An Unforgettable Adventure in Colorado’s Flat Tops Wilderness

Today we're venturing deep into the Flattops Wilderness Area, a wilderness area spanning over 235,000 acres in northwest Colorado. Many people head to the most popular trails in this area when they visit, but if you know us, we like to find some spots a bit less well traveled. It takes some effort to make it to this remote area, which makes this place feel even more special. We started the day with a long drive down a beautiful dirt road, which gave us our first glimpse of the Flattops. Join us as we head deep into this wilderness and find one of the most stunning alpine lakes we've ever seen. This definitely is a day we won't soon be forgetting. Jackson, are you excited? You going to go for a walk? You think you're going to do some swimming? Here we go. So we just drove down a dirt road into the middle of nowhere with many people, but we're taking a trail that I think we're taking a trail that not many people will be on. What are we doing today? Because we got a lot of good stuff. We were planning on doing a hike called the Devil's Causeway Hike, which is the most popular trail in the area, but as you maybe can see, there are cars parked in the parking lot, but also down this road here. We like to get away from the crowds a little bit. And there's another trail that looks gorgeous that starts from here also. What's that trail? What's it called? I think it's called Kenner Lake? Keener Lake? Nice. And what's the name of this lake that's right here? We are parked next to this Stillwater Reservoir. Stillwater Reservoir. Which maybe we're going to take our pack rafts out on later. After we eat our picnic food that Shannon packed for us. So this hike should be 7 miles, I think 1500 feet of climbing. Looks so beautiful. Yeah, it reminds me of Glacier. This area looks like Glacier National Park if someone cut the top of the mountain off. Like this mountain right here, imagine just like an extra mountain peak on top of it, and that's Glacier. It's gorgeous. And I think I read there might be over 100 lakes in this area. Wow. There aren't severe peaks, so all the water settles. I'm no geologist, but that's my guess. You know who would really like this? Who? The dogs. It's too bad we didn't bring them. I know, too bad. Yeah. Just kidding. Can you imagine? There they are. Good boys. Here, Doug. This way, buddy. So a fun fact about this wilderness area, maybe all wilderness areas, I'm not totally sure, is that there are no roads in the wilderness area. So all of these roads, all of the campgrounds, anything that's taking you to a trailhead sits pretty much on the boundary of the wilderness area it looks like. And then once you enter the wilderness, it's only on foot. Maybe horseback. I don't even think bicycles are allowed. Are we going to go for a hike? And then are you going to go swimming? It's a bit warmer than I thought it would be. Yeah, it is. We're above 10,000 feet right now. Yeah, it was 74. The Devil's Causeway Trail is being loved to death. I can't believe it's that popular because we're pretty far away from any big towns. Yeah. I mean, Steamboat's only 13,000 people. Yeah, I wonder how many people we're going to see on this other trail. Probably very few because I'm sure that a lot of these people are here for the Devil's Causeway and here for the lake. Right, yeah. The reservoir. Yeah. The reservoir is so low. It really is. Yeah, you can see all of the lines on the shore of how high it would be at other times. This is beautiful. It really is. I was a little worried we were going to have smoke today because there was some driving in, but it seems like it's pretty clear out this way. Yep. So we just had to fill out all of our information on a trail register back there, and there was one person that passed us about 10 minutes ago, but before her on that list, the last person to register was five days ago, so I think we were right that this was definitely the right choice if we wanted to avoid the crowds, and clearly, it is already gorgeous. So I don't think we're going to be seeing many people out here. Potentially nobody at all, because the person who passed us is doing a 24-mile loop today with her dog, so we're not going to be passing her today, so we might have the whole trail to ourselves. Well, we had a bunch of clouds roll in, and it's looking like it might be cloudy for the rest of the day, which honestly, I'm not complaining about because it was a little warm there when we first started. I like it out here. Good. Me too. It feels so remote, and I think the clouds rolling in has something to do with that. It feels a little more, hmm, how do I describe it? Not, not spooky, but... Dramatic. Yeah. Just like we're so out there, so remote, I feel like a moose or a bear is going to walk right over there. Oh. But I don't know. There's something about this place. I think all of the tall, dark pine trees kind of give it that feeling too. Yep. I don't know what the word is. Eerie? That's not the right word, though, because I don't feel... Spooked. Yeah. But something. In a good way. Dramatic. Yeah. The trail has been pretty steep. Yeah. Steeper than I thought it would be. I know. I'm not complaining. It feels good to get a little workout in. Yep. And the views are amazing. The forest is beautiful. It reminds me of the hike up to Highlight Lake outside of Bozeman, Montana. Oh my gosh. That hike was incredible. All the waterfalls. Yeah, there were like 40 waterfalls. Yeah. I can see the parking lot from here. Yeah, I saw it too. It's pretty far away. Yeah, we've gone 1.66 miles, 630 feet of climbing. That's why it feels steep. Yep. Plus, the first half mile or so was completely flat, so we're making up for all of that flatness now. Yep. Look at that view. I just remembered. We're hiking to a lake. I thought we were just coming up here for the views. Totally forgot about the lake. So, giving me a little boost of motivation on this climb. This is awesome. So awesome. The flat ground. Man, it's crazy. And look, we're going to Keener Lake, but there's also Hopper Lake and Edge Lake. It's just beautiful. It is. It feels like we're in Wyoming. For sure. I mean, we're close enough. Super close. That we are in Wyoming, practically. Brown, grassy soil. Like light brown with the volcanic dark rock. Is that volcanic rock? I mean, it's porous, so I don't know for sure. I bet it is. Yeah. Volcanic rock is usually really light, right? Yeah, it's pretty light. Yeah, maybe. It's definitely porous. Douglas, is that volcanic rock? Where's the lake? Who's ready to swim? Wait, we've got to figure out which way we're going. You want to take bets? I kind of want to go this way just because it's so pretty out there. I know. Do you have the map on your phone? I do, but it's in my backpack. Oh, we also have two bars of service. Oh, nice. We're like 45 minutes from pavement and we have two bars of service. That way? This way. I'm sure there are little ponds, but between us and Keener Lake and in the area surrounding Keener Lake, you're going to have to speed this part of the video up. There are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 lakes. Holy moly. I'm sure there are little ponds, but... Still. Yeah. Let's get to that lake, huh? Come on. There's the smoke. Oh, yeah. With my sunglasses on, I thought it might just be rain. You can kind of see some rain with your sunglasses on, falling, but I think that all of that haze is smoke. Oh, boy. This is beautiful. The peak out to your left is called Derby Peak. I wonder how high it is. It is. Probably 12,500? 12,192. Nice. You testing which way the wind's blowing? I'm trying to show Derby Peak. Keep your finger still. There you go. Right there. And look at the lakes. Look how many lakes. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, you should show the camera. You should take a screenshot of it. So many. Insert screenshot now. Oh, great. What? Oh, great. What happened? My backpack fell apart. Oh. Wait, let me see. Good thing all of my ultras got canceled. Yeah, true. I can probably tie it. I think I'll be able to tie it. You see the lake? I do. Down there. So freaking pretty. Goodness gracious. It's awesome. I actually read briefly how this landscape was created, but I can't remember. It's probably pushed up, because usually whenever it's cut by a glacier, it's like valleys, not all of the land being pushed up. Well, pretty pumped about this backpack situation. We have to figure out a good way to carry our pack rafts, because how much better would it have been to bring our pack rafts to this lake than down at the reservoir by the parking lot? You're saying we should figure out how to pack our pack rafts? I think we should. That's what they're made for. Heck yeah. Paul just looked at the map, and that's actually not even the lake we're going to. That's Hopper Lake. I'd be happy if that's where we were going. It's beautiful. Beautiful. According to the map, we still have 0.6 miles. Whoa. Seriously? Yep. There it is. Wow. Boy, oh boy. Wow. Prettier than I even imagined. Cold? Yeah. You want to go swimming? Is that one not good enough? Oh my goodness, what do I have? Wow. A little lakeside treat. Good boys. Wow. This isn't a good one either. Well, I'd say this was kind of worth it. 3.76 miles, bang for your buck. This is incredible. It's so beautiful. I had no idea it was going to be this big. This is amazing. And nobody's here. Literally not a single person. Not a single person. Oh my goodness. Oh, the clouds have rolled in. I know I've said that a few times now. They keep coming and going. This has been incredible. Not a single person has been here. The entire time we've been at this lake, we ended up passing a few people on the trail, but so much solitude, so peaceful. Way more beautiful than I had ever expected. But now we're going to hike back, and when we get back, we might take our pack rafts out onto that reservoir where we parked by, but we also have the picnic lunch. So we're going to make some sandwiches, enjoy a picnic lunch, maybe get out on the lake, and just enjoy the rest of the day. Jackson, what'd you find, buddy? What did you find? Fixed my backpack. A permanent fix, you think? I don't know. Probably need some more gear. I was saying to Shannon when we were down here, she said, my, oh, my, and was looking up there, and I said, you should say on camera that we were up there on that saddle, and she said, no, you should say that on camera. So I'm saying... Everybody likes when you're in the videos. They do. Everybody comment and say how much you like when Paul's in the videos. Oh, boy. We should leave this out. But that saddle, it looks like you could sit right on it like a saddle. Take a poop on it? No, like a horse saddle. That's why it's called a saddle. Look. Like, imagine looking at a horse saddle. I see it now. That's what a saddle is. Like that. Not taking a poop. So this is the reservoir we were planning on taking our pack rafts out on, but for one, it's very low. I mean, we could go out in the middle and be fine. Two, I don't see a way to get down there. And three, I'm honestly not even sure if we are allowed to go out on the reservoir, and we don't have any self-service to look it up. So we're going to look for some more information at the trailhead, see if there's anything that says we're allowed to take kayaks and paddle boards out and whatnot. If not, we might just be having a little picnic instead. I'm down for a picnic. So what's the plan? Drive down the road to something maybe a little bit less windy, a little bit of a different view, and find a place to have our sandwiches. So we found the perfect little spot for our roadside picnic. We sure did. Doug and Jackson are going to hang out in the truck, though, because we are just on a pull-off right next to the road that is probably going to get a little bit of traffic with all of the people leaving the trailhead this afternoon. But don't worry. I'm sure we'll bring you some snacks. Those are some cute little noses. The river is gorgeous. And the sun came back out. It really did. It came out in full force. Yeah. All right. I'm ready for a sandwich. Me too. So we're going to be having some veggie sandwiches today. And I didn't pre-make them because I was a little worried they'd get soggy. So we have our bread, shredded carrots, red pepper, sprouts, and some red pepper hummus. So good. Got to take this to the dogs. What's next? Never had that kind before. Yeah, it's very good. We're going to put it on the bread? Mm-hmm. Why aren't we doing this after every hike? I don't know. My brain doesn't work like this, unfortunately. What, thinking about getting sandwiches? Yeah. Mine usually doesn't either. But I was ordering groceries and thought, what the heck? What did you think? What the heck? Oh. Nice. What the heck? I'm glad that led us here. I know you are. I'm sure you are. People are definitely driving too fast on this road for the dogs to be out here. Oh, yeah. Jackson would need to survey the whole area. Yep. That's what we call, have we said this in a video before? I don't know. Anytime we sit still, Jackson doesn't know how to sit still unless he's very, very, very tired. We call it surveying. What he does, he runs around in circles sniffing everything for as long as we're sitting still. And he surveys the area. And usually finds a tennis ball. Wow, this is a lot of carrots. We don't need to use them all. I think if Doug and Jackson have anything to say about it, they'll all be used. Tweet. Wonder if that person still watches the videos. If you still watch the videos and you are the person that told me last year that I eat like a bird and that I need to have steaks instead of the greens that Shannon feeds me, leave a comment and say that you still watch the videos. I'm wild about sprouts. What? Oh, it says it. So insanely good for you? My mouth is watering. Tasty? Mm-hmm. Would be better with some turkey? I didn't want to put turkey in our $5 lunchbox and leave it in the hot car all day. That lunchbox does, like, heat up things. Why does it feel toasty? I don't know. Stale. The hummus makes it. Mm-hmm. Oh, I don't even think I was in that clip. Do you want to finish? You know, I do. You know, about five minutes ago I had the thought, Shannon's not going to be hungry for dinner. I'm going to have to fend for myself because of how big this sandwich is. No, it's not that it's how big it is. It's just already 4 o'clock unless we're not going to eat dinner. I also think I ate a third of a bag of trail mix at the lake. You were housing the trail mix? I was. And I haven't even had any sweet potato chips yet, but these would be good in the hummus. Oh, you're right. That was honestly a great sandwich. We've never shown that on the channel before, have we? Paul bought a leaf blower to blow the dog hair out of the bed of the truck. Shannon was out of town. Took it upon myself to clean the truck. No, please don't, please don't. Goodness gracious. Watch their snouts pop up. Mom got a big treat for you. The bread tacks. Where'd they go? I can't see. Oh, very good. I don't think I feel like pack rafting. It's a little bit too windy. That's my excuse anyway, and I'm sticking to it. It's windy. I have a full belly, and I'm a little bit tired. Well, that being said, I think I'm going to wrap up the video here. We've been wanting to come to the flat tops for so long, and it definitely did not disappoint. I'm also so happy we ended up doing that trail and not the very popular one. Based on how many cars were parked along that road, there probably would have been a ton of people on the trail, especially compared to the one that we did. It's beautiful out here. It is. Lots more to explore. Definitely we'll be back. That's right. So if you're not already, we'd love if you subscribed to our channel and gave this video a thumbs up. Thanks, as always, for watching, and we'll see you on the next adventure.