Flatirons 2 and 3
Updated: Apr 20, 2024
A rock climber's dream,
A hard worker's theme,
And a wonderful day it would seem
Hiking the second and third flatirons involves much of the same that hiking the first and second flatirons does, in fact one avenue up towards the rocks involves the same stretch of trail starting at Chautauqua. It contains the same steep grade, the same type of root-obstructed path, and the same type of bouldering if one so chooses. And, like the trail between the first and second flatirons, this one opens up to fantastic views of the Colorado plains, Denver, and the NCAR weather station off to the south.
Over the course of two weeks, I was blessed to hike this trail not once but twice. Both times we started around 3 and finished around 6, though the second time took slightly longer because we chose to go all the way to the very top. You see, the traditional trail finishes just past a large field of talus at a fantastic overlook on the 3rd flatiron, then connects in a loop to another path which takes one under the second flatiron and back down towards the meadows. Inconspicuously though, another "trail" subtly branches off going straight up the boulders, which is only indicated by a lone unmarked wooden post. This scramble eventually leads one up to the backside of the third flatiron, which forms the descent route for rock climbers.
When we saw this feature on the map, we knew we had to try and find it, which was only possible because of some climbers making their way back down on the first hike. They were a trio which incredibly included a 7 year old kid who had just completed ascending all three flatirons. So the second time, we climbed the boulders the way I had seen the people come down, and eventually we made it. It's worth noting that the common rule for climbing mountains--that the peak is always farther than it seems--applies especially to this section of the hike, which we thought would only take 5-10 minutes but which actually took somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes because the climbing slowed our pace to something like one mile an hour.
Despite it taking so much longer than we thought to get to the top, the views weren't all that inspiring, as we were now nestled on the backside of the flatiron between it and the rest of the mountain. We did see someone rappelling down the face, and we found a ledge we had a fun time climbing onto. As you can see in the picture below, some type of chemical or moss sticks to the rocks along with the lichen, which provides the unique light green color and displays the dimension of all the little crevices and depressions, almost as if they were carved to be a statue. These faces become truly beautiful works of art which are an aspect of the rockies I've learned to really appreciate and enjoy. Why go to Rome when an equally fantastic and magnificant beauty abounds in my backyard, unlimited and bountiful if only I put on some hiking shoes and open my eyes to see it? And plus, in the outdoors I'll never know what I'm going to find, what treasures I'll discover that few have seen.
So while climbing all the way to the top wouldn't meet your expectations if your objective was solely epic vistas, it might be a fun activity if you're looking to boulder and see some cool rocks or if you just want to get an extra leg workout. For a normal hike, the lookout near the top serves both these purposes just fine, and I would argue it even provides a fuller view than the other flatirons hikes. If you look closely, you can even see the Royal Arch Trail snaking off to the right on the divide between rockfall and trees, which is an adventure I can't wait to experience (watch for an upcoming blog post!).
The way back down gave few moments of excitement, though it was a true test for the knees, which I didn't expect to workout that day (can you workout your knees?). The only notable thing we saw were the occasional chipmunk, contently scurrying around. Don't get me wrong, I like squirrels with their cute bushy tails and reckless regard for the laws of gravity, but if they all somehow died in a squirrel apocalypse and chipmunks took over as the new better-than-rats-but-still-not-as-cool-as-dogs animal we saw in our everyday lives I wouldn't be complaining. I mean they're basically just badass mice with racing stripes and war paint on their faces.
In regards to the hike, I'd say it was well worth it, my official rating being a 4.3/5 stars not including the added ofshoot at the top. If you add that into the equation, the rating would drop to a 4/5, but it depends on what you're after. That's part of the reason why if you asked me which flatirons hike I enjoyed more, I don't know if I could tell you. Certainly both paths show off some incredible views and rock formations, and both have really fun segments that require one to climb over some bigger rocks (the flatirons one and two hike requires a little more agility in this regard), though the flatirons 2 and 3 hike tests the quads a little more and I found it to be slightly less crowded. You'll have a lot of fun regardless of which you choose, but if you can, I'd say do both, because you gain a really great perspective of where you've been and where you're going, soemthing you can see even from down in the city.
Happy hiking!
Below I've attached some more pictures:
Comments