A view of Stillwater Reservoir in the Flat Tops Wilderness in west central Colorado.
Dave started a two-day backpack trip from the trail head here. He had never been to the Flat Top Wilderness before so he went to check it out for a couple of days.
The trail climbs fairly steeply up and over the pass you can see in the distance into the valley that contains the beautiful feature known as the Chinese Wall.
(Callie typing, Dave speaking).
A view looking back down the valley from near the top of the pass.
From the pass, the magnificent Chinese Wall comes into view. The small lake in the far right-hand portion of the picture was my destination for the evening.
A rest stop on top of the pass taking in the view and a snack.
Hanging out on the pass.
Descending down the other side of the pass into the valley toward the lake camp.
My camp site near the shore of the lake. It was a very scenic spot, however the mosquitoes were truly horrendous. I ended up spending most of my post-hiking time in the tent. :(
Just after sunrise, making breakfast, before the mosquitoes awoke.
Hiking back out of the valley, the next day. I did not stop for a rest until I got onto the pass because the mosquitoes were so bad.
Another nice view to the north from the pass.
At the pass, I ditched my pack and hiked up the ridge to a famous feature called "the devil's causeway". This is a very narrow neck of volcanic rock that connects two high mesas.
As you can see in this picture the devils' causeway is quite narrow and exposed. It provides a somewhat thrilling hike for about 1/4 mile until you land on the other mesa. A very cool feature!
On the way out, I took a few photos in the tiny town of Yampa. Here is the jail.
The nightlife in Yampa must happen here.
Down the street is the rustic liquor store which likely does an excellent business on a per capita basis.
It was a short but fun trip to check out a new area, however, I would not recommend going in July or early August...wait until late August for fewer bugs. :)
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