David E. Steiner

Retired USAF, Teacher, Dad, Grandfather, Curmudgeon

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A Hiking Trip

 

Faithful readers of this column will remember that I used to climb many of our mountains. But those days are over.

So when my two sons decided to climb Longs Peak and they asked, more or less as a formality, if I'd like to go along, I demurred.

Still, I told them, I might go up Glacier Gorge and meet them at Black Lake, on the west side of Longs. They would come straight down from the Trough rather than going back to the Longs Peak campground by way of the Keyhole. They're both young and strong and would have no difficulty.

So I found myself on the Loch Vale trail, starting from the Glacier Gorge trailhead at ten minutes of eight one morning, expecting to meet the boys at Black Lake about two in the afternoon.

I've been on the Loch Vale trail often but I've never been to Glacier Gorge, so it was a surprise to find the unspoiled beauty of Mills Lake less than a mile after turning south off the trail to The Loch. I met few other hikers; the ones I saw were older women, climbing alone, who looked and sounded like teachers (whatever teachers look and sound like).

Mills looked to me the way Bear Lake is in the memories of my childhood. Bear Lake today, with its asphalt and fences, trampled undergrowth and the sound of many voices, is a place visited by thousands of tourists and presidential candidates. They would be better advised to take an hour and ten minutes and hike to Mills. They would see a place worth preserving; it's too late for Bear Lake, I'm afraid.

The Glacier Gorge trail is steep and narrow, so horses aren't allowed. Those of you who walk our trails understand what a difference that makes.

It's 4.8 miles to Black Lake, and the stretch between Mills and Black is tough. The last pitch, up the face of the rock dam, I took very slowly. Still, I arrived at Black Lake, a quarter mile round of dark, cold looking water in a gorgeous cirque, a few minutes after eleven o'clock.

Unfortunately, one doesn't have a very good view of the west side of Longs from the lake. I was forced to make another very steep 300 yard climb to a tundra shelf where I had a magnificent view of Storm Peak, the Trough, and the west side of the summit of Longs.

After lunch, I lay back in the tundra a few yards above the trail. I could keep an eye on the talus slope above me where I expected to see my sons descending. The sky was overcast and I could see the clouds blowing over the summit, but here it was warm and windless, and I soon fell asleep.

About one o'clock I was awakened by the sound of voices. I looked down to see Henry-York and Rich on the trail below me, but they were headed toward Longs instead of away from it.

"Well, hello, boys," I said. They both turned, looked at me, said something unintelligible and collapsed to the tundra, spread-eagled on their backs.

They had been on the Peak trail at two in the morning, had been at the Keyhole at seven-fifteen, and had to turn back because of high winds and the lack of warm clothing. They had returned home at nine-fifteen, found I had gone, and decided to walk to Black Lake to find me. But they had already hiked almost 13 miles and didn't know they were in for another 10. And not an easy 10 at that.

Still, we had a good time on the return trip in a light drizzle, passing, on the Loch Vale trail, children barely old enough to walk, some riding on their father's shoulders to Alberta Falls, and one middle aged lady in a house dress.

So even though they didn't get to the top of Longs, it was a good day, and we have a good memory to share of a long and tiring but nevertheless quite beautiful day in the mountains.

 And I learned something, too: by the time we reached the cars, we were about evenly matched in tiredness. So if you want to go hiking with your kids, send them on the first 13 miles.

 

 

Columns

© 1985 – 2003, David E. Steiner

Allenspark Wind Columns:

Introduction

Why Allenspark?

Going Riding [August, 1985]

Electricity

Used Cars

Peace and Quiet [1986]

Liberals & Conservatives

Going to the Movies

The Screened Porch

The Beginning of The Season

The Weather

The Hilltop Guild Bazaar

The End of The Season

The Gift of Time

The Beavers

Addresses [1987]

Hiking

Watching the Trees Grow

Postal Rates

Changes in Estes Park

Square Dancing at the Pow Wow

Back to the Hilltop Guild Bazaar

The Solstices

Bird Feeders

Elevators

The Estes Park Hardware Store [1988]

Visitors

Limousine Service

A Memorial Service

A Hummingbird

Garbage

A Hiking Trip

The Estes Park Public Library

Wild Life

Riparian Rights [1989]

Weather

Fences

Commuting

Mountain Friendliness

A Motorcycle Trip

Satellite Television

“Weaving Mountain Memories”

Hotel Rates in the Old Days

The Price of Propane [1990]

The Front Range Almanac

June

Modes of Transportation

Miller Moths

My 50th Column

Modern Conveniences

Rock Climbing

On the Death of Otto Walter, Postmaster

Otto’s Memorial Service

A Big Owl Pot-Luck Dinner

A Whine About Telephone Service [1991]

After the Persian Gulf War

Some Changes in the WIND

The Trip to the Mountains

The Mountains in the Summer

Visitors

Of Dogs, Music, and Children

Muhlenburg County

To My Grandson

The Sale of Longs Peak Inn

World War II  [1992]

Murphy’s Law and the Computer

The South St. Vrain Canyon

“Whiteout”

The Hazards of Volunteering

Crime in Our Valley

Infestations

On the Death of Charles Eagle Plume

Can We All Get Along?

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

Lost Horizon [1993]

Walking

Rumors About a Visit by the Pope

Progress?

More About Fences

Woodpeckers

The Visit of Pope John Paul II

Forest Fires

The New Sewage System

The Snow Pool

The Good Old Days [1994]

The WIND’s 20th Anniversary

The Bunce School

The Shooting Gallery

The Estes Park Museum

Our Government

U.S. West Takes a Hit

The Year of the Hummingbirds

A New “Yield” Sign

Growth in Allenspark

Private Telephones?

The Salvation Army

Creation Science [1995]

Devolutionizing Big Government

Risks

Airports

Fort D.A. Russell

Domestic Terrorism

Old and New

Barney Graves

Life in the Wilderness

What’s In a Name?

Arthur C. Clarke

 

The Estes Park Trail-Gazette Columns:

July 1983

Carpentry

Estes Cone

Johnny Grant

Observations in Estes Park

The Bath House

Waving

The Sutherland’s Ice House

How Old is Charles Eagle Plume?

Dogs

Christmas Trees

Tree Murder

Mountain Driving

Garbage

Mail Boxes

More About Mail Boxes

“Are you related to ....?”

Spring

An Accident

The Wild Cat

A July Reunion

A Visit to Baldpate Inn

Opening Cabins

Summer

The Times, They Have Changed

Death and Transfiguration

The Population Explosion

The March of Time

Faith-Based Social Services

Looking for Pitch

Recent Writings I

Recent Writings II

Recent Writings III

Recent Writings IV

Recent Writings V

Recent Writings VI

 

 

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