Backpacking in Colorado Flat Tops Wilderness - Day 4

Day 4 or our 5 day backpacking trip through the Flat Tops Wilderness in Colorado. This day took us from Wall Lake over many majestic passes and past Island Lakes which was the highlight of the day in my humble opinion. We finished our day at Deer Lake which was absolutely spectacular. Smoke from the wild fires had definitely made its way into our landscape, but to be quite honest it didn't detract that much from the beauty that was presented to us. I hope you enjoy and Happy Trails to ALL....
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[Chompchompyerded]

A little disappointing to hear that you only did the eastern end of the Flat Tops. I was hoping to see a few areas closer to where I grew up over at the western end of the Tops. I've spent plenty of time in that area too though, and it will be fun to see what you come across over there. You'll see Shingle Peak, which as I mentioned in the last video is an old blown out and eroded volcanic crater of the Sleepy Cat formation. Not sure which route you're going to take, but we'll soon see. There are fascinating sights to see either way. If you head south and then west you'll see Shingle Peak which as I've said in one of the previous videos is an ancient volcano. One way or the other you're going to be near a lot of slide rock, and maybe somewhere along the way you'll see a whistle pig or a pika. If you go over bye the Middle Fork of Derby Creek you might see a perfectly round little pond which is actually an impact crater. The event probably took place less than 2, 000 years ago, though if anyone saw it happen, it is not something which stuck in any of the stories of the indigenous tribes of the area (mostly Utes). We know it is an impact crater though because of the presence of shocked quartz found in the immediate area. Most of the lakes and ponds in that valley are the product of glacial activity during the last ice age. Also, no matter which way you go, there will be areas where it will be difficult to follow the trail. We'll see how well you do. On with the video!
I see you're going south. Yes, there are fish in Wall Lake. In the fall they tend to stay to the bottom where they find plenty of nymphs hatching out. Unless you can get out to the middle of the lake and fish it with nymphs, it's unlikely that you'll catch anything at that time of the year. In the spring, it's almost the opposite. It's hard to keep them off your line. It all depends on what's hatching and what's emerging.
I know the trail you're traveling quite well. There are two marshes/bogs off to your left. They are quite large, and in the spring during the snow melt they are entirely underwater. Ducks, and sometimes a couple of geese will show up on those as soon as the ice is permanently off. The whole area gets loaded with waterfowl nests. As the water drains and evaporates during the course of the year, more and more nests are left high and dry. Every predator in the area ends up there looking for a quick snack of ducklings. Somehow, quite a few escape the hungry jaws. It's kind of funny to go walking through the area, then be startled by the whir of wings. Your first though is grouse, but as soon as you see it, you can tell you've scared up a duck right in the middle of what is now dry land. The duck will usually land a few yards away and try to get your attention. If you don't know the area and what happens there, you'll wonder what the hack that duck is up to, and wonder why the heck it's choosing to run around on dry land. The fact is that there are ducklings in the weeds, and mama duck is not so crazy. She's trying to lead you away from her ducklings. If you get really close or actually find them, momma duck will come up to you and try to nip you and will start whacking you with one of her wings. When it comes to protecting their babies, they're fearless.
At 2:34 into the video you can see Shingle Peak in the background. Its still a distance away, and I doubt you'll be going past it. The cutoff is well before it, and at that point you'll be heading east. Eventually you'll cross the headwaters of Lost Solar Creek, and a distance after that, the headwaters of the South Fork of the White. In one day you will have crossed both the North Fork and the South Fork of the major river which drains that area, and which eventually joins up with the Green River far to the west in Dinosaur National Monument.
At 3:05, y ou're crossing Lost Solar Creek. It's a beautiful little creek which eventually dumps into the South Before it gets there, it tumbles down a number of little waterfalls in a scenic cascade into the South Fork Valley. No flimsy bridges over the creeks up here like there were down at Trappers. This is get your feet wet and wear your boots dry country. When I was a kid, it was wear your sneakers dry though. I think I was 13 or 14 before I got my first set of hiking boots. Before that I'd been running all over that area in nothing but high top Keds. I even rode my hose in those sneakers. All that water is destined to eventually flow through our Ranch too.
All those skulls and bones are all that remains of Elk which were probably taken in the previous year. Hunters tend to leave the heads of the cow elk, and the bones of parts of the elk that don't have a lot of meat on them. Sometimes you'll come across a the complete scattered remains of one of the big animals. Usually what that represents is an animal which was shot, but ran away, then died, the hunter having either been unable to find it, or not wanting to bother to go looking for it. It makes me wish that the hunters would have to pass a proficiency test before going out. That's doubly true of the bow hunters who frequently fatally wound dear and elk which go off and die sometimes weeks later. I have on several occasions come across remains where a part of the arrow was to be found among the remains. I've never found a bullet in remains, but I have seen where bullets broke ribs or nicked a bone on it's way through. I shudder to think of the slow, agonizing deaths those animals went through.
Also, finally! A sign post that we had nothing to do with. I don't even know who put it up, but it's been there as long as I can remember.
5:19. The geology is you're looking at are the flood basalts which covered the are from fishers which were active from 300, 000 to 200, 000 years ago. A little evidence of the activity still shows up at places like Steamboat Springs and Glenwood Springs where the warm springs are still heated by the underlying rock. I talked about all of that in a previous episode. The basalts were heavily carved by the glaciers of the last glacial period. Many of the rounded rocks you see were deposited by the glaciers as they melted back. The multitude of U shaped valleys in the area were formed by glaciers descending off of the area during the last glaciation. That's pretty much the whole story until you get the the southeast end. The last active volcano of the area, and the only volcano in all of Colorado is there. It is called Dotsero, and is located just north of Interstate 70 and just east of the Colorado River. It last erupted around 3, 000 years ago. It is still considered active since every now and then a very small amount of steam can be seen rising from the ground in the crater. It is possible that it could erupt again in the future, but it is very unlikely.
At 7:44 Ah yes! finally a whistle pig. I'm surprised he's not whistling. To warn other whistle pigs that there is possible danger around, they will make a single shot high pitched chirp which my sister always used to say sounded like they were saying "bitch!" They usually aren't as friendly as that little fellow seems to be, and usually run away at the first sign of people... but not without first making that warning bark/chirp. At 8:24 you have discovered a whistle pig den. Both they and the little pikas harvest lots of grass throughout the summer and take it to their dens to use as bedding, and also to munch on during the winter months when they are in a semi-hibernating state. Sometimes coyotes will move into an abandoned burrow and use it for a den if it's big enough (and that one seems like it might be), but when they do that, they kick any remaining hay out, and each time they go in or out of it any remaining hay gets scattered. The hay pile at the front of that den doesn't look disturbed, and looks for all the world like a hay pile would if the whistle pig where at home.
8:35 Deer Lake. Between Deer lake and the Middle Fork of Derby Creek there is a perfectly circular lake/pond. It is a fairly recent impact crater of between 2 and 3 thousand years old. Core samples found shocked quartz all around the rim which is the evidence that it is in fact an impact crater. The pond is un-named, and is not visible in this view. It can be seen about a half a mile to the southeast of deer lake. It is surrounded by forest, so it's not easily visible from the trial, but you can see it from the southeast rim of Deer Lake. Maybe you'll have video of it from the lake.
9:00 You can just barely see the clearing where the impact crater is. It is directly east of the small pond which you can see in the valley directly in the centre of the view.
I've got a little story for ya about the Devil's Causeway which I'll share in the next video.