So this is what it's like to be altitude-sick, part 1 (Hike To Chasm Lake)

Longs Peak is king in Rocky Mountain National Park. With its summit at 14,259 feet (4,346 m) above sea level, it is the highest peak in the park, and one of Colorado’s 56 famed “Fourteeners” (i.e., mountains whose summit is at 14,000 feet and above).

It was Tuesday, Aug. 7th, 2007. For today's hike, Billy had picked a 4.2-mile hike (distance one-way) to Chasm Lake and back, reportedly one of the most scenic places in the park. This remote body of water is nestled on a ledge 11,760 feet above sea level, right under the sheer east face of Longs Peak.

There were only a few parking spots left at the Longs Peak Ranger Station. This trail head is understandably popular and fills up early, as people who want to summit Longs Peak in a day are advised to leave by 3 a.m.

We started at 8:15 that morning at an elevation of 9,420 feet (2,871 m). As before, the trail switched back and forth through pine forest for a couple of miles, going higher and higher up the mountainside. After about an hour, we emerged in the alpine tundra, the region at which it’s too cold for trees to grow. In this park, it’s at about 11,500 feet. A sign warning of lightning storms greets hikers on the trail.

I looked around and was surrounded by valleys and mountains. To my right were smooth, rounded peaks covered with gold-red dirt and light-green meadows; behind me in the distance was a mountain range with rocky peaks like the backs of camels. The trail climbed continuously upwards and I slowly rose above the surrounding mountains, at the same time feeling the fatigue in my legs after hiking 10 miles the day before.

My progress slowed horribly. Not only were my legs tired, but I was starting to feel nauseous – a symptom of altitude sickness. I waved at Billy to go on, but he waited for me every few dozen yards or so. I pushed on with extremely weak legs and a loss of equilibrium. I crested a hill above which Longs Peak showed its face. I was sure Chasm Lake would appear on the other side, signifying a welcome turnaround. Instead, I saw, hundreds of feet below, a gorgeous valley with pools of water, and a sign that pointed to my right and said “Chasm Lake - 0.7 Mi”.

My heart sank. I could see the entire trail as it wound by the ridge. It seemed like the longest 0.7 mile of my life.

[To be continued]