It was only 3 days since I returned from a solo trip to Europe when my husband Sergey decided to revisit Chasm Lake that he saw last time 25 years ago.
‘Can we do something easy first? Give me time to adjust to altitude after 2.5 months at sea level’, I asked Sergey on the day before the hike.
‘Nonsense, you should be fit enough for this climb’, he dismissed my concerns. I could tell that his mind was set to go on that particular day with or without me. All right, I put into my backpack a windbreaker, a bottle of water, snacks and a first aid kit and went to bed.
At 4.30 am thunder and lightning woke us up. It did not rain, but the clouds were dark and low. I decided that it is not a good day for hiking and closed my eyes.
‘What are you doing? Get up!’
Reluctantly I did get up. We had light breakfast and left home at 5.15 am. It was not a long drive and by 6 am we were at the parking lot. It was full despite the early hour and a workday, perhaps because the popular hike to Longs Peak starts here too. We parked on the road.
The clouds were dissipating gradually as we walked through the forest. Sergey went ahead as he usually does. My pace is too slow for him. It irritates my husband that I am not a match for him, but we are still married.
My slow walking helped me to spot quite a few of these mushrooms. Russians call them ‘white’ probably because of their pure white flesh that does not turn dark when it is cut or dried. The scientific name of this mushroom is Boletus edulis. They are not just edible; they are the best mushrooms that one can eat (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boletus_edulis).
Steady going brought us above tree level. It was windy and colder without protection of the forest. I put on the windbreaker. We crossed a patch of snow on the steep slope where someone made a path wide enough for one foot only. Slipping on it would mean rolling down the slope, but nobody had difficulties to walk across. The wind became stronger when we came to Peacock Pool Lake and Columbine Falls. From there the trail leveled up that made walking a little easier for me. By that time I was struggling with altitude sickness. People react differently to altitude. They experience nausea, headache, double vision and dizziness. My body responds with extreme weakness. The legs feel as if they were made of lead. I can hardly move them. I had to stop every 2-3 vertical feet to rest. My husband did not like that.
‘Go faster, the hike takes took much time’, he shouted from above.
These “words of encouragement” did not help. I ignored them and kept going at my own pace putting one foot in front of the other. When it gets hard to walk like this I start singing to myself. Not that I have any musical talents, but it takes my mind off the sickness.
We came to the last section of the trail that required easy rock climbing. Sergey waited for me and pulled me up in one place. From there it was a short walk to the lake which elevation is about 11,800’ (3600 m). It was 9.30 am when we reached the lake. Behind it is the wall of Longs Peak called the Diamond. Chasm Lake is beautiful; all mountain lakes are. We took pictures and hid between rocks. Wind gusts blew away our hats more than once. We managed to catch them every time.
After snacking on trail mix and some rest we went back. Going down is always a pleasure for me. Altitude sickness disappears; every step becomes easy. I wish I could go down without climbing up first. We returned to the car by 12.30 pm.
On the way home we stopped by the pretty St. Malo’s Chapel on the Rock. It is under renovation and access to it is closed. We could only view it from the road.
Here is a good description of the trail if anyone wants to go to Chasm Lake http://www.rockymountainhikingtrails.com/chasm-lake.htm.
