After reading some trip reports about trespassing issues I decided to call the Carson National Forest ranger station before going. They said there were not any issues in climbing the peak. To be sure, I asked to be connected with someone a little higher up and they said the same thing, that there were not any issues in climbing the peak. I am sure that there are some situations circling the peak that need to be handled with respect, but for the most part anyone that wants to climb this peak can do so without concern.
I tried to get numerous friends and family members to go with me on this hike but to no avail, so I defaulted to my 2 year old wirehaired fox terrier Captain. His brother Major gets car sick and threw up in the SUV both ways on his first and last trip. I do not trust either dog to stay with me like my last peakbagging dog Daisy, but this hike had lots of open space so I felt it was a great place for training. He was so excited to go he moaned with happiness.
I pondered different ways to hike the peak and considered hiking in directly from the west, which would have been shorter than the route I took, but coming in directly from the south seemed the most interesting to me. Just south of the peak, on Highway 285, I took Forest Road 87 west for 2.1 miles and stopped at a fence line that ran towards the mountain. No need for a 4WD to get here. I left my home at 4:20 AM, June 28, 2017, and was hiking at 7:20. It was a cloudless clear day, but there was a tiny bit of smoke haze from some distant forest fires. The temperature was just right. My starting elevation was 8550 feet. I started hiking the fence line north. The views are spectacular! I could see as far north as some Colorado 14K peaks, moving south; Stateline Peak, the Latir Mountains, Taos Mountains, and the Pecos Wilderness in the far southern distance. I had never seen Brazos Peak nor Grouse Mesa, but they could been seen to the west with snow still covering parts of them. After following the fence line, I veered to the west and up a ridge. San Antonio Mountain is a volcanic dome that looks like an upside-down bowl. Looking around you can see 5 or 6 more of these volcanic “bowls” in the distance, but this is the highest. Very interesting geology in the area! I was hiking over some small remains of volcanic scoria rock, mixed with a beautiful variety of native grasses, mixed with wildflowers. Most of the scoria had a beautiful mix of colorful lichen on the rocks. It was a little awkward to hike on, but not too bad. After bushwhacking so much this year the open space felt wonderful! Areas of the peak are forested, and there are beautiful aspen groves in different locations on the mountain. This would be a great peak to hike when the leaves are changing color. Hiking up the mountain, the grade varied from between 14 and 27 degrees. I hiked to Antone Peak, elevation 10,890 first. I crossed through a thick aspen forest to get there. This is the peak to really enjoy the mountain top! San Antonio Mountain is covered with towers, electronic equipment and no views. On the south end of the peak is a small old abandoned log cabin, the survey marker, and a beautiful meadow with nice views. Captain did really well on the hike minus a few little problems at the start. He explored the old cabin. I took my time coming up the mountain, taking lots of pictures, and arrived at the top after hiking 3.9 miles in almost 3 hours. My elevation gain 2471 feet from the start. To get to San Antonio Mountain, elevation 10,908, I had to do some bushwhacking through a beautiful aspen and confer forest. It is a mile hike and took about 35 minutes. The total elevation gain from the start was 2729 feet and it was 11:00 AM. For being such a beautiful hike, the mountain top is not very nice with all the towers etc… I had difficulty getting a peak picture of myself and my dog that did not have equipment in the way. To return, I hiked the far east side of Antone Peak, crossing meadows and having to do some forest bushwhacking, then straight down south side of the mountain. At the edge of the forest, and the start of the descent, Captain and I stopped under a tree for a snack and to enjoy the views. We returned the same way we came. It felt nice going the other way. We arrived back at the car after traveling 9.4 miles. Total time from start to finish with some stops was 6 hours and 40 minutes. It was 2:10 PM and still clear and beautiful. The total up-down elevation gain was 3016 feet. This is Captain’s third peakbagging trip and he did so well I might take him more.