Kurt and I left Golden at 3 a.m. to start the drive up to the Longs Peak trailhead. When we got there at 4:45, we were about the 40th car there. And that was on a Thursday. Longs Peak, apparently, is no secret.
The sun coming up over Twin Sisters Peak, at about 5:45 a.m.
Kurt and the sunrise.
The early sun hitting The Diamond (the east face) of Longs.
Kurt prepares to have his morning constitutional at 11,400 feet.
Here’s The Keyhole, which is about 6 miles into the 7.5-mile hike, but as Aaron told me, feels like halfway. We passed through The Keyhole, at 13,000 feet, and still had more than 1,200 vertical feet to go up.
Kurt at the bottom of The Trough. Note mule train. Like I said, it’s no secret.
The view of Glacier Gorge from a little ways up The Trough.
And the view south from the Summit.
Kurt and I at the top, about to head back down. We need to communicate better on the posing for the photo, as this looks pretty awkward. My fault.
A view of The Diamond on the way down. 
