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Trappers Lake: Hiking in the ‘Cradle of Wilderness’Trappers Lake: Hiking in the 'Cradle of Wilderness'

Trappers Lake: Hiking in the ‘Cradle of Wilderness’

Flat Tops Wilderness | Friday – Sunday, July 18-20, 2025

This weekend I set out to finish what I had hoped to accomplish during the last weekend in June by heading up into the Flat Tops Wilderness to hike a few of the trails that surround Trappers Lake in this ‘Cradle of Wilderness.’ I had actually planned to go on this trip late last month but during the drive between Rifle and Meeker I had some issues with my Jeep and ended up having to return home, which not only ruined my weekend plans but was also the last straw with my Jeep and part of the reason I am now driving a 4Runner. This time I left after work on Friday and had no issues with the drive to Trappers Lake. Since all my hiking was planned around Trappers Lake and dispersed camping is not allowed in the immediate area, I grabbed an open campsite at the Himes Peak Campground which is right along the North Fork of the White River and only a few of the sites were occupied, which was nice. With my campsite secured for the weekend I continued down the road to the Scotts Lake Trailhead and hiked down to the shore of Trappers Lake.

CONTINUE READINGTrappers Lake: Hiking in the ‘Cradle of Wilderness’
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Three Baldy Mountains in the West Elk WildernessThree Badly Mountains in the West Elk Wilderness

Three Baldy Mountains in the West Elk Wilderness

Friday & Saturday, September 9-10, 2022

This weekend I needed to be home on Sunday to get prepared for an upcoming river trip, but I still wanted to make sure I got out into the mountains for a hike on Saturday morning. I was originally thinking about heading up into the San Juan Mountains somewhere, but the weather forecast for that part of the state wasn’t looking too good, so I had to look elsewhere for a more favorable forecast. After getting a little taste of the West Elk Wilderness on our failed backpacking trip last month, I decided to head back up into the West Elk Mountains this weekend to hike a couple ‘Baldy Mountains’ from the southern end the range. Since Diane and I had hiked though part of the very scenic Mill Creek valley last time, this time I wanted to stay high on the ridges above treeline for more expansive views of the area.

CONTINUE READINGThree Baldy Mountains in the West Elk Wilderness
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Sleepy Cat Peak & The Devils CausewaySleepy Cat Peak & The Devils Causeway

Sleepy Cat Peak & The Devils Causeway

A Long Overdue Return to The Flat Tops
Friday – Sunday, June 22-24, 2018

Earlier this year while planning our Memorial Day weekend trip to Dinosaur National Monument, I was scrolling around a map online and it took off on me in the wrong direction and stopped near a mountain called Sleepy Cat Peak (10,853) in the Flat Tops of Colorado. I had never heard of this peak before, but with a name like that I knew we would have to climb it this summer! After looking online for a little bit more information about the peak I found out that it’s actually the 52nd most prominent peak in Colorado with 2,348 feet of prominence. Since this peak is not very high by Colorado standards, we figured it would make a good easy mountain to climb at the beginning of our season this summer to help us start getting back into shape again. Plus, it’s been at least eight years since the last time I visited the Flat Tops, so I’ve been long overdue for a return visit to this area.

CONTINUE READINGSleepy Cat Peak & The Devils Causeway
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