As an affiliate I earn commission on some links.
This was only my second backpack trip in Colorado but it was outstanding. The first backpack trip was only a few days prior to this one where some friends and I did an overnight called the Zirkel Circle. That was a great ovenight warmup for us Easterners to get ready for this hike. Our hike was also going to include the Devils Causeway but a few of us sat that leg out because we were just too exhausted from hiking up to the junction where we rested and waited.
Overall, this was a remarkable hike. Would I do it again? Yes, but I would find a route without the hike across the flat tops. Although it’s beautiful on top, the trail across the flat tops is quite mundane and just keeps going across flat featureless land. At times, we found it difficult to locate the trail but we spread out and found the trail in the end.
Some highlights of this trip……
Day 1 highlights: The reservoir at the beginning of the hike was great to see. Also, the Chinese Wall is nothing short of amazing. It’s really quite a sight to see and just goes on forever. Not only that but it seems to rise up vertically forever.
Day 2 highlights: We saw a porcupine right past our 2nd campsite at West Lost Lake which was definitely a first for me in the wilderness. Seeing the lone sheep up on the flat tops was cool. The beautiful campsite at West Lost Lake. Being up on the flat tops was incredible because it felt like we were on top of the world. Being dive bombed by the old airplane was absolutely incredible!
Day 3 highlights: Mosquite Lake campsite was really peaceful. We saw several moose just across the trail from our campsite.
We parked at the Stillwater Reservoir Trailhead and began our hike there. Decent size parking lot but was fairly full of vehicles at the time. There are trails going in all directions from the parking lot but we found our East Fork Trail#1119. At the time we were there it was very dry and the reservoir looked like it was down a good bit.
Below are our trails and mileage for the hike.
A) Trappers Lake Parking lot Trailhead
B) Hiked East Fork Trail#1119 for .7 mile trail to junction turn North for East Fork Trail#1119
C) Hiked 1.8 miles on East Fork Trail#1119 to junction of Devils Causeway Trail. Continue hike North on East Fork Trail#1119
D) Hiked 4.1 to junction at Lost Lakes Trail#1116
E) Hiked .2 miles to campsite at Long Lake and stayed for 1 night
E) Hiked Trail#1116 2.4 miles to junction then hiked Trail#1103 1 mile to campsite at West Lost Lake
F) Hiked Trail#1103 .8 mile to junction
G) Hiked .4 miles from junction to junction for Chinese Wall Trail#1803
H) Hiked 6 miles on Chinese Wall Trail#1803 to Devils Causeway Trail junction
I) Hiked Chinese Wall Trail#1803 2.1 Miles to junction
J) Hiked 2 miles East on Bear River Trail#1120 to campsite 3 at Mosquito Lake
K) Hiked Bear River Trail#1120 for 1.5 miles to junction then hiked East on East Fork Trail#1119 to Parking lot
Total distance for the loop we did was approximately 24.4 miles
Add an additional 1.5 miles for the folks in my group that hiked across the Devils Causeway and back to the junction where we waited.
Here is some of the gear I had for this hike
Black Diamond Distance FLZ Trekking Poles
Enlightened Equipment Torrid Jacket
Hyperlite Junction 55 Backpack
Nemo Tensor Insulated Sleeping Pad
7even Merino Wool Beanie – I usually get this from Amazon. This beanie goes with me on every hike no matter what type of season. It always provides some amount of warmth whether wet or dry. It dries in a flash and is super light.
One of the things that helps me with hiking is a book. And usually my book is on my phone in my Kindle. I find that on a lot of winter trips or just any trip, I like to read a little bit before I go to sleep. Being a SciFi geek I like my fiction books and the one I’ve been reading is Sliggers. It’s fiction and horror but I enjoy it.
Join Our Mailing List and Get 10% Off Your First Order
Cincinnati
Recent Comments