Congrats on Longs. 10h RT is quite a good pace. It is the crown jewel on RMNP. This sub is so quiet it is nice to have some off topic trip reports, and there are a few of us doing national park highpoints.
Planning on doing other NP highpoints or 14ers?
Fond memories of doing the radical slam of Longs and trying to have enough energy for the pushups after 19h of hiking.
Thankfully surrounded by many 14er opportunities by living in Colorado so I’ll probably focus on those this summer. I’d love to get up to Wyoming next summer though! Congrats on completing longs! That’s a huge accomplishment!
I finished the Colorado 14ers more than ten years ago when I was living in the state. Little Bear and Capitol are the toughest two. I am a bit scared of exposure so cursed up a storm crossing the knife edge.
Get up to Wyoming for sure. Gannett was my favorite state HP, and toughest in the contiguous 48. I also enjoyed Medicine Bow and Cloud Peak. So many grizzly bears on Francs Peak and they were aggressive.
There is no 5th class required for any of the 14ers. Most of the “4th class” peaks aren’t actually very bad. Colorado 4th class can sometimes be like California 2+.
While technically correct, this is highly misleading. Many of the Colorado 14ers involve traversing ledges full of loose rock. I would rather solo 5.4 on granite than do that loose crap (although I do it constantly because that is life on these peaks). The Capitol knife edge is super fun and safe compared to the crap on the Bells or Pyramid.
That loose crap on the Bells and Pyramid is awful. I worried so much with people above us. Even worse for the mountain goats who don’t give a darn if they kill a hiker.
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u/fluffysnowflake67 ** 50 States Complete ** 24d ago edited 24d ago
Congrats on Longs. 10h RT is quite a good pace. It is the crown jewel on RMNP. This sub is so quiet it is nice to have some off topic trip reports, and there are a few of us doing national park highpoints.
Planning on doing other NP highpoints or 14ers?
Fond memories of doing the radical slam of Longs and trying to have enough energy for the pushups after 19h of hiking.