A few weeks ago my dad and brother in law, Jeff, came out to Arizona for a visit. Jeff and I had been planning our epic hike up The Flatiron for a while and last minute my dad decided he was going to go with us before going home to California that afternoon. Both Jeff and I did some research online about The Flatiron but the blogs were poor and didn't really describe what we were about to encounter. From what we read we knew the trail is 5 miles round trip, most of the elevation gain is in the last mile and a half, and it's a very vertical hike. We learned that day that calling the trail steep is a huge understatement.
On February 9th we started our hike just before 7am. It was a cold morning. At the trail head the roofs covering the picnic areas had snow on them and we could see snow all over the mountain. Even though it was cold I was considering leaving my sweater in the car, thinking it would warm up and I wouldn't need it anyways once I got moving. I did have thermals under my shirt. After seeing my dad put on his sweater I decided maybe I should bring mine as well, a very good decision.
We started hiking in the dark. The sun came up just as we turned the corner heading east towards The Flatiron. The first mile of the hike was very easy. A nice dirt trail with moderate elevation gain. It was cold and foggy though and The Flatiron could only be seen intermediately through the fog. Eventually we got the the slick normally dry creek bed which was wet from the rain a few hours earlier. From what I saw in the blogs before the hike I thought this would be the hardest part. I was so wrong. This part was easy, this is where it just started to get hard.
After getting past the creek bed the trail was extremely vertical. We kept looking at the mountain thinking there was a hidden trail somewhere, thinking there is no way we could be hiking straight up this mountain. Well that is what ended up happening. This hidden trail didn't exist. Instead it was pretty much straight up one rock at a time.
The only way to know where to go is to follow the blue spray painted dots on the rocks. Somewhere along the way we lost trail following a group that thought they knew where they were going. It looks like a lot of others have made the same mistake because our path had been worn in but was a lot harder than the marked trail. After 20-30 minutes going up this route we got a shout from some people a couple hundred feet to the left of us asking if we knew where we were going. My first thought was, do they? They told us we're on the wrong path and it should hook up with them in a bit. To prove to us they were right they let us know they were following the painted markings. A couple minutes later we were able to get back on the marked trail .
Some point along the way the Flatiron couldn't be seen. We kept thinking we were almost to the top and then we would get over another rock and see more mountain. After about three hours of hiking we got up to the 11 foot rock wall. This is the end up the trail to the top. After climbing up the rock wall we just had to get onto a dirt trail and walk over to The Flatiron, about a five minute walk.
Even with the bad weather conditions the view from the top was amazing. I could only image how it would look on a clear sunny day. We could see all the mountain peaks around, all of them covered in snow, and we were at the same elevation as the clouds, even higher than some of them.
We stayed on the peak for about half an hour, took some pictures, and ate our lunch. It was cold and windy at the top. Just after 10am and probably still in the 30s or low 40s with a nasty windchill. To make things worse even though I was cold the whole way up my undershirt, thermals, and sweater were all wet with sweat just adding to the misery. We got a brutally cold gust of wind and decided it was time to go. We started hiking back and passed up the trail that goes down the mountain. If you blink, you'll miss it. We knew we went to far when we found the monument for the plane crash that had killed a family of 6 on November 23, 2011. We didn't see it coming up so we knew we went too far. I've read that the wreckage is still up there. If we weren't pressed on time to get down the mountain, and it wasn't so cold, I would have looked for it. I saved that adventure for my next hike.
We turned around and found the trail going down. The hardest part going down was right there at the top, the 11 foot rock wall. I had to go down with my back facing the wall and then turn and jump down from there. I thought the rest of the hike would be a lot harder than it was. I just remembered all the rocks we had to climb up and thought it would be a lot harder and a lot more dangerous than it actually was going down. Most of the hike down was pretty easy. Jump down one rock, then jump down another. I did have to take it a little slower than the other two because my legs and hips were like jello. I had a fusion done on my back 8 years ago and I think all the climbing, bending jumping etc was causing this. I felt like my legs were just going to give out so I took it a little slower to make sure I didn't fall. It turned out to be good for me once I got down. The hike had stretched out my back so good that it felt great for days after this hike.
The entire hike down took probably close to two hours, from the top of The Flatiron to the car. Of course once we got down the mountain and into the Lost Dutchman State Park the sun decided to come out for a while and we were able to take off our sweaters and dry off a little bit.
Even in these nasty weather conditions this was a fun hike. I've done some pretty hard trails in my day. I've done the top of Mt. Whitney, San Jacinto (multiple trails to the peak), San Gorgonio, Kearsarge Pass, and Forester Pass. I wouldn't compare this to either of those two passes or Mt. Whitney but it was harder than the day hike up San Jacinto Peak from Mountain Station and was definitely the hardest day hike I have done so far. I can't wait until my next trip up this spring, hopefully in better conditions and if I'm lucky, with my wife.
This hike gave me a little bit of hope for the human race. I saw a lot of college age groups and couples going up the hill. By looking at Facebook I thought the only activities kids are involved in these days involve binge drinking, sending people naked photos, and having orgies. It was good to see normal kids getting out and enjoying a good clean life. I think I'm starting to sound old.
Here is a video from the top
The Flatiron from the bottom of the Siphon Draw Trail
Cacti were growing all over the rocks on the way up
This is how you follow the trail. You follow the spray painted marks.
The slick part of the trail. After this is when it really got hard.
The waterfall
My dad taking a break right before the rock climbing begins.
This is the 11 foot rock wall. It's a lot trickier and more vertical than it looks in the picture. Took me a couple minutes to figure out how to get up it.
The rock wall. Doesn't look so bad from this view.
The Flatiron from the top of the trail.
My dad pulling out his "Where's George" dollar bill.
Rocks at the top behind The Flatiron. I think these rocks are the ones that the plane crashed into.
A strange site, frozen cactus.
Behind the mountains on the right is where the Siphon Draw trail starts. These peaks hide The Flatiron from view.
From the top. You can see the trail at the bottom.
The peaks behind the Flatiron. From the bottom of the mountain they look tiny.
Top of the Flatiron. Way out behind us is Chandler.
Going down the rocks. Trickier than going up. I had to go down facing forward halfway then turn around and jump.
Back down to the slick spot.
The Flatiron from the bottom.
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