Hike Log

Iron climb to Flatiron

Trailhead:

Palo Verde parking lot – Treasure Island Loop

Type of Hike:

Day hike

Trail Conditions:

Trail in good condition

ROAD:

Road suitable for all vehicles

Bugs:

No bugs

Snow:

Snow free

This hike started out late at 11 in the morning. Due to the number of visitors, I decided to pull in to the first parking lot that had space which was the Palo Verde parking lot which also served as the overflow for the Cholla day use parking lot where the Treasure Loop trail started.  From the Treasure Loop trailhead I took the trail up to the Jacob Crosscut and then headed east on that trail to the Siphon Draw trail. It was mostly uneventful until I got to the Basin where I had turned back the last time I attempted this trail. This time I went up the basin and without intending to, went off trail where I discovered a seasonal creek. Having a map I knew where I was and initially planned to use it to rejoin Siphon Draw but upon examination of the terrain I realized it would be more difficult so I retraced my steps to where I had gone off the main trail and followed it to the Siphon Draw. Once down, I remembered what I read in the write-up that wherever there was a choice between left and right choose the left route.  Generally this served to keep me on track. Going up, the scrambling at times made me wish for the cables of Picacho but despite that I kept going. The vertical wall stumped me for a while but I picked my handholds and footholds and went above that and made it to the top of Flatiron. I went up there took my photos had a snack and rested for a while before heading down. Heading down, the first challenging part was climbing down the vertical wall but with careful planning, I got down without a hitch. Slowly I made my way back. Past the Basin I again went off trail although since I had a map I decided to just keep going until I rejoined the trail. The sun had set by the time I had gotten back to flat terrain so I had to pull out my headlamp but at that point I was back to where I knew I wouldn't need to rock scramble anymore so I just took my time and retraced my steps back to my car at Palo Verde parking lot.

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