In what has now become an annual trip, I returned to Boulder Top with Chris and we hiked to Government Point and Trail Point. I wanted to visit each named point on the plateau, and after this outing I only have one left, South Point. We camped at our usual spot along Pine Creek, just inside the forest boundary a few miles from the Aquarius ranger station. I shamelessly like that spot because it’s warm at night and there’s good cell service. 😀
View from camp toward Thousand Lake Mountain
In the morning we drove to the top of Boulder Mountain and, only a third of a mile after reaching the plateau, parked the Jeep and started hiking toward Government Point. The hike was through relatively flat and open country, hovering right around 11,000′ elevation, and occasionally broken by a lake or pine grove or patch of boulders. We saw a herd of pronghorn in the distance near Grass Lake, but we were far enough away not to spook them.
Government Point Trail sign
Columbine
Lightning Lake
Lake 10,979′
Trail marker
Trail
Pronghorn in the distance
Grass Lake
We arrived at Torgerson Lake to find a large grassy meadow instead of a lake. After checking out the cabin on the east side of the lake I found a broken point and a few lithic flakes. Next we entered the trees and walked toward the far northern edge of the plateau. We got to a place where we’d have to drop a couple hundred feet down a steep timbered slope to continue to Governent Point. I was already a little tired by then and we both decided we really didn’t want to climb back up on the return trip. Instead we walked about a third of a mile until we found a good view of Government Point from half a mile away. Perhaps that doesn’t count as actually visiting the point if I didn’t stand on it–we’ll have to see if I ever feel like returning to do the job right.
Torgerson Lake
Torgerson Lake cabin
Cabinet and broken Coke bottle
Bed frame and table
Broken point
North end of Torgerson Lake
Zombie cow
Steep drop
Government Point view
Government Point panorama
We took a slightly different return route, parallelling our original path half a mile or more to the east all the way back to the Jeep. We topped a small rise and came face-to-face with the pronghorn we’d seen earlier. I’d never seen them at that high an elevation before. It was neat getting a closer look at them, and they seemed equally intent on us. I found another broken point, probably about the sixth one I’ve ever found above 10,000′ elevation. Our route took us a little out of the way to Snow Lakes, then we had to cut directly west to reach the Jeep.
Pronghorn
Broken point
Large cairn
Snow Lakes panorama
We’d hiked nearly ten miles and were ready to make camp early. We wanted a spot somewhere with cell service again but didn’t want to drive too far down off Boulder Top, so we ended up at the end of a logging road just west of Cook Lake. Fire restrictions were in place so we hung out around a propane fire. Sunset that evening was wonderful despite being partially obstructed by trees.
Saturday’s camp
Saturday’s sunset
Saturday’s sunset
Sunday found us driving across Boulder Top to its south side. We parked at Horseshoe Lake for the hike to Trail Point. This time there was a trail the entire way, but initially we went off-trail for a quick jaunt to Ledge Lake. The lake is a mere 170 feet from the edge of the plateau and we walked over to get a nice view into the East Fork of Boulder Creek.
Chonky marmot
Horseshoe Lake
Ledge Lake
View along the East Fork of Boulder Creek
View toward Trail Point
We re-joined the trail and followed it south past several lakes. The trail was difficult to discern beyond the junction with the Spectacle Lake Trail, but it was all easy walking except for the last quarter-mile or so where there was no clear path through the trees. We reached Trail Point, where the trail drops down into the East Fork, and enjoyed the expansive view across Escalante country. The hike back to the Jeep was a breeze and we ended up clocking a little under six miles total.
Back on the trail
East Lake
Clearing north of Trail Point
Boulder hopping to the point
View from Trail Point toward Bowns Point
Grass Lake
Trail Point
Navajo Mountain 80 miles away
View to South Point
I think after I eventually make it to South Point to finish this goal, my next several objectives on Boulder Top will be to visit every named lake, drive every road, and hike every trail trail on the USGS topo map. I’m already well on my way to all three of those so it may only take a few more trips to make it happen.
Photo Gallery: Boulder Top: Government and Trail Points