Flat Iron Mesa
We were ready to tackle Flat Iron Mesa early in the day, expecting a long time on this trail. Armed with the GPS, printed-out topo maps with the route marked, and previous descriptions of the trail, we still had a little difficulty finding the start of the trail. Once we realized there was a gate directly behind us after we turned off the highway, we were on our way.
Rubble Hill was fun, but even the rental Jeep made it up easily. It appears that the other side might be more fun to come up, but we wanted to press on so we didn't try it. The dome and ledges were great fun and we really got a taste of what Brad and the rental Jeep could do (we'd really see him test its limits on Fins & Things later in the day).
We made it to Tilt-a-Whirl, and Mike and Roger went down with no issues. Brad took the bypass this time. It looked like he could make it, but perhaps not without damage to the skid plates or bumpers. The papers in the Jeep included a price sheet for each of these items if they were returned damaged! Brad did go down the optional ledges just after Tilt-a-Whirl without any issues, though.
We got to Easter Egg Hill, and after watching Mike go through and kiss the rock on the right with his flare, Roger and Brad opted to go around. Mike went on through the Squeeze, wishing he had a spotter. He soon met up with the other guys after the bypass reconnected with the trail.
Someone has built a home and fenced off the last part of the described trail out to the county road, so a small detour had to be made to a parallel trail. We were soon out on the county road, however, and wondering if more development is going to encroach on this trail. We hope not, because this is one we really want to run again.
Reports from Other Days: 5
Use the arrows or dots to flip through the previews of the other reports for Flat Iron Mesa. Click one of them to read more and see all of the photos from that day.
