The Hiking and Camping Guide to Colorado's Flat Tops Wilderness

Book excerpt: The Flat Tops Wilderness Area is unique, a high plateau at 11,000 feet. Its nearly flat surface is covered with woodlands and alpine meadows, pockmarked with hundreds of lakes and drained by mountain streams. The wilderness is accessed by a network of trails for hikers and horseback riders alike. A visitor could spend an entire season here and not see all of this magnificent wilderness. This book is the only comprehensive guide to the Flat Tops Wilderness. It gives detailed directions to each trailhead and describes what you will find along the many trails. You will discover the many wonders of the Flat Tops; its geologic history from the episodes of mountain building and subsistence, and inundation by warm seas; the periods of volcanism and succeeding ice ages; and the first visitors to this remarkable land. The wildlife of the region, the flora and fauna, the weather, and seasons are all described. You will also learn common sense ways to protect wilderness environment as well as yourself on a visit to this incomparable land.