We hired a private guide to go to the Anasazi ruins in Ute Mountain Park.  This was spectacular.  The drive out (on dirt roads about 50 miles or so) was amazing and worth it by itself.  You must have a Ute with you to go back in the canyons and mesas.  I have never been as far away from “civilization” as when we were these canyons and on the mesas.  You cannot hear anything except the wind and birds.  The silence was spectacular along with the views.  When you are at the top of the mesa you do not even realize (and cannot tell) that just over the trees is a drop of 1,000+ feet.

The Anasazi ruins here are very different than in Mesa Verde.  They may have been stabilized in some areas, but not rebuilt.  There are also not the restrictions on getting close.  These ruins are 800 years old and sometimes you can almost feel the Anasazi still there.  The Utes always said the Anasazi medicine was strong and they did not go back in the canyons for years because they were afraid of that medicine.

We saw what is called 45 Degree House and She House first.  45 Degree House was supposedly a storage facility and She House was a ceremonial location.  She House got its name from some bones that were found when the Utes were cutting a trail between the two houses.

At the end of dirt road we went to 4 sites.  The first site had a “tower” which the Anasazi used to communicate.  Tower after tower are in line of site down through the canyons to warn of danger (think Lord of the Rings warning system).  The ruins are just that, ruins; however, there is still a lot of structure left.  You can tell how the Anasazi cooked and lived.  There were also kivas so you can tell how they worshiped.  The last of the ruins had a 38-foot ladder.  I must admit my legs got a little queasy going up the ladder.  After the ladder though it got worse.  One part of the ledge was slopped (probably a 15 degree angle so not huge) and the slope went right off into a 70-100 foot fall straight down.  I was hugging the side.  The Anasazi went up and down on what had to have been 70-foot ladders.  I cannot imagine doing that with water on your back.

As we were leaving the park we passed some petroglyphs and the largest kiva I have ever seen.  I believe it is bigger than any of the ones in Mesa Verde.  It was really just a circular depression and there is no plan to excavate.  The path to the kiva had literally thousands of pieces of broken pottery.  You can just go off the trail and pick it up.  You cannot take it however.  I would guess we picked up 20 pieces (and left them for others to see).  You do not want to take the pottery pieces with you because it brings bad luck and I’m not so sure the Anasazi wouldn’t follow you home.  No one knows for sure why there are some many broken pieces in that area.  The guide thought it was because it was a large gathering place and no one wanted to carry the pottery home.  My dad had a better thought (in my mind) and said he thought it was part of a ceremony.  I think that makes a lot more sense, kind of like the breaking of plates/glasses in some cultures.

If anyone is in the Southwest Colorado area and is looking for something to do without hundreds of people, check this out.  You have to make reservations in advance and I would recommend not going in summer because I would bet the heat would be unbearable (our guide said 120 degrees in the canyons in the middle of summer).  Late September was perfect though.

The hike itself is absolutely worth it.  Before the tree line you are surrounded by beautiful trees, including aspens.  The vistas you can see throughout the hike are amazing.  You can look back and see the valley with Estes Park on one side.  On other sides there are even higher mountains.  We were there in September and there was still snow.  You can still see glaciers in their valleys high in the mountains.  There are two lake overlooks, Dream Lake and Emerald Lake and from several thousand feet above them, they are spectacular.  We did not see any animals other than birds, chipmunks and squirrels.

When we were getting towards the top of Flattop Mountain, it started clouding up.  We were talking to a local hiker and she said as long as you see any blue in the sky, there should not be lightening, but the second you hear thunder or there is no more blue anywhere, get below the tree line.  She said the clouds have to be bumping together to cause lightening up there and you certainly do not want to be the tallest thing.

It is really cool to see the transition from trees, to smaller trees, to shrubs to ground cover as you hit the “tree line”.  Each region has its own sort of beauty.

The top of Flattop Mountain is actually a little hard to determine.  I was hoping for a, “here is the peak at 12,324 feet, but there wasn’t anything.  I’m sure we were at the top because there was nothing higher (except a few other peaks around us).  Right before the top there is a triangular set of logs.  I didn’t get a picture, but I believe it is a hitching post.  You don’t see those every day.

This road is a little scary because there are no guardrails and it is thousands of feet down if you went off the edge.  It is also pretty cool because every 50 feet or so there are poles stuck in the ground that I assume measure snow drifts across the road.  I can’t imagine being up there in winter.  It would be unbearably cold.

After we walked up the rocks, which in parts are pretty steep so bring your hiking shoes, we took off through the trees in the direction we assumed the trail would be.  We finally found it, but it might have been better to go back the way we started and take the trail from there.

Mills Lake was amazing for its solitude.  There were a few hikers back there, but they were all quiet and just enjoying the sights.  The hike out to Mills Lake is not easy, but it is not terribly strenuous.  There is some altitude gain (I believe a little less than 1,000 feet), but not enough to worry too much about and the lake itself is a little below 10,000 feet so you should be okay.

The views on the trail to Mills Lake are simply amazing.  You follow a gorge cut by a glacier (hence Glacier Gorge trailhead) and it winds through trees, across rocks and around the edge of cliffs.  Much of the trail also follows a river so the sound of running water is always with you.  Because you are pretty high at points you can see off in the valley with Estes Park and you can see some of the peaks including Flattop Mountain.

All in all, this is a great medium hike with views and scenery that can’t be beat.

The park rangers were extremely nice (and there are a lot of them).  This is an easy place to get started in RMNP.