Camping on Mount Antero Standard Route

[MichaelWG]

Yo - so I know from the West Slopes route description that there are some dispersed campsites around 10.8k along the road - can anyone give any information beyond that? (number, size, etc.)?

I was going to hike up Saturday afternoon from the lower trailhead and camp at those spots but I'm trying to get a feel for whether all of those sites will be occupied by Jeepers by the time I get there. If that ends up happening, are there any other places further along the road where dispersed camping is possible? From the topo it looks like there's another relatively flat area around 11.8k that could work.

Thanks!

[fahixson]

Granted it was 9 years ago, but we camped right at treeline on a mid-July weekend. It was in the trees to the right, close to Photo 4 in the route description, probably close to the 11,800' area you mentioned. We were the only ones camped there, but I'm guessing there would have been room for 2-3 cars at least. Kinda tricky finding level ground for a tent, but doable in a few places. I'm guessing the 4x4 crowd tends to camp lower and drive up during the day, but I haven't been there in a long time. We drove up on a Friday night and I don't recall anyone camping above the dispersed camping around 10,800. I remember a couple ATVs passing us on the hike up, but less traffic than I expected on the road on the way up in the early morning. We encountered a few more on the way down.

[TravelFar]

It was in the trees to the right, close to Photo 4 in the route description, probably close to the 11,800' area you mentioned.

Yeah I can confirm that fahixson's suggestion is feasible. The originalposter is concerned about the area being crowded, which is possible on a Saturday, so I guess you could continue to hike up beyond treeline if necessary to find solitude. At 12,200, the road switchbacks left (northeast), and there is a good flat campsite with a nice view, as long as the wind isn't too bad. I like to backpack in when possible, it's better than those loooong day trip hikes, so I wish you the best and hope you have fun!!! Lunch on the summit:

fullsizeoutput_b0.jpeg

[HikerGuy]

Sounds like you might be set on the West Slopes route, but if you are looking to backpack/camp, I think the Little Browns Creek route can't be beat. There's a nice camping area at treeline/11,800'. I've attached a route topo and photo of one of the campsites. EDIT: Easy 2WD dirt road to trailhead. The trail up is great and easy to follow. You can also come back down the road from the summit. We were gem hunting, so that's why we made a loop by dropping down the east ridge/south slopes from the summit.

little_browns_topo.jpg

little_browns_camp.jpg

[Trotter]

It was in the trees to the right, close to Photo 4 in the route description, probably close to the 11,800' area you mentioned.

Yeah I can confirm that fahixson's suggestion is feasible. The originalposter is concerned about the area being crowded, which is possible on a Saturday, so I guess you could continue to hike up beyond treeline if necessary to find solitude. At 12,200, the road switchbacks left (northeast), and there is a good flat campsite with a nice view, as long as the wind isn't too bad. I like to backpack in when possible, it's better than those loooong day trip hikes, so I wish you the best and hope you have fun!!! Lunch on the summit:
fullsizeoutput_b0.jpeg

Thats a great view... err of the mountains.


And I completely agree with the Little Browns creek suggestions. Tons of excellent spots, as you basically follow a creek till 13k. And no atvs or trucks blasting by your tent.

[MichaelWG]

Sounds like you might be set on the West Slopes route, but if you are looking to backpack/camp, I think the Little Browns Creek route can't be beat. There's a nice camping area at treeline/11,800'. I've attached a route topo and photo of one of the campsites. EDIT: Easy 2WD dirt road to trailhead. The trail up is great and easy to follow. You can also come back down the road from the summit. We were gem hunting, so that's why we made a loop by dropping down the east ridge/south slopes from the summit.

little_browns_topo.jpg

little_browns_camp.jpg

I'm actually not set on the west slopes route, and am now feeling more inclined to go with Little Browns. How close were the campsites around 11.8k to the creek? It's a little hard to tell on that screen shot (could be my shitty dell computer, but the creek/topo lines/route line are hard to distinguish).

[dwoodward13]

I'm actually not set on the west slopes route, and am now feeling more inclined to go with Little Browns. How close were the campsites around 11.8k to the creek? It's a little hard to tell on that screen shot (could be my shitty dell computer, but the creek/topo lines/route line are hard to distinguish).

I hiked Little Browns Creek up to Antero a few weeks ago. While I didn't see the site pictured, there was a really nice spot next to a large rock face with the creek near by. This would have been right at treeline, ~11.6k or so. The creek had a nice flow and was maybe 100 yards away. You wont be able to miss the rock face when you come upon it.

[HikerGuy]

It's a short walk, max. 100 yards from campsite to creek. I've attached a sat image of the location. If I remember correctly, there was a nice stump to hang my gravity filter on.

little_browns_campsite.png

[Deege]

Agree on the Little Brown's route. Saw maybe 2 people all day until we hit the merge with the standard route. Camping and water should not be an issue. I thought it may be appropriate to add that when I did this route two years ago at this time of year (6/11), there was still a good deal of unavoidable snow in the lower basin just above treeline. Perhaps dwoodward13 can fill you in on the conditions this year. We had firm snow going up in the a.m. but some significant post-holing on the descent. Just a thought to plug into your scouting. There are some good trip reports for this route (including a memorable one with a map in crayon) that will give you a good idea of what you'll encounter (and what you won't - 4x4s).

[Mtnman200]

Browns Creek also makes for a nice alternate route to Tabeguache and Shavano. You can easily add on Unnamed 13712 (a bicentennial) for a fun three-peak day.

[dwoodward13]

Agree on the Little Brown's route. Saw maybe 2 people all day until we hit the merge with the standard route. Camping and water should not be an issue. I thought it may be appropriate to add that when I did this route two years ago at this time of year (6/11), there was still a good deal of unavoidable snow in the lower basin just above treeline. Perhaps dwoodward13 can fill you in on the conditions this year. We had firm snow going up in the a.m. but some significant post-holing on the descent. Just a thought to plug into your scouting. There are some good trip reports for this route (including a memorable one with a map in crayon) that will give you a good idea of what you'll encounter (and what you won't - 4x4s).

Ya a few weeks ago there was one or two snowfields about 200 feet long just above treeline and that was it. I expect they are long gone now.

Another thing to keep in mind that lower down the trail passes very close to a creek bed that I'm 95% sure is Little Browns, but the weird thing was that it was totally dry. Further up where the campsite are the creek was flowing well, so I wouldn't get to worried if you cross near a creek bed and its dry. I think the water may have actually went underground for that section...it certainly was odd.

[Gene913]

+1 on Brown's Creek. Not to be confused with Little Brown's Creek

Sign at trailhead

In Roach's 14er book, this is Route 17R4

1.2 trailhead map.jpg

Campsite near Brown's Lake

1.9 campsite.JPG

Map of route from Brown's Lake to Antero

Jeep Road - Antero and Brown's Lake.gif

Like others, we did not see anyone on the trail up to Brown's Lake and on the route up to Antero we were able to watch the jeeps on the Baldwin Gulch standard route and except for the last bit to the summit, they were on their road and we were on our route, so no overlap.