Having secured that image, I then proceeded to look for details large and small. To include the peak and its reflection, I was glad that I carried a 14-24 lens, using the wide end in some images. This was what I came for, and I was not going to miss photographing it however how iconic it may be. When I arrive at a new location, the first thing I do is try and capture the big picture, in this case the sheer Diamond face of the park’s highest summit, Longs Peaks (14,255 feet), reflected into Chasm Lake, nested in a cirque which was easily the most impressive location I have seen in Rocky Mountain National Park. Further investigation of the lakeshore confirmed that this was the best I could find, but also turned out a bivy spot that I may use in the future, especially since the alpenglow that morning was weak because of a band of clouds on the eastern horizon. When it became light enough to see, I located a better viewpoint for stills, near a small inlet that added some interest to the lake’s surface. Take a picture, check the LCD, move the camera slightly, repeat. I set up my secondary tripod and camera at the lake’s edge for a night-to-day timelapse, framing the composition by trial and error. Since this short but steep scramble is typical of alpine lake outlets, I knew that after that last obstacle, I had arrived, however in the darkness, I could barely see the water. Just below the lake, the trail died into a jumble of class 3 rocks. As the trail descended briefly towards a stream, when I saw the water, for a brief moment I thought I had arrived, before realizing that there wasn’t much water there. City lights shone in the distance, well below, but I couldn’t see the mountain terrain well in pitch darkness, so I had to pull out my compass and search-grade light. I easily followed the well-used trail in the dark, until the confusing signs at the Chasm Lake – East Longs Peak Trail junction, where the main trail was marked as “Boulder Field” and the Chasm Lake not at all. However, I did not see anybody until well after sunrise. I had read on websites that because the first 3.25 miles of this trail is shared by Longs Peak hikers, you’re likely to encounter heavy crowds, no matter what time you start out. Since I planned to be there before pre-dawn, I started to hike at 1:30am. The trail to Chasm Lake is only 4.2 miles one-way, however it starts at 9,400 feet and gains 2,400 feet. Sunrise in early July takes place at about 5:30am. For my last morning in the Rockies, I was going to photograph the sunrise at Chasm Lake, accessed from CO 7 on the East side of the Park. Back at Estes Park at 9pm, after an afternoon stop at Fort Laramie, I was looking at a short night of sleep. Although it was summer in a very popular national park, the campground was not filled-up by late afternoon.Īfter traveling to Badlands, Wind Cave, Theodore Roosevelt National Parks, I returned to Rocky Mountain for my last morning of photography. I photographed mostly near a beaver pond to which I returned for sunrise. I found instead a beautiful valley with abundant wildlife including moose and elk, and only few other visitors. The West side, consisting of the Kawuneeche Valley, lacks the spectacular views found in other portions of the park. Flying into Denver, I book-ended my early summer trip to the Rockies and Great Plains with quick forays to the two sides of Rocky Mountain. In my previous visits to Rocky Mountain National Park, I had concentrated my efforts in the central portion, including the Parks (local name for sub-alpine meadows), Glacier Basin, and Trail Ridge Road.
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