Vanderwhacker mountain

Anybody know what the road is like from 28N to the trailhead for Vanderwhacker mountain? I heard it is a rough road. Do you need 4-wheel drive?

We did the peak a few years back, and it is rough. You don't really need a 4 wheel drive (as we took a Dodge Neon up to the trailhead...the going was SLOWWWW!) but it would have been nice.
HEAD

________________

BirdHead Studios

i was there last august - my chevy astro van made it without scraping - - - - there was another guy in a car that made it in almost all the way, he said it scraped bottom a few times but it didn't matter to him since it was rented.

Vanderwhacker caution

Rivet --

I took my Honda EX Accord in there in September of 2002. The drive in was extremely slow. I was sure that I was going to leave my oil pan and/or other vital parts along the road due to the protruding, unavoidable rocks and steep grades.

That day, there was one other hiker who drove into the trailhead in a small pickup truck with much higher clearance and 4WD. My hiking partner and I finished about the same time as this other person. He started back to the main road first, but waited for us at every difficult section (and there are many) -- especially one very steep section that my Front WD Honda kept spinning out on. For a time, I didn't think I was going to make it out. I eventually did. However, in my log book I recorded, "Extremely rough, dangerous road. Don't drive this road again unless using 4WD/offroad or high clearance".

Now, perhaps I overreacted or merely projected what the economic loss would have been in addition to the inconvenience of getting towed out of there, but I don't think so.

BTW, the hike is great and the firetower an added plus, but the potential for something to happen to a regular passenger car remains high and precludes the thought of ever returning.

I was there last August, and don't remember it being that bad. I don't see a problem.

Funny thing is I was just having a conversation this morning about what a crappy road this was at least 2 years ago when I did it. I bottomed out and got my BRAND NEW midsize (Saturn L200) hung up briefly on some rocks. This went a long way towards me deciding to buy a mountain bike, which I now use on roads such as this. Wasn't real thrilled with Jack Freeman that day as I recall.

Thanks

Thank you for the replies. I climbed Vanderwhacker mountain today. Decided to park off Rte 28N at a pulloff near the bridge over the Boreas river and then walk the approach road.

The gravel road is definetly rough in spots. It is bone dry, so you don't really need 4WD. But, there are protruding rocks in spots where the road climbs/descends ... so vertical clearance is important. Most of the road is flat and smooth ... so it's definetly possible to drive it. Just have to be cautious.

When I was walking out, a car was also driving out. They would stop at the rough spots. Everybody but the driver would get out. The car would drive until it reached a smooth spot. Then everybody would get back in. Kind of amusing to watch. One of them said I was smart for not trying to drive to the trail head.

Anyways, the walk along the road is fairly easy. It is about 2.5 miles and takes around 50 minutes.