise and our surroundings as they emanated with an orange-red glow. It was a moment that would in a way define this trip, a challenge to focus on the beauty that was surrounding us rather than the disappointment of our plans falling through.

The last mile on the return trip

We headed back for the trailhead, nearly being blown over countless times by continuing violent winds above timberline, before finally reaching the shelter of the trees below Jims Grove. Soon, we were back at the parking lot, ending a 26-hour adventure on northern Colorado's most famous mountain. As a whole, I feel our expedition team kept great perspective through this two-day journey, and we returned to the trailhead in good spirits. We headed to our accommodations for a welcome afternoon nap, catching up on the sleep we had been deprived of at the Boulder Field. We all agreed that evening that it was a successful trip, for no other reason than for all the stories we would be able to tell. We will undoubtedly get another chance to reach the summit of Longs Peak, but I doubt we will ever face the contrast of emotions and experiences we all tackled together on this trip. The next day, as we all went our separate ways to return to our lives, we did so stronger for sharing this experience together. We also are unlikely to ever take a quiet night of sleep for granted again, and certainly will never fail to appreciate the glory of the scenery and experiences in the Rocky Mountains.

Click here for the Longs Peak Hike Profile

Click here to return to the Trail Journal menu page

All users must accept the terms of use of this site. All information on this page conforms to terms of use. All photographs and images are property of Mike Amfahr (unless otherwise noted) and are protected by copyright laws.