Mountain Range: Pioneer Mountains

Map: USGS Star Hope Mine

Peaks Climbed: Scorpion Mountain (10,545 feet), Pincer Peak (10,650 feet), and Antares Peak (10,651 feet)

Access

Copper Creek Road/Garfield GS Access [(E)(1) on Page 261]. Here are more detailed driving directions. From US-20 at the north end of Carey, turn west onto [signed] Little Wood Reservoir Road. Reset your odometer here. At 13.7 miles, go straight (left is signed High Five Road). At 14.7 miles, go left (right is signed Flat Top Road). At 20.1 miles, go left (right is signed for the Flat Top Ranch). At 23.3 miles, reach the spur road for the Muldoon Canyon Ranch.

Go straight to stay on Copper Creek Road. At 23.6 miles, reach the Muldoon Canyon Road/FSR-126 (right). Stay straight on Copper Creek Road. At 25.3 miles, reach a cattle guard and the National Forest boundary. At 26.0 miles, reach the Copper Creek Campground. At 26.1 miles, reach a signed road junction. Go right/north and drive 0.7 miles up a rugged 2-track road to its end at the mouth of Garfield Canyon. Park here [6,910 feet; 43⁰37’09.1”N, 113⁰55’41.6”W].

Motorized access up Garfield Canyon ends here. The old Garfield FS Guard Station is long gone and there are no remnants of it remaining. This 3-peak adventure covers 9.5 miles with 5,050 feet of elevation gain round trip.

Map Errors

Contrary to the USGS topo map, there is only a foot trail for the first mile up into Garfield Canyon. The old road is simply gone.

The Garfield Canyon Approach, Class 2

The Climb

From the parking area at the trailhead (and mouth of Garfield Canyon), hike up a foot trail into Garfield Canyon. The trail is initially in an old road bed. The road bed ends fairly soon and the trail becomes a pathetic, overgrown, narrow foot trail that is difficult to follow. About a mile up Garfield Canyon, find an old mining road (shown on maps) that heads left/west from the middle of the drainage up onto the west side of the drainage.

Hike up the old, overgrown, 2-track mining road for a short distance as it switchbacks right/northeast and follows the Garfield Canyon drainage. Reach a major switchback that heads left/west-southwest and goes well up and away from the creek drainage. Either continue to follow the weaving road and follow other mining roads higher up that head toward the east fork of Garfield Canyon OR leave the road here (as I did) and bushwhack up the west side of the drainage in sagebrush to more directly reach the major fork in the canyon at 7,700 feet.

The terrain is thick-ish grass and scrub with some meager game trails. Not a whole lot of fun. From the fork, bushwhack east in easier grass and scrub to find another canyon fork with small streams on either side of a forested shoulder. This shoulder is the west rib of Scorpion Mountain. Its toe is at about 8,000 feet.

Scorpion Mountain (10,545’)

West Rib/South Ridge, Class 3

The Climb

Climb east up the rib in a mix of scrub and aspens/pines with a game trail of sorts on the ridge crest. Higher up, the trees end and the ridge becomes a steep-ish talus/scree climb. Angle right/south across a minor gully onto a better, forested ridge. That ridge is the continuation of the west rib. If you were to continue directly ahead, the west rib ends and a very steep, rocky, ugly face awaits you. Follow a game trail through thick pine forest to reach its south side and open sagebrush.

Climb east up this steepening rib with scattered pines and much rockier terrain. The Class 2+ terrain is a mix of talus/scree, gravel patches, rocky outcrops, and scrub. Scramble up onto the south ridge in open, steep rock with rocky outcrops to boot (Class 3 work). Once on the south ridge, head left/northeast up the Class 3 ridge crest with endless rocky outcrops, ridge rock, and talus. Reach the southwest summit hump. Continue scrambling northeast to the official summit of Scorpion Mountain.

North Ridge, Class 3

The Descent

From the northeast summit, descend northeast then left/north-northwest amidst many rocky ridge outcrops to reach flatter, easier ridge rock. The final descent to the 10,020-footconnecting saddle with Pincer Peak requires some Class 3 maneuvers through ridge outcrops on the narrow ridge crest.

Pincer Peak (10,650’)

South Ridge, Class 2+

The Climb

From the 10,020-foot connecting saddle with Scorpion Mountain, scramble north-northwest and skirt the left/west side of a ridge hump in mostly rocky terrain with some minor goat trails. Reach a higher saddle at 10,140 feet. Continue north-northwest in endless rock on a narrow ridge crest to reach the false summit hump. Continue north to the true summit.

West Ridge, Class 3

The Descent

From the summit, downclimb west then northwest on a narrow, rocky ridge crest (Class 3 with some minor ridge towers) to reach the 10,060-foot connecting saddle with Antares Peak.

Antares Peak (10,651’)

East Ridge, Class 3

The Climb

From the 10,060-foot connecting saddle with Pincer Peak, scramble northwest then west up through a mess of ridge outcrops, ridge rock, ledges, and large boulders to reach a false summit. Continue southwest to the double-cairned, dual summit humps of Antares Peak. The second hump has triangulation sticks on it and is probably the official high point.

Southwest Ridge, Class 3

The Descent

From the summit, descend southwest in steep ridge rock (Class 3 downclimbing) then steep, loose talus/scree (Class 3) to reach a high ridge saddle with Point 10249 to the west. Continue west along the easy ridge crest of short scrub and scree up to another saddle that is 20 feet higher. From this saddle, leave the ridge and contour southwest then west to skirt underneath Point 10249. This is a bit challenging early on with loose, angled scree/gravel with only a little help from the scrub. Descend about 20 vertical feet in this section and cross a gully.

Continue contouring west in better scrub but with loose scree/gravel remaining underneath. Descend more to cross a second gully. From this gully, contour west in stable scrub to quickly regain the crest of the southwest ridge. Follow this splendid, open ridge southwest then south all the way down toward the mouth of Garfield Canyon. The ridge terrain is a mix of scrub and stable ground scree. There are some minor ridge outcrops and a section of pines (and rougher ridge outcrops to skirt) midway down. Finally, descend a thick face of sagebrush and other brush that is truly miserable. Aim to intercept a 2-track road at a sharp bend. Follow this 2-track east then south back to the parking area at the mouth of Garfield Canyon.