We went Sept. 5-7. The Flat Tops are located north of Glenwood Springs and southwest of Steamboat Springs. We went in at Stillwater Reservoir, which you can get to from the tiny town of Yampa. From Fort Collins, it's about 4-1/2 hours (180 miles) and the best way to go is over Trail Ridge and then through Granby, Kremmling, and over Gore Pass.
We left Fort Collins Friday afternoon and so we didn't get to the Flat Tops until after dark. We set up our tent right off the road and had no idea until the next morning what a beautiful spot we had selected, right next to Yamcolo Reservoir!
Saturday morning we headed northwest from Stillwater Lake. It was 2.5 miles up on the East Fork Trail. It got pretty steep at the end, but the views at the top were worth it.
View back down the trail from Stillwater near the top of the saddle:
At this point you can go left to get to the Devils Causeway, or head back down the other side of the saddle to do the loop. We continued on and had amazing views of some massive cliffs along the "flat" mountains around us - one in particular called the Chinese Wall was really neat.
Heading down from the saddle with the Causeway behind us:
The views kept being great but the day dragged on. We were disappointed that the turn off for Lost Lakes Trail (which we took) was not the lost lakes themselves. They are aptly named! This day was supposedly 9.5 miles but it felt a little longer. We found a nice campsite above West Lost Lake, and we were the only ones there. It was very serene, and the next morning we were awoken by the sounds of elk bugeling.
Unfortunately we had to wake up around 5 AM. Sunday's hike was probably one of the best I've been on in Colorado because it was almost all above treeline, but that meant we had to complete it (somewhere between 12 and 14.5 miles!) before any afternoon thunderstorms rolled in. Also unfortunately for our butt muscles, the trail was straight up almost right away. What a way to wake up! We still beat the sunrise to the top, though, and then the trail became breathtaking.
You would be making these faces too if you were ascending 2000 feet before sunrise:
The top of the Flat Tops aren't exactly flat, there is some up and down, but in general you are walking in an alpine meadow for miles and miles. It was incredible. Here are some pictures:
We eventually reached the Devil's Causeway. The Backpacker article describes this part of the hike pretty accurately as "a sphincter-clinching dash across an eroded arete". The Causeway is 50 feet long and only 4 feet wide in some places, with 600-foot drops on either side. I found it completely terrifying, especially with a heavy pack on. My dear husband tried to reassure me at one point by telling me, "Don't worry Anna, if you fall it's only certain death!" Thanks. Lucky for him, he had no trouble crossing it. Anyway, it was exciting!
This is me hanging on for dear life and Chris just hanging out:
Here is the hike down from Devils Causeway. You could just do a day trip to the Causeway, it would be about 6 miles round trip, but you would have to hike up this!
After that you rejoin the East Fork Trail and head back to Stillwater Lake. All in all, it is an amazing hike that I would highly recommend. I think the Flat Tops get a lot of snow so you might need to wait until July to go. September was a nice time but a bit past the peak wildflower season. I'm sure those meadows would be spectacular covered in flowers. I hope we get to go back sometime, there are miles and miles of other trails that look equally enticing through the Flat Tops (a 235,000 acre area). (And thanks to Shannon Davis, who works for Backpacker and emailed me a scanned copy of the article because I couldn't find it. Chris met her climbing Longs Peak in Sept. 2007.)
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