6/17/2022 Posted On: 6/17/2022 By: Crestoner Info: All downed trees are removed from the road. Trailhead is fully accessible. | 2 |
|||
6/8/2022 Posted On: 6/8/2022 By: Oldguywithdogs81 Info: To reiterate what the previous posters have said, access right now is good past the Raspberry/Huerfano TH, but the road is blocked maybe 0.4 mile beyond that. Thus the trail to Lily Lake or Mt Lindsey is longer and more difficult due to the fallen timber. Summited Huerfano on 6/4. And the deadfall along the Huerfano Trail was pretty bad in spots, and worse in the Dutch Creek Basin. It's also bad right along the Huerfano River on the Lily Lake and Lindsey Trails. Expect a little additional mileage and at least an additional hour for route finding if you're up in the basin. | ||||
6/6/2022 Posted On: 6/6/2022 By: bdwyer Info: Hiked the "new" bicentennial 13656 this weekend from Lily Lake T/H. Cannot get up to T/H in a vehicle as of Saturday. Parked, camped almost a mile down. Forest Service has cleared to that point, it seems, but for now if you go, expect to add 2 miles to any hike into that area. | 1 |
|||
5/28/2022 Posted On: 5/31/2022 By: 14er Fan Info: As of Saturday, 5/28, the road to the trailhead was impassable about 1.2 miles from the Lily Lake Trailhead due to a fallen tree. Following the road closure, there were multiple fallen trees blocking the road to the trailhead. Once you arrive at the Lily Lake trailhead, there are additional fallen trees across the trail. Before the final stretch, it was evident crews/volunteers had sawed multiple trees to make the road passable as far as it was. Thank you to these people! | ||||
5/17/2022 Posted On: 5/17/2022 By: Teresa Gergen Info: The blowdown has been cleared from the road to at least the vicinity of the Raspberry Trail (about 0.6-0.7 mi south past the USFS boundary). I didn't go farther than that. There is still a lot of small-branch-type debris covering the road, easy to drive over unless maybe your tires are bad. | ||||
5/7/2022 Posted On: 5/8/2022 By: MBosch27 Info: Made to about 3 miles prior to the trailhead, (according to google earth, rough measurements) before we ran into a patch of blowdown, looked to be around 10 trees all jumbled and tangled across the road. Rough Coordinates: (39degrees,37'35"N /104degrees,27'49"W) according to google earth and 37degrees39'35.3"N 105degrees27'49.2"W according to Google Maps) My piddly little hatchet would have taken days to cut through so that was the end of the road for us... About 300 yards before this point however, there is a large field with logs placed along the road, but there is a way through those, and if you want to overland, you could potentially cross said field, and regain the road, but the field is several hundred yards wide, and no telling what other rocks or ruts you would run across while crossing said field. Besides, being 3 miles from the T.H. - the road crosses many treed areas after this point, and I am sure there are more blowdown areas along the road over the next 3 miles (so probably not worth it). It is obvious that the entire valley most of the way back to Gardner had experienced this storm (10-15 miles worth, roughly???) and is very widespread. All the campgrounds along CR-580 were usable but looked in rough shape... so my conclusion is the remaining 3 miles have trees blown down all along the way... | 3 |
2 |
||
1/10/2022 Posted On: 1/10/2022 By: Furthermore Info: A huge tree blown across the road prevents easy driving ~150 yards just past the Aspen River Ranch. If one was to cut a few trees, it would be easy to drive an additional 1.5 miles up the road. Beyond that, it would take at least a day with a chain saw to remove all the downed trees on the road. | 1 |
|||
11/21/2021 Posted On: 11/21/2021 By: Flyingfish Info: Got a small layer of snow that made 4x4 almost mandatory to make the upper trailhead. Was mostly gone by the evening. I expect the road will be dry just in time for e the next front to move in. | ||||
11/13/2021 Posted On: 11/14/2021 By: angry Info: Dry to TH with the exception of one large puddle. | ||||
8/31/2021 Posted On: 9/1/2021 By: jackjk1011 Info: Didn't see the road damage on the 2WD part which was mentioned a few months ago. However, once past the ranches it's pretty rough 2WD in places and sedans may have trouble. The 4WD part is crossover-able although it was slow and rough going in my AWD Kia Sorento. Outback or similar should be fine. Honestly the 4WD part isn't much worse than the worst parts of the 2WD part, it just becomes more narrow and there are several humps you have to drive over. This area is fairly remote and you should definitely write down the directions and not rely on GPS to get you through the maze of ranches and county roads in western Huerfano County. Google Maps got me *to* the TH just fine, but became confused when I attempted to drive out the same way and I had to figure it out myself. The 14ers.com directions start in Gardner which makes sense if you're coming from Denver, etc. but if you're coming from the south (US-160) you can take CR 572 (Pass Creek Road; intersects with US-160 between mile markers 276 and 277) north to CR 570, then take that north to CR 580 instead of first going out of your way to Gardner. | ||||
8/14/2021 Posted On: 8/16/2021 By: Joelorado Info: The road is fine except for the last few miles. 4WD not really necessary but good clearance is. Made it up fine in a Crosstrek with all terrain tires. Plenty of other Subarus up there as well. Don't take your Prius or Accord up here. | ||||
7/25/2021 Posted On: 7/26/2021 By: Phill the Thrill Info: I did not see the road damage at 17.7 miles mentioned in the previous report. Road is clear all the way to the upper TH, but the last mile is quite rough and requires a vehicle with high clearance. I was surprised to see a couple of Outbacks at the upper trailhead. I'd recommend walking the last mile rather than risking damage to your nice new Suby. | ||||
7/25/2021 Posted On: 7/29/2021 By: mmurphy8 Info: Ditto not seeing or at least noticing the damage mentioned at 17.7 miles. Rough, but made it fine in a Crosstrek. There are two larger puddle crossings and a metal culvert pipe that was a bit exposed. Saw several other Subarus parked for camping spots along the 4WD section near the TH. | ||||
6/24/2021 Posted On: 6/25/2021 By: BillMiddlebrook Info: As mentioned in the last update, there's some road damage which likely blocks most 2WD vehicles at ~17.7 miles in. It's a few deep holes made by vehicles spinning tires. I was there today and while it wasn't a problem with my 4WD pickup, it's obvious that 2WD vehicles have been trying to get through this area and it's just getting worse. If you don't have 4WD/AWD, travel with someone who does because there's no place to park this low on the road. | ||||
6/19/2021 Posted On: 6/19/2021 By: cisnerosab Info: Some major divots in the 2WD dirt road to the trailhead as mentioned in previous posts. Also large rocks. Wouldn't recommend for low clearance or 2WD vehicles. No appreciable difference between the 2WD section after Aspen River Ranch and the 4WD section beyond. Closest 2WD parking seems to be at Huerfano State Wildlife Area, which would entail maybe 5 miles of hiking in on dirt roads to reach the TH. TH itself is well signed and the drive/hike in is beautiful. |
