Roundtrip Length: 8.4 mi Difficulty: Strenuous

The charm of Chasm Lake is not only the spectacular setting but the
notoriety of the trail that it shares. Leaving the Longs Peak trailhead
and immediately climbing through the trees, we twist and turn past a
couple of historic mining sites and pass through a place curiously called
Goblin’s Forest. After we traverse a stream or two and we ascend
through the krummholz, we move onto the tundra and then to a
junction where a right turn would take us towards Longs Peak. All sights
have been visible as opposed to a full ascent of Longs hike which
requires an early AM morning departure where all would be in
darkness.

Proceeding straight, we will climb up and over and down passing
dramatic rock formations and unforgettable scenery eventually to
arrive at the shoreline of this exquisite bowl of melting ice and snow
dominated by the truly awesome presence of Longs Peak. Awesome is
no mere adjective here. The notorious East Face challenges our sense
of perceiving sheer size. The sheer cliffs challenge the senses of
adventurers often seen attempting the extremely technical climbing
routes. If we are preparing for or thinking about attempting Longs and
wish to get a feel for the trail, this is a pleasant, somewhat strenuous,
much shorter, and less hazardous trip from the same trailhead.
Important to remember that the journey to Longs is a much farther 16
mile extremely difficult round trip and requires an approximate 3AM
departure. See our special, “Climb Longs Peak.”