Road to Beartown Current Conditions

[desertdog]

Long shot here...I was thinking Silex / Guardian plus others next Tuesday with a hike in Monday. I've been there multiple times, so I understand the road under normal conditions. I am a little worried with all the rain that it may be impassable. I know they have closed a couple of the popular passes because of mud slides.

Has anyone been pack there recently or have a feel that my concerns are valid? Thanks in advance for your feedback!

[Mtnman200]

I drove to Beartown in the rain on Aug. 7 in a stock 3rd generation 4Runner. The road seems to get worse every time I drive it but was passable then, despite lots of rain.

When I left on Aug. 11, the Rio Grande was deeper (15 or 16”) due to several days’ worth of heavy rain.

[tdawg012]

I just called a backcountry jeep rental place out of Silverton and they said no one is attempting to cross the Rio on 506 now or in the past week. Stony pass is still open.

[Jon Frohlich]

We were planning on attempting Jagged via Beartown starting Sept 2. I guess we'll wait and see if that's a good idea or not at this point.

[desertdog]

Great feedback!,Thank you so much. I never thought the RG would be that high. I was more worried about the last section. Glad I asked. Think I’ll wait for things to settle down. Richard

[desertdog]

If anyone drives this I would appreciate you posting on this thread. I haven’t given up on this season and may still go for it and will post as well. Thanks again!

[supranihilest]

I just called a backcountry jeep rental place out of Silverton and they said no one is attempting to cross the Rio on 506 now or in the past week. Stony pass is still open.

Whiley was just in there. She drove out Thursday night or Friday morning, not sure which, but it was doable as of recently. I'd be wary of all the precip in the forecast though.

[tdawg012]

Ah, good to know. I wonder if she thought crossing the Rio was scary? I'm guessing it takes a minimum 2 days for creeks and streams to return to seasonal depth after a good soaking ... Forecast for San Juans looks wet through Monday morning.

Weminuche

Screenshot_20240824_212340_Chrome.jpg (176.21 KiB) Viewed 8466 times

[Mtnman200]

I didn't consider the Rio Grande crossing to be scary on Aug. 11. BTW, I judged the river depth at its deepest to be 15 or 16" based on having 32" diameter tires and the water level coming very close to the center of the front wheel.

To give you an example of what the rain was like, fairly heavy rain began at 11 PM on Aug. 8 and fell continuously until 2 PM on Aug. 9. Probably the biggest/longest lightning storm I've seen in the backcountry.

[supranihilest]

From Whiley:

Totally fine and low flow. Some puddles were deeper than the rio crossing
I dont think the rain we get will be enough to increase that by a significant amount and [a]
Taco[ma] will be fine. Ive driven to beartown during monsoonal rains a few times now (mid-late summer) and havent had issues with the road being wet or impassable

Though she did say overall the road is worse than before. I think it's just a matter of lack of maintenance and overuse.

[tdawg012]

Great info, thanks! Last summer I recall a big puddle that was deeper than the river about half way from the 506/520 intersection to hunchback Th. Always an adventure on 506

[TheAlpineApe]

That puddle is alive and well fwiw