Iron Mountain's North Ridge
Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2015 1:08 pm
INTRODUCTION:
I awoke in the morning to find that a good hiking friend of mine, the Legendary Gus, had posted twenty six pictures to facebook's 'California Peaks' group page. I honestly would have shot right past the post to watch the next video down "Cute Animal Fails", except Gus 'The Mountain Goat' is the only person I've ever taken to Triplet Rocks after my first trip report on here and rumor has it hes climbed Iron Mountain 100 times before realizing the surrounding peaks could also be bagged. I began squinting my eyes to read further and before I knew it, they were wide again. The letters stood out like a Big Horn Sheep on a fire road ...NORTH RIDGE OF IRON MOUNTAIN...he had my attention.
The first time I had heard about the North Ridge was during my San Antonio Traverse. Butchy Fuego described it shortly along with a ton of other routes he had done up to Iron, all of which required extra gear that I didn't know how to use; compass, a map, gaiters, a water bottle. You know, all the technical gear that only the Pro's use. I decided to message Gus to see if he could part with the GPX file for further research. He was only able to send me a screen shot of his route since he didn't have any idea how to download the GPX from Garmin. Fair enough. I pretty much always use screen shots to compare to my Strava Uploads since I don't have a Garmin. Normally, if I'm feeling lost, I just open up both strava and the picture to compare side by side to see if I'm on the right track.
I spent portion of my morning reading trip reports and getting ready for work when I received a message. "We can just do it tomorrow" meant that I was free from the confines of the work day. For the last two weeks, work has been almost 100% on call... which was both depressing and exciting. I could make no plans, but I was also free to be extremely spontaneous with my solo hiking attempts. All that it required was a precise estimates of trail time and weather conditions, both of which I fail to gather consistently.
Within 30 minutes, after burning a hip hop beat CD, emailing myself the trail beta, and making a PBJ, I was out the door and ready to attempt Iron Mountain's North Ridge.
FUCK.
THE TRAIL:
(Disclaimer: Please do not use any of these time estimates to make an itinerary for this trek. I'ved trained consistently running in the ANF for the last six months to get to this level. I'm not trying to be cocky, I just don't want anyone getting hurt because of overambitious goals. I've added trail beta at the end of the Trip Report for you to make up your own estimates for the death walk.)
I parked my car at Heaton Flat and checked my gear for the fourth time. The official start time leaving the parking lot and passing the fence was 12:56pm. I knew that I could make it to the bridge within 1 hour even with a full day pack so long as I kept up a decent running pace. Within 5 minutes, I realized I brought far too much water, especially since I also brought a water filter. Fortunately I passed an attractive female at the 2 mile marker who had nothing but a walking stick. I pawned off an unopened water bottle to her and refused her offer to make love to me. Onward.
I arrived at the Bridge to Nowhere in exactly one hour. So far so good. At this point, I knew that I could reach Fish Fork from there by 3pm. The distance to Fish Fork is a little shorter than the first bit to the bridge, but I had been there several times and I knew from previous experience that its a bit more rugged. You essentially just have to follow the creek once your about half a mile past the bridge which sets you up for lots of water wading, a little bush whacking and easy rocky terrain. I kept having to remind myself that following the water here would be much easier than trying to find a trail off to the side. Its worth the wet shoes, trust me.
Two hours in from my trek and I was ready to take short breather at Fish Fork... I mean, how could you not? This is literally one of the most incredible isolated campgrounds in all of East Fork. Full sized fire pit with a grill, at least three tent locations, an infinite amount of places to hang a hammock, and of course a creek to filter water from within 50 feet of camp. GORGEOUS!
Oh shit thats right. I gotta climb a mountain still...
After considering turning around, I decided that 4 hours would at least get me to the summit in the worst case scenario and I would have to hike down the South Ridge in the dark. I knew the trail relatively well, so the summit was now in my mind as a beacon of safety. I estimated that I would make it to the car by 10pm, but I would have a helluva Journey before then. The Trip Report I read had noted that the ascent to the ridge was about .5 miles past Fish Fork. I followed my GPS closely for this section since I knew that looking for a trail at this point was most likely out of the question.
Sure as shit, at about .5 miles is a gully that I was supposed to ascend to the ridge, except I walked right past the Gully and stood there staring at a rock wall because I had forgot what a Gully was. Oops. So I basically took the ridge the entire way up and dealt with TONS of bushwhacking that could have been avoided. The next hour was horrendous because of this. I kept looking to the south and seeing that clear gully I could have taken as I powered through dense bush. It was a mess.
Eventually I got to the ridge and saw the what must have been Iron Mountain. This is where my mind started playing tricks on me...
The Facts:
-I was already mentally drained from all of the dense bush I just encountered
-A section of the ascent from the ridge is hidden and looks as though you would have to drop down into a canyon and ascend A WALL before reaching Iron (very unsettling).
-Rain Clouds were starting to hover over Rattlesnake Peak.
-FUCK.
At this point there were no more breaks. I had to get close to the summit before the clouds came in and I lost my sense of direction. I was forced to take mental note of every possible spot to hide under a rock if weather came in AND I had to continue relentlessly up the what was now purely class 3 climbs. It spent the next hour speaking aloud to myself. It was a jumble of positive incantations to keep me from slowing the pace, laughing at how beautiful the scenery was every time I reached another lip and planning on what I'd do if shit hit the fan and I was forced to spend the night.
6:36pm-Finally, success was visible. I read in the trip report that about a quarter mile from the peak, it flattens out a quite a bit. So I kept pushing in hopes that I would see....and there it was. Relief. A metal pole with a downward facing triangle. This time I could only see the back of it, but I immediately started imaging the phrase "W-mutha-fuckin-15" written in big white letters. I had made it to the peak.
I was barely ahead of schedule. I had just enough time to get my LED lights out, eat a PBJ and sign the register. The clouds surrounded me at this point and the sun might as well have gone down because visibility was almost gone but I knew how to get home and thats all the comfort I needed. I arrived back to the car at about 9:20pm. I was covered in sweat and out of water. I could immediately feel all of the previous stress I had put myself through slowly transform into excitement. Not a lot of people have done what you just did.
Total trip time from car to car 8 hours and 20 minutes.
TRAIL BETA (all rough estimates)
Heaton flat (Ev. 2010 ft.)
Total Distance: 0.5 Miles
Total Vertical Gain:-30 feet
Bridge to Nowhere (Ev. 2774 ft.)
Easy to follow trail, lots of mildy technical terrain.
Total Distance: 4.7 miles
Total Vertical Gain: 950 feet
Fish Fork (Ev. 3395 ft.)
Close to no trail. Following the creek is your best bet. prepare for wet shoes.
Total Distance: 7.36 miles
Total Vertical Gain: 1395 feet
North Ridge to Iron Mountain (Ev. 8010 ft.)
Extremely difficult Terrain. 60% Class 3 climbs, 25% dense Bush whacking, 10% class 2 ridgeline walking, 5% basic Class 4 moves.
I am the 'go-go-go' hiker. My mentality is simply DONT STOP MOVING. If you are the patient hiker that observes much more, you could probably avoid the class 4 climbs completely and the bush whacking a little bit.
Total Distance: 10.5 miles
Total Vertical Gain: 6853 feet
South Ridge Descent to Heaton Flat:
Total Distance: 18.2 miles
Total Vertical Gain: 7000 feet ??[/b]
Photos
http://s67.photobucket.com/user/profile ... th%20Ridge
Strava
Most of the Ascent (Phone died)
https://www.strava.com/activities/392509328
Final Push and Descent
https://www.strava.com/activities/392509318
I awoke in the morning to find that a good hiking friend of mine, the Legendary Gus, had posted twenty six pictures to facebook's 'California Peaks' group page. I honestly would have shot right past the post to watch the next video down "Cute Animal Fails", except Gus 'The Mountain Goat' is the only person I've ever taken to Triplet Rocks after my first trip report on here and rumor has it hes climbed Iron Mountain 100 times before realizing the surrounding peaks could also be bagged. I began squinting my eyes to read further and before I knew it, they were wide again. The letters stood out like a Big Horn Sheep on a fire road ...NORTH RIDGE OF IRON MOUNTAIN...he had my attention.
The first time I had heard about the North Ridge was during my San Antonio Traverse. Butchy Fuego described it shortly along with a ton of other routes he had done up to Iron, all of which required extra gear that I didn't know how to use; compass, a map, gaiters, a water bottle. You know, all the technical gear that only the Pro's use. I decided to message Gus to see if he could part with the GPX file for further research. He was only able to send me a screen shot of his route since he didn't have any idea how to download the GPX from Garmin. Fair enough. I pretty much always use screen shots to compare to my Strava Uploads since I don't have a Garmin. Normally, if I'm feeling lost, I just open up both strava and the picture to compare side by side to see if I'm on the right track.
I spent portion of my morning reading trip reports and getting ready for work when I received a message. "We can just do it tomorrow" meant that I was free from the confines of the work day. For the last two weeks, work has been almost 100% on call... which was both depressing and exciting. I could make no plans, but I was also free to be extremely spontaneous with my solo hiking attempts. All that it required was a precise estimates of trail time and weather conditions, both of which I fail to gather consistently.
Within 30 minutes, after burning a hip hop beat CD, emailing myself the trail beta, and making a PBJ, I was out the door and ready to attempt Iron Mountain's North Ridge.
FUCK.
THE TRAIL:
(Disclaimer: Please do not use any of these time estimates to make an itinerary for this trek. I'ved trained consistently running in the ANF for the last six months to get to this level. I'm not trying to be cocky, I just don't want anyone getting hurt because of overambitious goals. I've added trail beta at the end of the Trip Report for you to make up your own estimates for the death walk.)
I parked my car at Heaton Flat and checked my gear for the fourth time. The official start time leaving the parking lot and passing the fence was 12:56pm. I knew that I could make it to the bridge within 1 hour even with a full day pack so long as I kept up a decent running pace. Within 5 minutes, I realized I brought far too much water, especially since I also brought a water filter. Fortunately I passed an attractive female at the 2 mile marker who had nothing but a walking stick. I pawned off an unopened water bottle to her and refused her offer to make love to me. Onward.
I arrived at the Bridge to Nowhere in exactly one hour. So far so good. At this point, I knew that I could reach Fish Fork from there by 3pm. The distance to Fish Fork is a little shorter than the first bit to the bridge, but I had been there several times and I knew from previous experience that its a bit more rugged. You essentially just have to follow the creek once your about half a mile past the bridge which sets you up for lots of water wading, a little bush whacking and easy rocky terrain. I kept having to remind myself that following the water here would be much easier than trying to find a trail off to the side. Its worth the wet shoes, trust me.
Two hours in from my trek and I was ready to take short breather at Fish Fork... I mean, how could you not? This is literally one of the most incredible isolated campgrounds in all of East Fork. Full sized fire pit with a grill, at least three tent locations, an infinite amount of places to hang a hammock, and of course a creek to filter water from within 50 feet of camp. GORGEOUS!
Oh shit thats right. I gotta climb a mountain still...
After considering turning around, I decided that 4 hours would at least get me to the summit in the worst case scenario and I would have to hike down the South Ridge in the dark. I knew the trail relatively well, so the summit was now in my mind as a beacon of safety. I estimated that I would make it to the car by 10pm, but I would have a helluva Journey before then. The Trip Report I read had noted that the ascent to the ridge was about .5 miles past Fish Fork. I followed my GPS closely for this section since I knew that looking for a trail at this point was most likely out of the question.
Sure as shit, at about .5 miles is a gully that I was supposed to ascend to the ridge, except I walked right past the Gully and stood there staring at a rock wall because I had forgot what a Gully was. Oops. So I basically took the ridge the entire way up and dealt with TONS of bushwhacking that could have been avoided. The next hour was horrendous because of this. I kept looking to the south and seeing that clear gully I could have taken as I powered through dense bush. It was a mess.
Eventually I got to the ridge and saw the what must have been Iron Mountain. This is where my mind started playing tricks on me...
The Facts:
-I was already mentally drained from all of the dense bush I just encountered
-A section of the ascent from the ridge is hidden and looks as though you would have to drop down into a canyon and ascend A WALL before reaching Iron (very unsettling).
-Rain Clouds were starting to hover over Rattlesnake Peak.
-FUCK.
At this point there were no more breaks. I had to get close to the summit before the clouds came in and I lost my sense of direction. I was forced to take mental note of every possible spot to hide under a rock if weather came in AND I had to continue relentlessly up the what was now purely class 3 climbs. It spent the next hour speaking aloud to myself. It was a jumble of positive incantations to keep me from slowing the pace, laughing at how beautiful the scenery was every time I reached another lip and planning on what I'd do if shit hit the fan and I was forced to spend the night.
6:36pm-Finally, success was visible. I read in the trip report that about a quarter mile from the peak, it flattens out a quite a bit. So I kept pushing in hopes that I would see....and there it was. Relief. A metal pole with a downward facing triangle. This time I could only see the back of it, but I immediately started imaging the phrase "W-mutha-fuckin-15" written in big white letters. I had made it to the peak.
I was barely ahead of schedule. I had just enough time to get my LED lights out, eat a PBJ and sign the register. The clouds surrounded me at this point and the sun might as well have gone down because visibility was almost gone but I knew how to get home and thats all the comfort I needed. I arrived back to the car at about 9:20pm. I was covered in sweat and out of water. I could immediately feel all of the previous stress I had put myself through slowly transform into excitement. Not a lot of people have done what you just did.
Total trip time from car to car 8 hours and 20 minutes.
TRAIL BETA (all rough estimates)
Heaton flat (Ev. 2010 ft.)
Total Distance: 0.5 Miles
Total Vertical Gain:-30 feet
Bridge to Nowhere (Ev. 2774 ft.)
Easy to follow trail, lots of mildy technical terrain.
Total Distance: 4.7 miles
Total Vertical Gain: 950 feet
Fish Fork (Ev. 3395 ft.)
Close to no trail. Following the creek is your best bet. prepare for wet shoes.
Total Distance: 7.36 miles
Total Vertical Gain: 1395 feet
North Ridge to Iron Mountain (Ev. 8010 ft.)
Extremely difficult Terrain. 60% Class 3 climbs, 25% dense Bush whacking, 10% class 2 ridgeline walking, 5% basic Class 4 moves.
I am the 'go-go-go' hiker. My mentality is simply DONT STOP MOVING. If you are the patient hiker that observes much more, you could probably avoid the class 4 climbs completely and the bush whacking a little bit.
Total Distance: 10.5 miles
Total Vertical Gain: 6853 feet
South Ridge Descent to Heaton Flat:
Total Distance: 18.2 miles
Total Vertical Gain: 7000 feet ??[/b]
Photos
http://s67.photobucket.com/user/profile ... th%20Ridge
Strava
Most of the Ascent (Phone died)
https://www.strava.com/activities/392509328
Final Push and Descent
https://www.strava.com/activities/392509318
holy s----! 
