Today was my third trip up Flatiron but today's experience would be different. In the past, we've explored the area around the summit, including the site of the plane crash in 2011, but we recently found out that we'd never actually reached the true summit. In some ways, Flatiron could actually be considered a Mesa. When you reach the top of the climb and the trail forks to take you to Flatiron, or to the left to the memorial, or between two peaks to travel toward Ridgeline Trail. If you go between the two peaks, and then to the left, there is a trail up to Peak 5024, which could be considered the true summit. It was an employee at REI who told us about this. What's cool about Peak 5024 is that it's the second highest peak in the Superstitions, after Peak 5057. So our goal today was to reach Flatiron, but to go beyond to Peak 5024.
Now I wouldn't normally go near Flatiron on a weekend, but our schedule for this vacation left us with few options if we wanted to complete this hike on this trip to Arizona. We didn't start as early as I would have liked, but the air was cool that morning which also made it hard to get out of bed. 🙂
It was below 50 degrees when we started out at 7:54 AM and the wind had a bite to it, but it doesn't take long to get warmed up on this climb. A little humidity and an elevated heart rate had us taking off layers before we even reached Siphon Draw.
The trail was busy, but not too bad for a Saturday. We did encounter a large Scout Troupe who were very excited and energetic. Their animated voices echoed between the rocks so you could hear them from quite far away. We were able to pass them in the Draw and they didn't catch up to us.
We've recently done some bigger hikes so my legs are feeling the work, but we took two days off before doing this one – I've learned from past experience that Flatrion is a workout and you want to feel pretty strong going into it.
The trail itself is in good shape and the route is fairly obvious. In the past, we've found it to be slightly grown in, depending how much rain they've received and how much vegetation growth there is, but today the trail was pretty clear all the way up. It is rocky in the beginning but that is to be expected when hiking in the mountains in this area. Once you hit Siphon Draw, the rock is very smooth from the water that runs through it. It can be slippery if it's wet. Hiking boots/shoes really with good sticky soles really help here and if you can't just run up, stay low and bear crawl to prevent slipping.
I don't always recommend following others on this trail, especially on a busy day, as there are a lot of people who are out there for the first time. They may look like they know what they're doing, but I've seen many people wander off the wrong way. We use the AllTrails app to keep us on track and it works well for this trail.
After Siphon Draw, we hit the boulders. It's time to climb. I prefer to use weigh-lifting gloves when I'm on rock like this. They give my hands a little extra protection, but also keep my fingers exposed to feel and grip the rock. This is the party where many people start to feel gassed. I've felt that way before during this section – which is the final section. Today, my legs were more tired on the bottom part of the incline, and I was relieved when I reached this part and could let my arms take over a little. This was the part when I knew we'd make it. Being our third time, I knew I could make it…but sometimes when I get tired, my mind starts to doubt. The trip up the scramble section actually seemed shorter today, I was feeling good! The nice this about this trail is that if you start in the morning, you are in the shade all the way up which is great for keeping cool!
At the top of the scramble section, we headed right to venture out on to Flatrion. For my brother, who was with us, this was his first time up here. We had our snack out on the point of Flatiron, took some pictures and then it was on to find Peak 5024. It didn't look far on the GPS but we would be going up about 424 more feet.
This part of the trail is much less traveled. Even relying on AllTrails, my GPS signal wasn't great and we ended up off-trail a couple of times. Be prepared for more scrambling and to climb through a few holes between rocks! Near the summit, we came across a couple of fire pits – what a great place to chill by a fire. Once we reached that summit, the views were spectacular. The view of Flatiron is amazing and you can really see how it got it's name. Looking the other direction, you can see Peak 5057, Battleship mountain, and the top of Weavers Needle (we think) and just so much of the landscape that makes up the Superstitions. It also also much less busy up here so it's a quiet spot of you want to get away from the people. We were the only ones up there. Although we did encounter a group on their way up as we made our way down.
Finally, before starting our descent, we made a pitstop at the plane crash memorial site as my brother had not seen it before. I find that spot to be very grounding, as when I think about what happened that terrible night, I am reminded of everything that is good my life and grateful for the experiences I have.
Our trip down was basically the trip up in reverse. Nothing too eventful to talk about. It is a climb down which can sometimes be tougher than the climb up. It is important to be more conscious of your footing as there are many ankle-rollers. As your legs are also more tired at this point, your chances of injury are higher so be careful, go slow, and watch your footing!
I love climbing Flatiron and even though it's hard work for me, the views from the top are more than rewarding. I also feel like the area up top is so huge, that there's always more to explore. I'm already looking forward to the next time I attempt it.