Mount Antero (8/25/18)

Saturday 8/25/2018

After our Failed attempt on Gray’s and Torrey’s Peaks a few days ago, Mount Antero is to be my first 14er to conquer.  We started off early from Salida and reached the road to the trailhead right at dawn.  The road was very rough with lots of rocks and there were several spots where Dan or I would jump out of the truck to spot as Tim inched his way up the road.  We stopped briefly at Baldwin creek to take a picture of the trail sign and then continued on up the road to about 11,200 ft, leaving us a little over 3,000 ft to the top.

 

 

The 4X4 road continued on and we started walking the road to the top of the mountain.  As we began gaining elevation the views of the surrounding area were amazing.  I stopped several times and took pictures looking back into the valley we came from.  at about 13,000 ft the road reached a somewhat level area on the top of the ridge.  This continued on for about 3/4 mile before starting to climb up to a point at 13,800.

 

 

 

At 13,800 the road ended and we began a to cross a rocky ridge before the final summit.  The final 400 feet was a climb up loose rocks.  The trail was difficult to find in the loose rock and we continued our slow climb to the top of Mount Antero.  We reached the peak and bask in the 360 degree views from the top.  We took some time at the top to take pictures, make phone calls, and send text.  We grabbed a snack, took some time to enjoy the views and rest up before beginning our descent down the way we came.

 

 

Going back down was easier on the lungs, but harder on the knees and calves.  We worked our way through the ridge and were eventually back on the roadwalk back to the truck.  Some of the steep areas of the roadwalk had loose gravel and I fell a couple times going back down.  We eventually made it back to the truck and made our way back to Salida for another night before heading back to Oklahoma.

Mount Antero may not be the most glorious 14er, but it will always be remembered as my first – the first of many more to come.

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