Backpacking in the Flat Tops Wilderness, Colorado

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Over Labor Day Weekend I explored the Flat Tops Wilderness in Colorado for the first time. It has been on my bucket list of places to backpack for some time now, but for one reason or another I just hadn’t made it there yet. With 110 lakes in the wilderness, the Flat Tops can be known for mosquitos if you go too early in the summer. Labor Day Weekend seemed like the perfect time to go as mosquitos would be mostly non-existent (thankfully, I was right on that one!) and with September being the least rainy month in Colorado, the weather was looking perfect.

On Friday after Mike and I finished work, we drove from Summit County to car camp at one of the campsites near Trappers Lake, which was right by the trailhead we were planning to start from. Our plan the next day was to hike in to Upper Island Lake to meet some new friends we had recently made, Tim and Kelly, who had been lucky enough to leave work early on Friday to start their backpacking trip a day earlier than us.

We started our adventure on Saturday morning by walking along the shoreline of Trappers Lake. The trip started with beautiful views right off the bat, with a calm morning providing us some beautiful reflections of the mountains on the lake. In the first few miles of the day, the impact from the Big Fish wildfire that happened in 2002 was still very apparent with vast areas of dead trees for miles. It almost felt apocalyptic at times. Moments like these never fail to remind you what a force Mother Nature can be.

Dead trees from Big Fish wildfire

Mike and I before Parvin Lake

Our initial impression of the Flat Tops was that they were a really cool change from the more typical jagged peaks one sees in Colorado, considering the tops of the mountain were, well, flat. We stopped for a snack at Parvin Lake and started to keep an eye out for our friends as they were supposed to be camping in that area the night before. While the lake was calling our names to try a few casts, we continued on as we had a good number of miles ahead of us and wanted to catch up to our friends. We later learned that our friend Tim had caught 4 fish in the tarns in that area. There are quite a few tarns above Parvin Lake, each more picturesque than the last.

Parvin Lake

Looking down the valley we just walked up

Tarn above Parvin Lake

Mike taking in the "flat top" we were on

A little before noon, we made it to the spot overlooking our destination, Upper Island Lake. We took a few moments at that spot to have a snack, take in the view, and see if we could see any signs of our friends setting up camp at the lake. Because our friends were going to look for a campsite in quite a broad area, we had previously made a plan that Tim and Kelly would leave a note at the intersection of Island Lakes Trail and Deer Lake Trail letting us know where their location was. When we got to the intersection, their note said “Looking for campsite. 11:45am.” We waited for them at the intersection as we knew they would come back to update the note, and we didn’t have to wait more than 5 minutes until we saw Tim, Kelly, and their dog, Max. They hadn’t yet found a campsite they liked well enough yet so we found one together.

The views couldn’t have been more perfect from where we decided to pitch our Big Agnes tent. Near high alpine lakes are always my favorite spots to camp. We always make sure to abide by wilderness guidelines, which in this case required 100 ft from the lake. By the time we set up our tent, it was still early afternoon so we decided to have a try at catching some fish.

I had quite a few nibbles, but only ended up bringing one fish in, which turned out to be my only fish of the trip. I think it was one of the biggest I have ever caught in an alpine lake. We typically practice catch and release and let the fish go. Mike also was successful with a fish of his own, as were Kelly and Tim.

Camp above Upper Island Lake

Not a bad view to wake up to

My one and only fish of the trip

Kelly fishing with Tim and Max in the background

The next morning we woke up to frost on the inside of our tent and all of the water we had left outside was totally frozen. I think it may have been one of the coldest nights I’ve spent backpacking. After that trip I was ready to trade my 20 degree F Western Mountaineering sleeping bag in for a 0 degree bag. Thankfully, the Colorado sun melted our ice back into water pretty quickly, and we enjoyed another very calm, beautiful morning at camp. I tried my luck at fishing again, but had no action, and decided the fish must still be asleep.

We packed up camp and started towards out towards Surprise Lake, our destination for that evening. Along the way we passed by Deer Lake that had a hunting tent set up next to it, but no sign of hunters. We stopped at this lake for a quick snack and decided to continue on.

On our way down to Deer Lake

Deer Lake

We made it to Surprise Lake by mid-afternoon and after setting up camp, we fished for the rest of the afternoon. I had no luck, but Mike caught another fish and Kelly caught a few more. I don’t think we saw a single cloud all day, and all of that sunshine and hiking had us ready to head to sleep shortly after dinner. Thankfully, this night wasn’t as cold and our water wasn’t frozen the next morning.

On our way to Surprise Lake

Surprise Lake

View from our campsite

Mike trying his luck at fishing on Surprise Lake

After breakfast, we packed up camp and started our several mile hike back to the car. We were back at the car by early afternoon, said our goodbyes, and headed back to reality. This trip was likely our last backpacking trip of the year because of how cold it is starting to get at night.

Heading out from camp on our last day

Which way from here?

Last few miles

Made a new friend

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend spent getting to know some new friends in one of Colorado’s prettiest wildernesses. We only saw a handful of people over the weekend. With over 100 lakes, beautiful views, and hardly any people, we will surely be back to the Flat Tops the next chance we get.