DEVIL’S CAUSEWAY
June 22, 1998
By Tim Briese
Our annual family camping trip with some of our relatives was set for the Stillwater Campground near Yampa, at the threshold of the Flat Tops Wilderness Area. I was eager to visit this new place I had never been to before. I pored over my maps and guidebooks ahead of time to see what hiking opportunities were available in the area. On a list of “Unique Geological Features of Colorado” I discovered the Devil’s Causeway, a narrow neck of rocky ridge just a few feet wide with cliffs dropping precipitously away several hundred feet below on each side. It was located near our campground, and I knew it was a place I had to go see.
A few weeks later when we were on our trip I left our campsite on a bright sunny morning with my wife Teresa, daughter Emily, brother-in-law Artie, and nephew Gabriel, and drove up the beautiful Bear River Valley a few miles to the trailhead. These adventurers all wanted to come along and hike at least partway up the trail, and perhaps have a look at the Causeway if possible. We followed a fine trail along grassy slopes above the north side of scenic Stillwater Reservoir, which lay below the steep walls of a grand escarpment across the valley to the south. Part of the reservoir just behind the dam was still covered with a shimmering coat of ice, and a fair amount of snow still lay on the higher slopes above.
After hiking nearly a mile we reached a trail junction and took a fork to the right and followed Forest Trail 1119 up into a basin to the northwest below the Causeway. There were numerous trees lying across the trail in wooded areas, resulting from a vicious windstorm that had taken place a few months before, which added a challenging twist to the hike. We hiked past Little Causeway Lake and ascended up into a snow-filled bowl above. It was rather tedious postholing up through the deep snow, but sheer exuberance induced by the majesty of this place buoyed us on. We lost the trail in the snow and resorted to following the tracks of a few others who had gone before. Most of the hikers in our party wore tennis shoes so wet feet soon became a problem. We worked our way up a steep slope at the head of the basin and topped out on the ridge above. At this point Teresa, Artie, and Gabriel decided that they had had enough excitement and elected to turn back.
Emily and I continued on and hiked up the ridge to the southwest toward the Causeway. We climbed steeply up a snow-covered slope, carefully staying a few feet away from a cliff that dropped away to the north. When we reached the top of the slope we stepped atop a minor summit and looked a short distance ahead to the Causeway, which lay on the ridge just beyond. It was indeed quite a remarkable place. The rocky ridge narrowed to about five feet wide over a length of about a hundred feet, with cliffs dropping away four to five hundred feet below on each side. I carefully proceeded to advance across the Causeway, dropping to my hands and knees on the narrowest sections. Our lab Allie accompanied me across, and she nonchalantly stepped right up to the brink and peered curiously over the edge, with an apparent level of comfort that considerably exceeded mine. Emily elected to remain on the near end of the Causeway and take photos while I went all the way across and then returned. From this lofty vantage point we admired the view far below to the Stillwater Reservoir and the valley we had come up.
After a few minutes we turned back and made a fast descent back down through the snow in the basin and regained the trail below. We overtook the rest of our party as they relaxed on the shore of a pond along the trail, and we joined them for a leisurely stroll back to the trailhead. In all, Emily and I hiked about five and a half miles and climbed 1600 feet of elevation gain on this outing. It was well worth the effort to see this unique and interesting place.
