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Chasm Lake at the foot of Longs Peak is bounded by scree fields composed of large pieces of loose stone. There is a small band of snow between steep cliffs and the scree field
Chasm Lake, at the foot of the fourteener Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park, is bounded by steep fields of boulders angled all the way into the water, with unsteady rock footing just off the trails. (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

A Fort Collins woman who died last week while hiking near Chasm Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park has been identified as Debra Stith, the Boulder County Coroner’s Office said Tuesday. 

Stith, 66, had planned a day hike, but had not returned by Tuesday night. Her family told park rangers she was overdue, and rescue teams launched in the area. Rescuers found her body Wednesday morning and said she likely fell while hiking on scree slopes next to Chasm Lake.

Stith, who retired in October, had a degree in chemical engineering and worked for Eastman Kodak in New York before transferring to Windsor in 1992, according to a family obituary. She left there in 2009 and worked for other Colorado companies before her retirement.

Chasm Lake is a popular hiking route off the challenging 16-mile trip up and down fourteener Longs Peak. The lake trail is 8.2 miles round trip with 2,700 feet of elevation gain. 

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