If you're familiar with my website, you will know that I am a fan of traverse routes involving multiple summits. Some of my favorite traverses I've done to date are: in Washington: the Complete North to South Pickets Traverse, the Ptarmigan Traverse, the Torment-Forbidden Traverse, and the Olympics Range traverse; in British Columbia: the Sir Donald Traverse and the Viennese-Clarke Traverse; in California: the Cathedral Traverse, the Palisade Traverse (somewhat incomplete, I need to go back to this one), and the Evolution Traverse; in Wyoming, the Cirque Traverse and Grand Traverse; in Colorado: the "Walk in the Park / Great Wheel" Traverse and the "Estes Skyline High Route" Traverse.

I live in Estes Park now, and one famous traverse starting in my backyard is the "LA Freeway", a 38-mile ridge traverse from Longs Peak in RMNP to the Arapaho Peaks in the Indian Peaks (LA=Longs-Arapaho). Much of it is easy scrambling and hiking (or running) across tundra, but there are several 4th Class and low 5th Class sections, with optional harder variations. The total elevation gain/loss is roughly 21,000 feet. The idea of doing the LA Freeway began as a small seed. Then, for whatever reason, in 2024 the LA Freeway became my summer obsession.

This page contains a description of the LA Freeway, its Fastest Known Times (as of my attempt in August 2024), the crux sections, the sections I had scoped out in advance and links to those trip reports, my plan, my thoughts on what I would do differently and the same if I did it again, my step count, a map of the traverse, overlays for each peak, and photos along the way.

It was truely a memorable couple of days being on that ridge all alone. I didn't see a single person until the last few miles of trail after South Arapaho.

Enjoy!

Link to second time on the LA Freeway, September 2024. Just three weeks after my first LA Freeway. This time I went with my sister Jenny and friend Linn and we did it as a single push. Female supported FKT.

The LA Freeway was first done over two days in 2002 by Buzz Burrell. Per the fastestknowntime.com, as of just before my LA Freeway in August 2024, the current record is a remarkable 16 hours 29 minutes by Kyle Richardson in August 2018, self-supported. The fastest supported female time is 38 hours 8 minutes set by Hailey Moore and Kate Hale in August 2022; the fastest self-supported female time is 2 days, 7 hours, 20 minutes set by Amy Gray-Smith in August 2022. A complete list of FKT record holders just after I did the LA Freeway in August 2024 is given in the image below.

(In case you are wondering what "supported" vs. "self-supported" vs. "unsupported" means, detail can be found here or in the image below. Since I had a couple of water stashes on the route and went completely solo with no external help during my adventure, my LA Freeway bid was "self-supported". So my time to beat if I wanted an FKT was 2 days, 7 hours, 20 minutes. Which I did! My final time was 39:45, or 1 day, 15 hours, 45 minutes.)

Most of the LA Freeway is over 2nd/3rd class terrain, but there are several short 4th/low 5th crux sections. The main crux sections are:

1. Longs: The Cables Route (5.4) is the quickest and most direct way to the top. It requires a few moves of 5.4. It is possible to avoid this by taking the Keyhole Route (3rd) but this route is not as direct.
2. Pagoda: The West Ridge Bypass (low 5th) is the easiest way to descend Pagoda. There are just a couple of easy 5th class moves in a corner. The main challenge is finding the corner on descent.
3. Isolation: The direct route is up the North Ridge (5.5). There is a way to bypass this to the right and ascend a 3rd class gully, but it takes more time.
4. Paiute: The North Face Bypass (5.5) on the west side is the standard route up the north side of Paiute Peak. There is also a 4th class way around the east side (which I discovered when I was scoping out Paiute previous to doing the LA Freeway). Also, the section between Algonquin and Paiute is quite complex; it can be kept at 3rd class, but this section is worth scoping out in advance (as I discovered when getting lost in the dark on this section on the LA Freeway).
5. Toll: The North Ridge (5.4) has several variations, where the easiest-to-find route ascends a short 5.4 corner with a piton and is otherwise mostly 4th class. There is also a 4th class way that avoids the crux corner by going around left and directly up the north ridge (which I discovered when I was scoping out Toll previous to doing the LA Freeway).
6. Shoshoni to Apache: This section weaves in and out of several towers. It is possible to keep it at 4th class, bypassing the towers on the east by 3rd and 4th class scrambling on exposed ledges.
7. After bypassing Dicker's Peck on the west side, getting to summit of Navajo involves ascendng the West Chimney (4th).
8. Deshwa: The North Buttress (5.0) of Deshawa has a short 5.0 corner near the ridgecrest, followed by 3rd class to the summit.
9. Arapaho Peaks: The ascent of North Arapaho's NE Ridge (4th) and the traverse between North and South Arapaho is 4th class.

Since there are numerous trailheads that can access various points in the LA Freeway, it is standard practice to do a few daytrips to scope out sections of the traverse before embarking on the entire traverse. Over the years and especially in the first half of the summer 2024 leading up to my LA Freeway attempt, I had done several sections of the LA Freeway. From north to south, the pieces I had done were:

1. June 2024 & July 2024: Soloed up the Cables Route (5.4) on the north face of Longs Peak. This is the quickest way to ascend Longs on the LA Freeway.
2. July 2020: "A Walk in the Park" aka "Great Wheel" Traverse and the "Estes Skyline High Route", both of which included the Longs-Pagoda-Chiefs Head section of the LA Freeway.
3. July 2024: A climb of Pagoda via the West Ridge Bypass (low 5th), which is the best way to traverse over Pagoda on the LA Freeway.
4. August 2020: A climb of Mt. Alice via the Central Ramp (5.8), which includes the south ridge of Alice section of the LA Freeway.
5. August 2022: "Wild Basin High Route", which included the Cleaver-Isolation-Ouzel-Ogalalla section of the LA Freeway.
6. May 2022/August 2024: A spring and summer ascent of Sawtooth Mountain, which included the Buchanan Pass to Sawtooth summit section of the LA Freeway. I stashed water at Buchanan Pass two days before embarking on the LA Freeway.
7. July 2024: A day trip traverse of Audubon - Paiute - Toll - Pawnee, which includes the Paiute-Toll-Pawnee section of the LA Freeway.
8. July 2023: A day trip traverse of Little Pawnee - Pawnee - Toll, which included the Toll-Pawnee section of the LA Freeway.
9. July 2023: A summer scramble of Shoshoni Peak, which included the Pawnee Pass to Shoshoni summit section of the LA Freeway.
10. July 2024: A day trip traverse of Shoshoni - Apache - Navajo - Niwot Ridge, which includes the Shoshoni-Apache-Navajo section of the LA Freeway.
11. August 2022: A summer scramble of Navajo Peak, which included the summit area of Navajo section of the LA Freeway.
12. August 2024: A day trip traverse of Deshawa - North Arapaho - South Arapaho, which includes the Deshawa-North Arapaho-South Arapaho and exit trailhead section of the LA Freeway.
13. June 2022: A spring scramble of North and South Arapaho Peaks, which included the North Arapaho-South Arapaho and exit trailhead section of the LA Freeway.

So, by the time I embarked upon the complete LA Freeway traverse, I had done all of the 4th and 5th class sections of the route and the only summits I had yet to stand on top of were Tanima Peak, Ooh La La, Peak 12277, Red Deer Mountain, Algonquin, and Arikaree Peak. All of these were 2nd/3rd class and would not pose a route-finding or technical issue. The only part I wished I had scoped out in advance was the section between Algonquin and Paiute; this section is quite complex, and while only 3rd class, it presented a problem when I had to navigate it in the dark.

In the months and weeks leading up to my LA Freeway attempt, I thought a lot about how long the traverse would take me and how I was going to do it. I had explored several sections of the traverse as day hikes, and using my times on these sections as a gauge, I estimated that the entire 38-mile LA Freeway would take me roughly 30 hours of moving time if I maintained the pace of the day hikes; adding a factor for fatigue and darkness, I recalibrated to 35 hours of moving time. This sounded feasible as a single push, but also long enough to bring a sleeping bag and bivy sack and get a bit of sleep halfway through. This latter option sounded more enjoyable and perhaps safer, minimizing the amount of travel in the dark and allowing for better photography.

As for timing, I figured that July was the ideal month. In June, the shady areas on the ridge would still have ice/snow. In August, there would be no water on route, and nighttime temperatures would start to be pretty cold. But July of 2024 faced a heavy monsoon pattern, and non-LA-Freeway-favorable weekend after non-LA-Freeway-favorable weekend passed by. Soon it was mid-August. The positive side of the delay was that I had been able to do numerous morning adventures scoping out various sections on the traverse.

Finally, a good weekend arrived in mid-August. My friend Linn and her boyfriend Theo, who were also planning to do the LA Freeway this summer, had decided to go for it. They were also planning to do it as an overnight. The only guaranteed spot for water would be on the north side of Arikaree, but this would be about 80% through the traverse. We all had decided to stash water at Buchanan Pass (about 50% through the traverse) and Pawnee Pass (about 68% through the traverse), two places that intersect trails and can be accessed in a day hike (~14 miles round trip for Buchanan Pass, ~10 miles round trip for Pawnee Pass). I stashed a gallon of water at Buchanan Pass, and Linn's parents kindly hauled up three gallons of water (one gallon for each of us) at Pawnee Pass. I wasn't sure if I could make it all the way to Pawnee Pass the first day, so having a gallon at Buchanan Pass as well would relieve some pressure. In either case I would be moving for a long day before I arrived at the water stash. I decided to start with a gallon of water.

For the most part, I was quite satisified with my execution of the LA Freeway, especially as a first attempt. But if (when....) I make another attempt, here are the things I would do differently:

1. Have a lighter pack. At its maximum weight (i.e. with a full gallon of water and all my food), my pack weighed 25 lbs. Definltey not ultralight. It slowed me down. Items I never used include: rain jacket (I would still bring this), extra puffy and wind shirt, extra headlamp and batteries (might be wise though), extra battery and SD card for my camera, extra food. My sleeping set-up is light for backpacking, but not ultralight, so I could probably save at least a pound there, or just ditch the idea of bivying altogether and save a few pounds. I could also bring more bars and gels to lighten my food without decreasing calories. I think it would be quite reasonable to get the maximum pack weight under 20 lbs with sleeping gear, and under 17 lbs without. If there was more water on the route, it could be even lighter.
2. Not do the section between Algonquin and Paiute in the dark. This is complicated 3rd class and quite difficult to navigate in the dark. I probably lost 1.5 hours of time and lots of mental energy wandering around cliffy, loose terrain by headlight. I started this terrain at sunset, so starting one hour earlier would have allowed me to navigate this terrain in the daylight. Ironically, I had actually planned to start an hour earlier than I did, but a wild nighttime thunderstorm was going on when my alarm went off, so I delayed an hour, not wanting to get soaked and potentially struck by lightning (unlikely, but why risk it) on the approach.
3. Do a scouting day that involved the section between Algonquin and Paiute (this could be done starting at Buchanan Pass and finishing at Pawnee Pass). Even in the daylight, I would have lost time on this section, due to unfamiliarity with the terrain. I scouted out several sections on the route, and even on the easiest of these sections it proved to be helpful in avoiding any micro route-finding errors and just allowing my brain to relax a bit more.
4. Find a better bivy spot. I was happy with my decision to go all the way to Paiute (63% through the traverse) the first day, as this made the second day with a slightly tired body much more mentally approachable. However, I had not done any pre-planning as for where I would bivy (I just wasn't quite sure how far I would make it the first day), so with the lack of planning and the stressful 2.5 hours of wandering in the dark between Algonquin and Paiute, I just plopped down in a less-than-ideal spot on the summit. Just about 20 minutes further was an awesome flat bivy spot where I would have gotten an even better night's sleep.
5. Bring more energy bars, candy bars, and pure carbs. Actually, just bring only this sort of stuff. I ate all 12 of my Cliff bars the first day, and was left with a 3000-calorie pile of meat sticks I was supposed to intersperse with the energy bars. On the second day, I would have given anything for a pile of Cliff bars. Yep, I am one of those people who actually really likes energy bars.
6. Have a different battery charger that held more charge. I had an extra battery charger, but I used it all up keeping my phone charged. As a result, my Garmin watch ran out of juice the second day, so I only had a GPS track for the first day.
7. Have a partner. It would just be more fun—and safer—that way, if the partner were equally motivated and equivalently paced. Maybe my sister Jenny (hint hint).

Here are the things I would do the same:

1. Do a bunch of scouting days to scope out various sections of the traverse. I scouted out several sections on the route, and even on the easiest of these sections it proved to be helpful in avoiding any micro route-finding errors and just allowing my brain to relax a bit more.
2. Stash 2 gallons of water on the route, at Buchanan Pass and Pawnee Pass. There was no water on the route past some seasonal streams I found on Chiefs Head and the tarn below Arikaree (about 80% through the traverse). I drank every drop of my stashed water. I also started with 1 gallon. I could have started with less if I had known about the water on Chiefs Head, but it would have been risky and stressful.
3. Start in the dark and summit Longs Peak before sunrise. This terrain is easy to navigate and very familiar to me, so it makes sense to not waste valuable daylight. I started at 2:10am. I would have started at 1am (a bit more ideal) if it had not been for a wild thunderstorm moving through which delayed me by an hour.
4. Wear La Sportiva TX4 Retros. I just love these shoes and they perform great for me on this type of terrain where there is lots of miles and scrambling.
5. Bring my Sony RX100 camera. This is my heavier of my "point-and-shoot" cameras, but it takes great photos. I took lots of photos. Without my camera I could probably shave at least an hour off my time. Definitely not worth it to me. Part of the reason I do these things is to capture and document my experiences.
6. Bring a phone. There is a pretty consistent cell signal all along the route. So the phone is nice for safety. Plus, I was able to keep in touch with my friend Linn (also on the route 2 hours behind me), my parents and sister (who were psyched to get updates on my progress), and Nate (who was picking me up at the Fourth of July trailhead, so I kept him updated on timing). I also was able to check emails. I also had a map pre-loaded into my Gaia app, which I checked on occasion. I could probably have shaved at least an hour off my time not checking emails and texting people, but these were in a way built in rest breaks, which I needed since I never took an official break.
7. Bring trekking poles. I had collapsable lightweight trekking poles which were great for the initial approach to Longs, the long sections of easier ridge, and the final hike down to the Fourth of July Trailhead.
8. Put LMNT electrolyte mix in my water. Having a constant small dose of incoming electrolyte was great. Plus it just tastes great. No I am not sponsored. But I wish I were.
9. Not rush but never stop. My pace was enjoyable and sustainable. I never jogged or pushed my heart rate too high. But I also never stopped for more than 1 minute or sat down except for my 7.5 hour bivy. There is a huge efficiency in not stopping.
10. If I am planning to bivy, bring a 20° sleeping bag, air pad, and bivy sack. If I am going to bother with sleeping, it needed to be a good sleep. And I was warm and cozy and slept like a rock.
11. Bring a rain jacket. It didn't rain, but there was a chance of rain the forecast and it really came down just after I got out, so this is just a good idea.

123,183 steps in just under 40 hours! I'm guessing this is my new personal record.

(Interesting note: Day 1 step count represents 64% of my steps on the LA Freeway, which agrees well with it being 63% of my travel time from my spreadsheet.)

As a note, the specs for the LA Freeway (38 miles, 21000 ft elevation gain) come from the article here: https://fastestknowntime.com/article/la-freeway. My GPS on my Garmin watch (for the first day before the battery died) agreed with the mileage, but was showing a bit more elevation gain/loss. But that could be due to the GPS jumping around a bit on ridgelines giving a false sense of more ups and downs.

In the late 1950s Carl Pfiffner spoke passionately about traversing from the Arapaho Peaks to Longs Peak along the Continental Divide. The first person to complete Pfiffner’s original idea of linking the Arapahos to Longs along the Coninental Divide was Buzz Burrell, who did this giant project on July 8-9, 2002. Burrell stuck strictly to the Divide, only dropping down to bivy and collect water, and he summitted every significant and named peak. To distinguish the project from Roach’s “Pfiffner Traverse”, Burrell called his route the “LA Freeway”—a reference to Guy Clark's song "L.A. Freeway" ("If I can just get off this L.A. freeway without getting killed or caught....") Oddly, the LA Freeway languished in obscurity until a recent, sudden uptick of interest.
Reference.

The lyrics of Guy Clark's song "L.A. Freeway" are given below.

Pack up all the dishes
Make a note of all good wishes
Say goodbye to the landlord for me
All you know he always bored me

And throw out all those L.A. papers
The moldy box of Vanilla Wafers
Adios to all this concrete
Gonna get me some dirt road back streets

Now here's to you old Skinny Dennis
The only one I think I will miss
I can hear those bass notes ringin'
As sweet and low like a gift your bringin'

So play it for me one more time now
You got to give it all you can now
Well I believe every word you're sayin'
Just to keep it on keepin' on, keep on playin'

Well I can just get off of this L.A. freeway
Without getting killed or caught
Down the road in a cloud of smoke
To some land that, baby, we ain't bought
If I can just get off this L.A. freeway

Leave the key card in the mailbox
Leave the key in that old front lock
They can find it likely as not
There must be somethin' we have forgot

Oh, Susanna don't you cry babe
Love's a gift and truly handmade
We got somethin' to believe in
Texas is callin', baby, it's time we were leavin'

Well I can just get off of this L.A. freeway
Without getting killed or caught
Down the road in a cloud of smoke
To some land that, baby, we ain't bought

If I can just get off this L.A. freeway
Without getting killed or caught
They can never gonna to catch me
Put down the rod to somewhere we found it

I can just get off of this L.A. freeway
Hey Texas is callin', callin' me home

This is a gallery of all of the overlays in the Photos section below, given in order of the peak along the LA Freeway.