First time coming up through Rampart Backdoor. The road was ok - mostly nice and smooth dirt/gravel with several biggish wave sections (going slow solved those) and 3-4 large, dry potholes that take up to half the width of the road. Careful steering handled those in a mid-size SUV. I'd think most sedans could handle those as well, just place the wheels along the edges/don't drive into the hole ;-)
Vegetation is somewhat encroaching on the road so wider vehicles might suffer some new pin stripes. Not bad enough to get the machete out.
Parking lot has very deep ruts - don't get too many wheels up in the air at the same time or you'll find out how well your AWD really works in that situation.
Trail has been described well before - very steep/rooty/rocky climb to the lakes - which are then separated by more steep ridges that need to be climbed. We scrambled up Dungeon Peak, following a GPX trace from last year. Trail is visible at the start, then gets lost and since there are many gullies and little rock outcroppings to chose from, it's helpful to have a line that goes in the watch/phone. Basically all Class 2/no hands required but some mild exposure in some segments. It was all dry for us - one of the gullies was so steep, it wouldn't have been a lot of fun on wet vegetation. No views from the top for us - we were in the fog/clouds all day. Different mood in a stunning landscape right up at the pass.
After Dungeon, we hike to Rampart Ridge, then back out the alternative route to make a loop. Pay attention on the way back down to the TH, the intersection with Lake Lillian trail is in the forest and unmarked. Stay right ;-)
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