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

       The Oyster Lake Trail is one of the longest in the wilderness.

      After leaving Swede Lake, Trail 1825 heads upward again, roughly following another intermittent drainage for a little more than a mile. Near the top of the draw, you can connect with Trail 2248, which will take you north down Papoose Creek.

      From the junction with Trail 2248, 1825 trends southeast and takes you along the edge of the cliff face above Peltier Basin. You will want to take plenty of water on this stretch to prevent dehydration, as none is available along the trail.

      As you ascend the gently sloping plateau, notice that the drop-off gradually increases from 600 feet, just above Swede Lake, to 1,200 feet where you view Peltier Lake, a mile to the west.

      Hiking 5 miles south from Swede Lake on Trail 1825 takes you to the junction of Trail 2255, leading down Hill Creek. Clam Lake, the first available water along Trail 1825 after leaving Swede Lake, is a half mile farther south. From Clam Lake, the trail takes an easterly direction, where you walk in the open across a grassy flat. Near the next timber, Trail 2256 connects from the south.

      Trail 1825 again enters the trees and descends a gentle slope. It emerges at Johnson Park, a long, narrow meadow a mile farther east on the trail. Here, you’ll cross Ute Creek, which heads in Papoose Lake, a half mile to the south.

      East of Johnson Park, the trail wanders through broken country, a mix of timber and open meadows. These areas can be good places to watch for elk. You will appreciate a pleasant feature of the Flat Tops on this part of the trail: it’s nearly flat for 16 miles, having only moderate changes in elevation.

      From Johnson Park east, the basalt-covered plateau is pockmarked with dozens of pothole lakes, their shallow depressions scraped out by Pleistocene glaciers. The next such lake you’ll come to along the trail is Oyster Lake, a quarter mile north of Trail 1825 along Trail 1824, which gives access to West Marvine and Ute Creeks to the north. If you want to camp here, try the timber on the northeast side.