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Baldwin Gulch Trailhead

  
5/27/2022
Posted On: 5/28/2022 By: Jimmy Jay
Info: Road is passable for standard clearance 4WD all the way to the 4WD trailhead. You won't get far past the stream crossing without a tracked vehicle though due to snow, and there's a tree across the road close to the Cronin split. Wouldn't try with a low clearance 4WD (Crosstrek Forester, etc) as there are a couple large rocks in the center right after the TH.
4/23/2022
Posted On: 4/25/2022 By: aksean22
Info: The 4WD road is the worst of both worlds right now. There is still far to much snow to attempt to drive (someone tried and only made it about 20'), but enough rocky sections to make skiing back down pretty tricky unless you really don't care about your skis. Snow is unsupportive so bring flotation if headed up there anytime soon. The stream at 10,800' is flowing.
 
10/10/2021
Posted On: 10/10/2021 By: funsizetiff
Info: Able to drive up to 12,850' before the road becomes impassable due to snow drifts. Last parking before the road blockage is at 12,700' on the final switchback (at location on attached screenshot).
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8/22/2021
Posted On: 8/23/2021 By: lauradaughtry
Info: Summer conditions. I drove my '17 Toyota 4Runner (TRD pro trim, but didn't use any of the bells and whistles) in 4WD low and made it all the way to the end of tree-line with absolutely zero problems. Yes, your 5th gen stock 4Runner would make it up here without issue! Honestly, the roughest part is the 1st mile; but it was hardly a worry. For any off-road enthusiasts, it was a beautiful drive with a few creek crossings. Plenty of pull-off space and areas to move over for passing vehicles coming the opposite direction. As the poster below me noted, the road is narrow at points, and assume people will be driving down from the peak after 12pm in a day; I'd think it considerate to, if you're going to, drive up early in the morning or very late afternoon/evening.
 
8/21/2021
Posted On: 8/23/2021 By: Btuperkwh
Info: Haven't seen a Baldwin Gulch TH report in a while so here it is --> First time driving up this road so I was a little nervous since I have hiked up and down that road a few times and know the conditions. Drove a lifted Nissan Titan up to the parking area after the dispersed camping spots and before the lower switchbacks to the saddle (~11,000) on Sat 8/21 ~ 7am. I only saw high clearance trucks, 4runners, wranglers, and 2-3 stock SUVs going up. Dispersed camping spots along the way were occupied. There were several 4WDs, ATVs and motorcycles going up the switchbacks and parked at the saddle, Antero summit "gate" parking area and on across the "valley" on White. First mile up the road is definitely worst part as you gain elevation - narrow, rocky, bumpy, rutted road with a few areas for vehicles to pass each other. After that it get a little better, road levels out a bit and there are areas to pullover for passing vehicles - still very rocky and rutty though. 3x stream crossings - easy, no issues. Water was running higher later in the day coming down but still no issues. Started down the road around 2:30pm, you have to go slow through a few of the sections due to the loose rocks and potential sliding. There are about 2-3 places where it gets a little intense going down due to big ruts and rocks but going slow and deliberate works. About 75% of the way down there were a dispersed line of vehicles and ATVs going down for the day - met a couple of vehicles coming up. There were enough pull off spots for the line of vehicles and ATVs (going much faster) to pass each other - no issues. Further down where the road gets very narrow and steep(er) and basically there is very little room for passing. Met a Mule coming up at a steep hairpin curve section with no passing anywhere. The Mule had to back down so we could pass. It seems logical that on a weekend, most of the traffic on the mountain are coming down in the late afternoon (2pm-5pm). Personally, I would go very early morning or wait until after 5pm to go up the road on weekends to avoid the traffic jams on the lower part of the road.
 
8/8/2021
Posted On: 8/8/2021 By: Jnaffy
Info: Drove up to close to 13 K in a stock jeep wrangler. Definitely a class 4 road. You need to know how to drive lines in certain areas. Stock off-road Ing high clearance vehicle should be fine. I parked at the sign at an intersection. Beyond that road is still doable with the same notations as I listed above for the road blow. There are no pool off spots however should you have any issues so you have to commit beyond 13 K. Water crossings may be 5 inches deep. I honestly dont understand why people are trying to make this a technical class 5/6 road when it is very clearly not but again you need to be the kind of person who knows how to off-road and understands how to pick lines with high clearance. I would say the biggest issue would be minimal areas for passing just like Princeton and no extra room in certain areas to pass. On that note uphill drivers always have right of way!
 
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8/5/2021
Posted On: 8/10/2021 By: bking14ers
Info: I was able to drive a stock Jeep Grand Cherokee to over 13,000 ft. (above the switch backs) And it only cost me $100 for a good used tire afterwards. Seriously! Don't drive up that road unless you have decent clearance, and good aftermarket off road tires. I tore a hole in the side wall of a tire coming back down right at tree line, then it was an act of God I made it out on the cheap spare. I didn't think the road was worse than I've ever driven on, but it was just so long.
 
8/4/2021
Posted On: 8/4/2021 By: sctbke
Info: Road seems to have been made a bit more difficult by recent rains. Some larger rocks exposed by the runoff, creek crossing a few hundred yards up 277 is flowing strong. Ended up turning around about a half mile in after a couple scrapes that werent avoidable. 07 Honda Pilot, larger A/T tires, a car that has been over Medano pass, engineer pass, and to nearly every other 14er 4wd trailhead in the state, but not this one! Youll want something better than stock until the rain damage gets better. Ive got 8.5 ground clearance and it wasnt enough to navigate the big rocks, another inch or so would be ideal. Stock Wrangler or TRD 4Runner would do fine with decent line choice. Will summit from browns creek trailhead now instead, road seems like a long hike!
 
7/27/2021
Posted On: 7/27/2021 By: mvandergrift
Info: While I'm waiting for my wonky knee to heal, I thought I'd check out Mt Antero, the easy, way by driving up to the top of the road (Forest Service Road 278.A / Mount Antero Rd). Driving my bone stock Wrangler 2-door took 1.5 hours each way. The trip is beautiful, but maybe not the best choice if you're afraid of heights. Some notable exposure once you get above the treeline. The road narrows a lot towards the top. Thankfully, I only ran into a couple of other vehicles, but this could be an issue at a busier time (I started at 5:30 am). Unlike some other trails I've run, the tighter switchbacks here have additional space to allow for larger vehicles to do multi-point turns. Parking for several vehicles at 12,000' allows you to skip the last ascent, which is the narrowest and a little more challenging, and hike up from there. Up until Baldwin Creek, the trail is mostly dry. After that, you run into some drainage on the trail, light mud, and river crossings. None of this caused a problem. The whole way up is bumpy. Lots of rock and some off-camber stuff. My goal was to avoid scraping my skid plates, which I was able to do, but I had to go slow. It would have been very frustrating to do this without 4-low. For some reason, I was expecting Mt Antero to be a disappointing dust bowl of a mountain. Instead, I was surprised by how magnificent the entire area was. I'll have to come back and hike it from the TH in the winter!
 
6/22/2021
Posted On: 6/23/2021 By: silentsword3
Info: We definitely took our time and I recommend being prepared (tire repair kit, air pump, extra fluids, ect.) and find a proper/comfortable line. We ran into no issues in our 01 4Runner, which is stock suspension but running 2765/75R16 A/T tires (adding about 1.5 extra inch of clearance). Only a tight spot or 2 all the way up to the 12K marker, hit the skid plate once on the way down, but it could have been avoided. Watched another stock 4R driving past the 12K, which definitely seemed doable most of the way up the lower switchbacks, but not worth the risk in my opinion. If you do decide to try this next part of the road, there are a few pull-offs at the turns on the switchbacks. Large snowfield at 12,800 that seemed a MAJOR struggle, even with a well equipped vehicle.
6/17/2021
Posted On: 6/17/2021 By: Jesskee004
Info: We attempted the road in my standard stock tacoma and made it up to Baldwin gulch with just a few scratches on my skid plate. We made it almost to the top trailhead before one of my tires lost too much air pressure and we had to make the decision to turn around or risk getting stranded. Road is clear, you definitely need high clearance 4wd and it would have been 100 times easier in a jeep wrangler since it's shorter.
 
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6/5/2021
Posted On: 6/6/2021 By: TakeMeToYourSummit
Info: Guilty as charged. I came into the snow real "confident" Friday night & ended like this. Real lucky 3 of the 4 wheels planted good. Had a fun night in my sleeping bag on the side of the road. Sorry to the first hiker I talked to that morning as I started the conversation by SCREAMING at them... Started hiking back down the road after sunrise & ran into two guys that were hoping to drive much further up. They hadn't budgeted for the longer hike and gave me a ride back into BV. I tried 3 of the local offroad recovery companies - none could help me until at least Sunday. I called my friend Chuck who lives in West Glenwood & passed my time nervously waiting in BV. Once we got back to the scene we placed some Maxtrax under my tires and rigged a winch off a snatch block anchored on trees on both sides of the road. The winch cable snapped! Plan B: tiptoe Chuck's Jeep above my 4Runner using the Maxtrax. One contact with my truck would lead to it off the road & probably his too! Now above me - we attached his Bubba Rope & with the help of a winch line in front of his Jeep from an ATV from some folks from Pueblo - we pulled the truck clean onto the Maxtrax! We had also built a strap / tall jack configuration on the passenger rear corner to insure I couldn't drift my tail as we pulled up. The result of this work was that my truck was UNSCATHED! I am extremely blessed to have a friend like Chuck & to get out of the situation the next day. Shredding Cronin can wait. Now just to find my checkbook & make things right...
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5/25/2021
Posted On: 5/25/2021 By: One Sierra Charlie
Info: The road is still blocked by the snow drift mentioned in the 5/16/2021 post. It will probably take another 1-2 weeks for this to melt.
 
5/16/2021
Posted On: 5/17/2021 By: Eagle Eye
Info: The start of the road looks great, but its very solidly blocked by a huge drift less than a half mile up.
4/2/2021
Posted On: 4/2/2021 By: daway8
Info: Not much changed since last month - 2WD lot still too much snow to park in but dirt road in front of it is clear and pull off a stones throw away has room for maybe 4 or 5 cars. But dramatic increase of snow on the 4WD road - the huge ice flows were totally buried under snow this time. Saw some beach ball sized roller balls on the 4WD at the start of the day and a couple tiny loose wet slides had barely touched the road on my way back at the end of the day. Recommend not hiking that 4WD road during the heat of the day right now...