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| Hiking | 10.60 Miles |
4,480 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.60 Miles | | | |
| 4,480 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | Our route was up Siphon Draw and down Hieroglyphic Canyon.
It's been a couple years since I did the Flatiron and I had forgotten how relentless the climb was. I had also forgotten to bring my insect repellent and the mosquitoes were terrible all the way up, providing plenty of incentive for me to keep moving.
At the top, this first part of the ridgeline trail from the Flatiron really has a lot going on. There were pine trees, grassy meadows and rows of hoodoos above, as well as the great canyon views to the west. I was really surprised at how much real estate there is in this section. If you wanted to camp here overnight, this would be the place to do it. We took a nice, long break near the edge of the 'no name' canyon to enjoy the views and the perfect weather before moving on.
The ridgeline soon narrows and you can see over both sides the rest of the way - the rocky cliffs of the canyons to the west and Boulder Basin, Weaver's Needle and all the familiar Supes landmarks to the east. This part of the trail was mostly easy going up and down small hills with a couple of fun rock climbs here and there. But after a while, it seemed never ending and by the time we reached the top of Hieroglyphic Canyon, I was almost out of water. But, we had planned ahead for this by caching several bottles here the week before on our way up to the peak. After retrieving them, we took a much needed rest break before making the difficult climb down.
I don't mind saying this was a pretty tough hike. It was well within my limits and I had energy to spare at the end, but the steep part of the down climb was murder on tired, shaky legs. I went through 5 liters of water and that was about 1 liter shy of my happy place.
Was it worth it? Absolutely! I wish I could have spent so much more time up there just looking around and exploring. It would be fun to camp up there for a weekend... that is, if you could arrange a helicopter drop for your 20 lbs of gear and 25 lbs of water!
What a cool trip!  |
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I'm at home in the wilderness... it's civilization I have problems with! ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall") |
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