The sensation of telemarking down into the Waterpocket Fold is hard to describe. Six hundred feet above the highway the slope flattens to form a bench. This hummocky landscape, which completely surrounds Boulder Top, is the result of complex landslides. As the protective lava cap of Boulder Top erodes, the rimming cliffs collapse, and the terrain flows downhill. In fall, the season is proclaimed by a forest of blazing reds and brazen yellows.
Winter presents a more subdued beauty.
Bare-branched aspens cast a filigreed pattern of shadows upon velvety snow. Their ivory boughs weave an intricate tapestry against an indigo sky. Squinted eyes reveal jeweled crystals of gold, ruby, emerald and sapphire prisms - sequins in a treasure chest of light. At Scout Lake the trail turns south and follows a stock driveway steeply to the rim. It is the other kind - the kind where you should be prepared to leave a broken vehicle on the mountain and still be able to get to work on Monday.