Ken & Uncle Mike Hike Long's Peak

In an effort to inspire Ken to stick to his workout program over the summer, he decided to set a manly goal before himself: Hiking to the top of Long's Peak. This is a 14 mile hike that is about 7 hours of hiking up, and 5 hours of hiking back down the mountain. The inspiration has worked and kept him motivated over the summer to stick with the treadmill, and yesterday was the day to see if it could be done.

Ken and Uncle Mike headed out to "base camp" at 2:30am, and began their hike in the dark early morning hours through the forest. Below is Ken, after about 3 miles of moderate hiking with the sun just beginning to peek over the horizon:


The real challenge became bitter cold combined with 50 mi/hr wind gusts. The last two miles of the hike are more difficult in that you must climb over large boulders the entire way. It is hard to get perspective on just how much of a battle this last part of the hike is (can you see the two tiny people in the picture?). Below is a picture of the last portion of the peak, the "Keyhole" knotch to the far right, which you climb between and finish the last mile of the hike on the other side of the peak.

Freezing, but determined, Ken and Mike made it through the Keyhole, but they quickly discovered that the other side of the peak was completely unprotected from the wind and it was too dangerous to continue to hike the last and most treacherous mile. (Apparently, none of the hikers were braving that final mile due to high winds.) Below is a picture of Uncle Mike sitting at the top of the Keyhole, overlooking a portion of the other side of the peak:

The men returned home, safe and sound with some beautiful pictures and entertaining stories. Despite the rough terrain, there were some gorgeous landscapes. Below is a personal favorite picture of mine from their hike: