[Marek K]

I've written several posts in this thread about dispersed "car" camping here in the Colorado Front Range with our new Trailhawk. I'd also mentioned at the beginning that one of the reasons we got the vehicle was to get to backpacking trailheads not accessible by normal cars. At our age, we're in no shape to backpack miles any more to get to alpine terrain; but there are still some destinations that can be reached by a mile or two of backpacking, but you have to drive some pretty rough road or trails first.

We did our first such short backpacking trip a couple days ago. After overnighting in Winter Park, we drove up the Rollins Pass Road to the Continental Divide (following a century-old railroad grade across the Divide).

I'll spare you-all the backpacking part, except...small un-named lake just downhill from King Lake...

...and stick to the drive up Rollins Pass.

Aspens were just turning. It was gorgeous.

Road was pretty smooth at first.

Until it wasn't.

Definitely not just "a bit rough," but OK for "regular cars with good clearance" any more, as a hiking guide from 2013 put it.

Here's the old Gunsight Notch railway trestle:

And here's what it was like on the road above timberline at about 11,500 ft. elevation (3,500 m for you rest-of-the-worlders):

No way we would have made it up there with our Jetta. This is one of the main reasons why we got the Trailhawk.

 

[Marek K]

Sounds about right. This is maybe 1/4 experience and 3/4 summarizing other threads on the topic, but here is what I have found so far.

that all sound right, except for this part:

4WD Lock: The computer will automatically switch to 4WD when it detects wheels slipping

That sounds like Auto Mode. 4WD Lock would mean exactly that -- all four wheels are driven all the time. There may be (or is) some shifting between axles and wheels, but all four are going.

 

[Marek K]

Duplicate post.

 

[JasoninDLH]

I've written several posts in this thread about dispersed "car" camping here in the Colorado Front Range with our new Trailhawk. I'd also mentioned at the beginning that one of the reasons we got the vehicle was to get to backpacking trailheads not accessible by normal cars. At our age, we're in no shape to backpack miles any more to get to alpine terrain; but there are still some destinations that can be reached by a mile or two of backpacking, but you have to drive some pretty rough road or trails first.

We did our first such short backpacking trip a couple days ago. After overnighting in Winter Park, we drove up the Rollins Pass Road to the Continental Divide (following a century-old railroad grade across the Divide).

I'll spare you-all the backpacking part, except...small un-named lake just downhill from King Lake...
View attachment 2396352328
...and stick to the drive up Rollins Pass.

Aspens were just turning. It was gorgeous.
View attachment 2396352330
Road was pretty smooth at first.
View attachment 2396352329
Until it wasn't.
View attachment 2396352331
View attachment 2396352332
View attachment 2396352333
Definitely not just "a bit rough," but OK for "regular cars with good clearance" any more, as a hiking guide from 2013 put it.

Here's the old Gunsight Notch railway trestle:
View attachment 2396352334
And here's what it was like on the road above timberline at about 11,500 ft. elevation (3,500 m for you rest-of-the-worlders):
View attachment 2396352335
View attachment 2396352336
View attachment 2396352337
No way we would have made it up there with our Jetta. This is one of the main reasons why we got the Trailhawk.

That looks awesome!

 

[Marek K]

That looks awesome!

Yeah, it was. Backpacking at 11.500 ft. on steep trails with a 35 lb. pack at my age sucks, though.

Wife was not thrilled with the road -- white knuckles and sweaty palms...though the Trailhawk didn't bottom out once, and never lost traction...

 

[zzyzx]

Great views up there. I have been exploring trails on the west side of Colorado for the past couple months. I am seeing a lot of Wranglers, some assorted pickup trucks and OHVs, a few Subarus, and even a couple front wheel drive sedans. I have yet to see another Renegade on the trail. Hopefully this thread inspires people to get out there.

 

[JasoninDLH]

Yeah, it was. Backpacking at 11.500 ft. on steep trails with a 35 lb. pack at my age sucks, though.

Wife was not thrilled with the road -- white knuckles and sweaty palms...though the Trailhawk didn't bottom out once, and never lost traction...

Backpacking at that altitude would be tough for anyone! I, most certainly, would have only made it a block before falling on my face.

My wife is too scared to drive up a little hill in our cul de sac with me. 🤣

 

[Marek K]

even a couple front wheel drive sedans.

Yeah. Hell, I used to take my 1982 Supra up on off-roads in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the 1980s. Very, very carefully...

Like I said, an eight-year-old backpacking guide says the Rollins Pass Road could be negotiated with sedans with normal clearance. That certainly wasn't the case now.

Wonder if the deterioration is because this particular road isn't negotiable all the way across the pass and down the other side now, because of a tunnel collapse just on the other side? Or maybe the Forest Service just doesn't have the manpower to maintain these roads these days...?

Anyway, again, this is why we bought the Trailhawk. It's just disturbing that you can't trust road and trail descriptions any more...because I know there are trails I need to keep away from...