14ers.com • Trailhead Status

Trailhead:	Baldwin Gulch Sawatch Range
Posted By:	KDinCO
Date of Info:	07/01/2020
Date Posted:	07/02/2020

Status Update
The road is a workout and not pretty! I made it to 11,000' in a stock 4Runner (with snow tires!). Chose to stop and park there as I wanted the 3000' elev gain. Some unavoidable bigger rocks higher up, then the road smooths out. After the creek crossing there are a lot of smaller rocks that cause traction issues on steeper sections when navigating around larger obstacles. From reading the previous report, I thought the road would be better shape after the first 100', but that's not the case. It has a lot of pretty gnarly spots that require a careful line. I would not attempt this without high clearance. I was also surprised at how narrow the road is in places. Not many passing places. Fine going up at 4:30 am (took about 30 mins to get to 11000' from the beginning of 277), but coming down around 10:30 am I met with many ATVs, even on a Wednesday! I found it helpful to drive down with my window open so I could hear them approaching. Took about 45 mins to get down.

Status Update

The road is a workout and not pretty! I made it to 11,000' in a stock 4Runner (with snow tires!). Chose to stop and park there as I wanted the 3000' elev gain. Some unavoidable bigger rocks higher up, then the road smooths out. After the creek crossing there are a lot of smaller rocks that cause traction issues on steeper sections when navigating around larger obstacles.

From reading the previous report, I thought the road would be better shape after the first 100', but that's not the case. It has a lot of pretty gnarly spots that require a careful line. I would not attempt this without high clearance. I was also surprised at how narrow the road is in places. Not many passing places. Fine going up at 4:30 am (took about 30 mins to get to 11000' from the beginning of 277), but coming down around 10:30 am I met with many ATVs, even on a Wednesday! I found it helpful to drive down with my window open so I could hear them approaching. Took about 45 mins to get down.

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