Mount Antero
It was a beautiful day when we started this trail run. The start of the trail is well marked and a little rocky as it climbs quickly through the trees. The views along this part of the trail were limited by the dense foliage but we got occasional glimpses that let us know how far we had climbed.
At about 2.6 miles we came to the first intersection. From here you can go forward to Baldwin Lake or follow Baldwin Creek to the left and go on up to Mt Antero. There is a nice stream crossing at this intersection also.
We continued on up to Mount Antero. Pretty soon, we encountered one of the few vehicles we saw on the trail, an H3. This was the first H3 we had ever seen on the trail so it was a memorable experience.
At about four miles in we emerged from the trees into a large rocky area. The trail had been recently graded so it was not hard to follow. At this point the trail became pretty steep and narrow as it winded its way up the mountain side. Fortunately, we could see traffic a long way off. Places to pass are few and far between.
At one point, we encountered a rental Jeep coming downhill very quickly. We thought he would pull over long before he got to us but he didn't. We pulled as far to the uphill side that we could and he kept coming. He finally stopped on the very edge of the road with a very steep, several hundred foot drop just inches from his front tire. His passenger didn't seem too happy about where he was, or even happy about the trip. We very slowly crawled past him and then proceeded on our way.
Pretty soon we came to the second intersection. Road 278B goes off to the right and off toward White Mountain. There is a whole network of trails over there that would have to wait for another day. They are all dead ends, but it might be fun to explore them anyway someday. Road 278A goes toward the top of Mount Antero so that is the way we went.
At this point the road gets really steep and narrow. Any long wheelbase vehicle would probably need to make multi-point turns at the switchbacks.
We encountered some hikers along this section at about 13,800 feet. The road does not go all the way to the top, and it stops at an excavation at 13,900 feet. We saw a lot of rock hounds here looking for aquamarine. We didn't see any aquamarine though, and one person we talked to said they were striking out.
The views up here were fantastic! It had gotten cold though, and there was rain and lightning coming so we decided to head down the mountain to have lunch. We stopped for lunch in a little meadow and enjoyed our lunch before heading down the rest of the way. We had a great time on this trail.
Reports from Other Days: 5
Use the arrows or dots to flip through the previews of the other reports for Mount Antero. Click one of them to read more and see all of the photos from that day.
