Hike Anthony's Nose Franklin Mountains State Park, TX

Feb 24, 2022 — Anthony's Nose is a slightly more adventurous outing on the northern end of Franklin Mountains State Park than the popular Ron Coleman Trail to the south. I met up with friends Robert and Kevin, well-versed Las Cruces area explorers. They'd already hiked this peak, but seemed to like Anthony's Nose enough to repeat and show me the route. It was a nice day, though almost too windy for conversation, and I was certainly underdressed for the weather, as usual. Kevin, of course sticking to his masochistic brand, "...this way it won’t be too boring for you". I was surprised to see there was a social trail the entire way to the summit, but it's certainly less-visited and has plenty of off-trail vibes.

We entered the park, paid the entrance fee, and started along an unnamed trail that heads north to a minor saddle. This trail is eroded and clearly not maintained, ending at the saddle. Anthony's Nose becomes visible to the north well along the ridgeline. First we'd need to reach the ridgeline, so we started east along the fairly steep slope using a well-cairned social trail. Along the way we passed over a short section of Class 2+ limestone with light exposure before a final push to the ridge crest. The route is obvious from here, sticking more or less to the ridge high point except to avoid minor rock outcrops, never exceeding Class 2. A half mile or so along the rige the trail keeps to the right of a fairly major lump, avoiding some additional vertical gain.

A few minor ups and downs brought us to the base of a steeper section, still a bit away from the summit, where Class 2 on solid limestone kept us along the crest. Past the initial scramble and once back to the ridge, there was a short exposed section that's avoidable on the left, wrapping just beneath the limestone. In general, it's less scary on the left side of the ridgeline, since the right (east) has a significantly drop-off. After some more Class 2 scrambling, we reached the crux of the route, a short Class 3 move. You can either stay along the ridgeline and get some light exposure on the crest, or drop a few feet to the left and ascend on a slightly easier face. Past here Class 2 led a short time along the ridgeline to the summit of Anthony's Nose. Despite being so close to El Paso, Texas, the summit feels pretty isolated. We started back along the ridge. Not particularly excited to face the wind again for the somewhat lengthy ridgeline, I jokingly asked Kevin if we really had to go back the same way, to which he responded with excitement, "Have to? We get to!"