Lead King Basin in a Renegade

[daway8]

I know a lot has been written about this road but I'm getting mixed messages in TH status updates and trip reports about how hard the upper road (FR315) to Lead King Basin is so figured I'd post this inquiry.

How likely am I to get a Jeep Renegade Trailhawk (8.7" clearance) to Lead King Basin via FR315?

I've already decided the low route via Crystal is probably too hard for me to handle but there might be hope for the upper road (FR315). For reference, probably the hardest road I've done is getting my Renegade to about 10,200ft on Lake Como road - the last little bit being at the limits of my vehicle/driving capabilities (and that with a good spotter to minimize the skid plate action I had going on). So I'm not a total rookie by any means but also not a master of 4WD.

With that brief background, is it reasonable to think I could get my Renegade to/from the Lead King Basin trailhead in one piece or am I better off trying to bum a ride from someone if I want to try the S-Ridge up Snowmass?

[9patrickmurphy]

I’ve driven the lower road in a stock 4Runner and absolutely hated it. I can’t speak to the upper road, but while climbing Snowmass we chatted with a father/son duo who said they parked at the avy debris and followed game trails to Geneva lake (like Roach describes as a variation approach). I didn’t have time to ask for details but they mad it sound like it wasn’t a big deal routefinding, though I can imagine it would be tedious in the dark. If I was going back, that’s the route I would personally try.

I’ve gotten the impression the upper road is generally easy 4WD except for the avy debris field. It sounds like people have been getting through, but it’s tight and technical.

[arthurspiderman]

Shortly after leaving Marble, there's an intersection where 315 stay more Northernly and 314 stays South and goes through Crystal. Both will end up at the LKB trailhead, but from my understanding they have different difficulties. 315 is an overall easier road where most real 4wd vehicles will be able to make it to the trailhead. On the other hand, 314 is a much tamer road to Crystal, but ramps up for the two miles between there and the trailhead.

I went up there this year in my AWD CR-V and took the 314 route. There was no difficulty whatsoever to get to Crystal, but unfortunately, there is no legal parking until about another 1/4 mile past the town. This short section was significantly tougher and it was the very limit of my vehicle to get to the parking area. In my opinion, this was section of road was a fair bit tougher than the road to South Colony Lakes which I also drove this year.

Seems like your Jeep has almost an inch more clearance than my car so I don't think you'd have any trouble getting to that parking area on 314 that is about 1.5 miles short of the TH. There is no chance you can make it any farther than that on 314, so if you wanted any chance of getting to the trailhead proper, I'd give 315 a shot. I think it's unlikely you'd be able to make it to the TH on 315, but depending on your skills/risk tolerance, I think you'd have a small chance.

[shaunblair]

Keep in mind this was several years ago, but I did Lost Trail Road (if this is the same 315 you are speaking of) out of Marble to LKB in a stock 2004 4x4 Tacoma. The only difficulty I recall was encountering another vehicle and trying to pass each other on the LKB/switchbacks side of the pass. I would guess that you'll make it.

Note that this same vehicle and driver didn't make it anywhere close to 10,000 ft on Lake Como Road, and you were saying you made it to 10,200...

[onebyone]

No problem in a Renegade. Just drop into low gear as needed. Avoid when wet probably.

My Ford Escape had no problem and I think that is pretty similar to a Renegade. 4x4 Trucks with a long wheelbase actually have more trouble on this road due to the tight turns and narrowness imo.

[CORed]

I've done it twice in a stock Liberty with similar clearance to your Renegade. This was a 4wd with low range. This was quite a few years ago before the avalanche debris was an issue. It was pushing the limits of what that particular vehicle was capable of doing. The last time I did the upper road was in the '90's when I had a Bronco II, which was a very capable off-roader, and I destroyed a tire and had to change it in the rain.

[daway8]

Hmm, well that's slightly closer to consensus than when I asked about the difference between class 4 and 5 routes...

If I take the average value of the responses above it would be something like: "there's a fair chance you can likely make it in a Renegade but it might be an interesting ride."

[pbandchoc]

Youll be fine, just pick clean lines and go slow. All terrain tires help a great deal. Many renegades have done jeep badge trails all over the state.

[daway8]

Hey Daway, I’ll spot you for a ride to S Ridge to tag N Snowmass

We might be able to work something out though be warned that the current plan is to go with HikesInGeologicTime who's slowly (no pun intended) closing in on the 58 and still needs Snowmass, so we won't be setting any FKT's this trip.

But I neglected to tag N Snowmass last time I was up there so definitely plan to get that one this time around but still trying to figure out the logistics of timing the 5hr drive from FTC plus the when's and where's of any meet-ups. PM me if you're interested in being part of a slow but fun trio (or if you don't mind relaxing down at the lake waiting for us to catch up).

[daway8]

Thanks everyone for the input - this is indeed not a 4WD road to be trifled with but it was certainly within the limits of my Jeep Renegade Trailhawk. In case anyone else doing a search stumbles across this post I'll paste below the trailhead status I posted after successfully doing this last Friday:

"Lots of different opinions on the road to this trailhead. As someone who made it to 10,200ft on the Lake Como road in his Jeep Renegade (8.7"clearance) I can say even the upper, "easy" route (FR315 i.e. Lost Trail Road - as opposed to looping down to Crystal) is a a fairly serious 4WD road. No major obstacles like on the Lake Como road and nothing that my Renegade couldn't handle but several sections that made me uncomfortable including several hairpin switchbacks where the dirt was scooped out at an odd angle such that you could potentially end up significantly off camber depending on your line (these were more of an issue on the return to Marble when I had to go down them - going up on the way to Lead King Basin wasn't bad but I think 4LO probably helped with that). The avy debris was almost a total non-issue except for one chunk of roots stuck right in the middle of the uphill section - had some real brief tire spin in 4LO before I popped up over those. Lots of very, very narrow sections including on rough uphill segments where meeting someone going the other way would be problematic. I imagine this road would be much worse when wet (and might have seemed a little less dramatic had I not done it in the dark both ways). The route through Crystal is reportedly much worse."

[Buckeye]

I did it in a stock 2005 Jeep Liberty Sport about a decade ago. Filled it with gear, 2 bikes on the back, and 5 dudes inside. Left from Boulder straight to lead king basin, hiked Snowmass, then drove out and biked the peak to peak trail in breckenridge. By the time we got back to Boulder I had to replace a U joint and the muffler. But it was one hekuva trip.

[greenonion]

Can anyone speak to the feasibility and extra distance involved in hiking in to lead king from wherever the road starts getting nasty? If I wanted to avoid both rough sections of the road could I leave a vehicle somewhere and not add a ton of extra mileage for hiking?