Flatiron with the Kids

Flatiron, the classic Superstition Wilderness hike that challenges tens of thousands of hikers every year, is a familiar spot for me these days. Chris and I climbed it together back in 2014, mere weeks after we moved to Arizona. Two years later I tackled it solo to spend a toasty night in the middle of June, and enjoyed a spectacular moonset over the Phoenix valley. Four years later, in 2020, Noah and I tackled it, skipping school for an all-day adventure that we both laugh about to this day. 2022 was the year I decided to one-up that last one, and hike up Flatiron with all three kids.

We started at a reasonable time, maybe thirty minutes before sunrise, picking our way through the confusing maze of trails located within Lost Dutchman State Park. The sun painted the sky with vivid oranges and pinks above the dramatic outcroppings, giving us plenty of indirect light to navigate by. There were a lot of people on the trail, even though Siphon Draw Trailhead was only half-full when we started - perhaps the extra hikers started from another parking area, or had spent the night sleeping at the state park.

We slowly made our way to Siphon Draw, a spot that we had visited before. On the way we passed by a poster for the Pinal County search and rescue team, and I got to tell the kids the story of when I was being “tested” for the Maricopa search and rescue team, and we had to work together to navigate a loaded litter through those same metal bars. That had been a confusing, grueling, sweaty day, and telling the story in a relaxed setting was pleasant, surrounded by my kids on a cool morning.

The trail crept by slowly. The approach to Siphon Draw always drags, the steepness sneaking up on you, even while the rock walls ahead seem to get no closer. We joked, told stories, and played a few alphabet games to pass the time. An hour or so in we reached a small cave formed by massive rocks that had fallen into the canyon, and we took a quick snack break. There were plenty of little cracks and crevices for the kids to explore while I sorted out our gear, preparing for Siphon Draw and the challenge ahead.

That small leg between the cave and Siphon Draw passes by in a blink, with plenty of interesting sights and trail challenges to distract. We paused briefly at Siphon Draw, sipping water and relaxing, and then quickly moved on, driven away by the crowds of people who hiked this trail only for this normally-dry waterfall. This next leg, the climb from Siphon Draw to Flatiron, is what I was the most nervous about. A lot of scrambles lay ahead of us, and while the kids are sure-footed and experienced, I still prefer to be spotting and helping them out. Handling all three kids stretched me thin. I could spot one kid at a time, but once they were beyond my reach, ahead of me, I could only tell them to sit and wait… if they scrambled further, there was no way I could catch them.

The climb up the canyon to Flatiron was an exhausting, nerve-wracking crawl. There were friendly hikers, sure, but most of them had their own adventure to attend to, and I felt incredibly alone. As we struggled up, tackling one obstacle at a time, I wondered why I didn’t call a friend to climb up this hike with us. I’m running low on friends who like hikes of this difficulty, though, and even fewer who would tolerate this slow pace. Add the social distancing of covid during the early months of 2022 and yeah, that number drops to zero. This was the only way, and the kids listened well, and we made our way as safely as we could.

It took us two hours to conquer this climb and reach the flat section of Flatiron, and I watched my kids triumph and admire the views with pride. It’s rare to see a four-year-old girl on top of this mountain, let alone three kids and a solo dad. Was this stupid? Maybe. It was still awesome. We celebrated with hot cocoa, dancing, and plenty of photos to memorialize the adventure. I even led us over to the eastern edge, where we gazed over the whole ridgeline. Could we do that next? Hike from Siphon Draw to Carney Springs in one day? Maybe.

A relaxing hour at the summit and then we had to head back down. This was just as nerve-wracking and exhausting as the way up, only more so. I found myself either carrying or holding hands with each kid, one at a time, and then climbing back up to retrieve another one. Noah, on his second venture out here, was a great help, helping Tom and cheering us forward. It took us longer to descend than it did to climb, and by the time we reached the flatter sections of the Siphon Draw trail I was emotionally and physically exhausted.

Of course, an adventure like this absolutely required ice cream, so we stopped by Culver’s before going home. Normally, after a trip like this, my mind swirls with future ideas of where to go next. And yeah, there is the ridgeline that we scoped out. Today, this felt just a few hairs too far. My mind, instead of drifting towards more ambitious trips, like Battleship and Malapais, instead fell back towards easier car camps and low-mileage trips. Maybe it’d be nice to build more relaxing trips into our rotation instead of always going harder.