For those that keep track of such things, we’ve now started to proceed roughly in reverse chronological order.  I’ve developed a seriously massive backlog of material and have finally endeavored to sift out the boring stuff and post the rest.

Chasm Lake is a spectacular alpine lake nestled just beneath the Diamond on the east face of Long’s Peak.  This trip was another one of our 14er warm up hikes, although it’s well worth doing apart from the exercise.  Yet again, you quickly climb above treeline and are treated to spectacular views, primarily to the west where Long’s Peak looms above.

Once again we hit the trail around six or seven.  We weren’t always this diligent with regards to our alpine starts; more on that in subsequent episodes…  There are really no downsides to starting so early, apart from the obvious.  On the other hand, you spend a substantial portion of the hike climbing during the ‘golden hour’, with beautiful long shadows streaking westward; the slopes ahead bathed in the warm glow of the morning sun.  As an added perk it’s usually pretty cool at this time of day – perfect for climbing!

The Diamond looms in the distance.

Wildflowers with Columbine Falls to the left.

Peacock Pool!

Julie and Kelly

Chasm Lake with an Arc’teryx photo shoot ongoing in the background…

Like Quandary, Long’s is crowded on nice days.  However, if your goal is Chasm Lake, there is plenty of room to spread out and relax in relative quiet.  Once there, if our experience is at all representative you’ll have the opportunity to watch climbers working on multi-pitch routes on the huge walls that surround the lake.