Hike Iron Mountains High Point Iron Mountains BLM, CA

Apr 12, 2020 — Despite being a slog through the desert, followed by a slog up a ridge, Iron Mountains High Point was actually quite a nice peak. I used Bob Burd's route since the more direct approach from the east is apparently no longer accessible due to private property restrictions. Turn off the main road (CA 62) onto a spur road on the west side (34.05992, -115.26799) of the West Iron Portal, which is a water project that pumps water under the Iron Mountains and resurfaces basically at the trailhead. The road I followed parallels the water project until the road ended.

I started northeast through the desert, at first not realizing quite how long the schlep would be until well into the walk when I looked at my GPS and noticed how far I was from the peak still. A therapeutic desert walk was what I was going to get. There were washes and minor drainages along the route that kept getting in the way, but the cacti and brush were minimal. About halfway through the desert approach, the terrain became slightly more rocky and the many ridges on the right misled me into thinking I was getting close. The approach required that I first enter a wide basin of sorts that was nestled between the many ridges of the west side of the Iron Mountains. The basic slowly narrowed into a wash, which continued east to the base of what felt like the farthest possible ridgeline from my car. I started ascending up this ridge on relatively steep terrain. A very colorful and interesting-looking peak came into view and I was convinced for the longest time that it would be the summit, but it's actually just an unnamed bump farther north along the ridge. It served as a nice landmark to reference my progress as I continued along the hike.

The Class 2 ridge was pleasant enough, requiring a few sections of scrambling to overcome rock outcroppings. A few hundred feet from the false summit, I came across the first still-standing wooden survey marker I've seen, a nice piece of history. I continued just past the false summit, skirting the false high point and following the summit ridgeline. There was a Class 2+ down climb to the saddle of the false summit and Iron Mountains High Point, followed by some side-hilling to avoid cliffs along the ridge crest. A final Class 2 move led to the summit block. In hindsight, I wish I allotted more time to continue north along the ridge (toward the aforementioned colorful sub-peak) and get the northern high point, but it was getting late.