Longs Peak / Chasm Lake

Overview: Longs Peak / Chasm Lake is about 15.6 miles long and located near Meeker Park, Colorado. The trail is great for hiking and normally takes a full day.

Nice challenging, yet very rewarding hike! I started the hike at 5:05 A.M. and summited at 8:19 A.M. This is far from the recommended time frame that should be allowed to summit and return due to drastic changes in weather. Note that the winds can be very strong at the keyhole, yet once you pass through a little ways, they become more gentle. Adding Chasm Lake onto this was a nice reward as you get some perspective as to the peak you just summited. Happy trails

Tips: Give yourself plenty of time to summit! I started the hike at 5:05 A.M. (an average hiker should probably start around 2 A.M.) and summited at 8:19 A.M. Most information recommends close to 14 hours to complete this. So this is far from the recommended time frame that should be allowed to summit and return due drastic changes in weather that can come from nowhere on this peak. It has a history of being a very electric (lightning) mountain. Note that the winds can be very strong at the keyhole, yet once you pass through a little ways, they become more gentle. The summit is amazing and well worth all the hard work!!! I chose to add on Chasm lake just for fun and it was also well worth the extra bit of hiking. I can imagine that most people would be fairly exhausted by the time you reach the split off the lake on the way back down.

Happy Trails