Hiking Longs Peak in Estes Park, Colorado, is a thrilling adventure for experienced hikers and somewhat of a rite of passage for Colorado residents. The 15-mile round trip via The Keyhole Route is challenging, with steep ascents, narrow ledges, and exposed rock faces.

The Harvard-Columbia traverse is one of those hikes that people groan about on hiking forums and where SAR rescues are plenty. I was certainly a little spooked by the reviews on it, so I knew that if I ever attempted it I would have a partner with me.

We started hiking around 3:15AM. The trail goes up for approximately 1.5 miles, where Notch Mountain will be on your left. While we couldn’t see it in the dark, we knew that it was there since you’ll then start to descend. The descent is 1,000 feet (!!) and leads to the East Cross Creek and adjacent campground.

Saturday, June 29: My friend Lacie and I headed to the trailhead for Huron Peak in the wee hours of the morning, only to be greeted with rain and chilly weather. Fast forward to July 2, where I headed off to the trailhead after work- I had to get this hike done!

Our hike up Grey’s and Torreys was completely in the dark until about 30 minutes from the summit, and it was a quite chilly morning! We had prepared for some cold but we would have welcomed another layer and warmer gloves. There was a cloud inversion, combined with a light sunrise, which made for a beautiful view. We didn’t last up top long though because of the howling wind- and trying to shelter by a wall of rocks did us no good.

Located in Carroll, New Hampshire, Mount Jackson is one of the shorter 4000’ers at 4,052’. My friend Kayleigh and I started this hike at midnight on October 8th, summited just before 2am, and then laid out our sleeping pads and sleeping bags until sunrise.

The hike up was easy-moderate, it wasn’t super steep but the majority of the path involved stepping around rocks and roots- it felt like more than some trails. The end of the trail was the hardest with some scrambling to do. My guess is this would have been a little easier to do in the daylight!

Mount Willard is one of my favorite places to hike in the White Mountains. Why? Because it is short. Ha. Plus it has a killer view, so what’s not to love?! Because it is a quick and easy hike, it makes it a great trail for a sunrise (or sunset) hike.