Highlights
This trip delivers quite a few features in a comfortable package. It’s an easy hike - only about an hour with moderate elevation gain - has a well maintained road to the trailhead, leads through a meadow with flowers, then to an interesting mining shack, a wonderful ridge excursion, and finally a scree scramble to the top of Ohio Peak.
Parking is at the same place as for the Anvil Mountain trip, and a short walk on the road leads to a trail that probably was pounded by the miner’s mule many years ago. The shack, perched on a windswept ridge, must have been a bit uncomfortable even while it was in prime condition.
Your route is visible from the parking area and the walk along the ridge provides views into Cement Creek to the east and the basins along Hwy. 550 to the west. Ohio Peak has a large cairn and 360 degree views. The everpresent reflector on McMillan Peak is visible to the north, as are the Red Mountains.
For the return trip from the trailhead you may want to continue on San Juan County. Rd. 14 all the way to Red Mountain Pass for a spectacular drive through the high country. A high clearance vehicle is recommended for this section of the road.