Sedona day hikes of Red Rock country

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Steve20050
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Joined: November 12th, 2009, 8:06 pm

Sedona day hikes of Red Rock country

Post by Steve20050 » May 11th, 2018, 4:41 am

After seeing bobcats trip report of the borderlands I thought I'd add something also in Arizona. I have spent a number of years living there at different times in my life. Thanks for the memories I enjoyed your post. Remember camping with parents at Saguaro before it was a park. I really like Chiricahua area as well as the Aravaipa Canyon northeast of Tucson.

I was recently down in Phoenix for short visit then north to Lake Montezuma where my folks have another home. It is down in a creek drainage which is the only place you want to be in the high desert. That is until a flash flood. :) So did some work on the house as they seldom get up there anymore. It is 20 miles south of Sedona. Decided I need to visit some Red Rock country while in the area, tourists or not.

I have a love hate relationship with Sedona. It is national park caliber stuff that got developed so tourists like me can go and spend money then go home unless your one of the multiple millionaires that live there. You need to be, to have your help go and do chores as the traffic does roundabouts all thru the downtown and the notorious Y. The author of the guide book I picked up to try somewhere new had an old expression to open his book. Robert Stone's 100 hikes in Sedona used the expression "God created the Grand Canyon, but he lives in Sedona". The scenery is about as good as anything we have on the planet. So with the help of the Beartooth Topo of Sedona and his guide I picked a couple new places to go.

The Red Rock pass is required most places like trailheads. Some even have card swipes to print your pass. Wow what service. Like the NWFP it is 5 USD per day, thou you can buy a week pass for 15 US and all you need to do is swipe that card. Wilderness at your fingertips. I decided that I was going to the Secret Mountain Wilderness. Now a name like that would normally mean some type of isolation. However the secret is out and there are hordes of hikers on some trials. Wilderness, well more a wonderland of colorful day hike trails and nights trying to find reasonable accommodation at the town that sits in the middle of it all. I chose Wilson Mountain and Bear mountain so I could get my photo panorama memory pegs of places I've spent time and they were both rated difficult. They were both gorge type hiking. Up and down affairs.

First was Wilson Mountain at 11 miles RT. Elevation gain was 2460 feet in lots of switchbacks. The Trail starts at Midgley Bridge over the Oak Creek. Swiped my card and got my pass. You reach the first bench and then have choices of north or south. North takes you to overlook of North Oak Creek Canyon, and view further northwest to more of the Secret Mountain Wilderness of canyons and gullies. No one there as I ate my lunch and took a panorama. Then I went to the south trail spur and that was where the hikers went as well as the dreaded flat daylight of mid day. Saw town and some awesome views. Here's some trail stuff.
001 Midgley Bridge.JPG
This bridge and Trailhead for Wilson Mountain are right out of Upper Sedona.
002 Morning in Red Rock country.JPG
Wow. Morning in Red Rock country.
003 Steamboat.JPG
Steamboat formation. Many formations are named.
004 Hedgehog.JPG
Watch your feet.
005 Watch where you put your hands.JPG
Watch your hands. Very sharp pointy things.
006 Too Old to die.JPG
Too old to die. Sounds like me.
007 Good Trail Signs.JPG
New Trail signs. Brush cut. At least you see where your money goes.
008 Trail Flowers.JPG
Sigh...
009 Walking Tree.JPG
Walking Tree. Really?
010 Upper Oak Creek- San Francisco Peaks.JPG
Some of the fire damage to Oak Creek a couple years back can be seen on left of canyon. Popular West fork is up this canyon. Rated as best hike in area. I've seen it rated at one of top 10 in country. Now mobbed. San Francisco Peaks in background.
011 DSC01055.JPG
Those are Ponderosa pine down there for size comparison. Can you see the small arch.
012 Indians Caves.JPG
I believe many of the caves were used as indigenous Indian homes at one time
013 Overview Midgley Bridge Area.JPG
Midgley Bridge. See the bridge down there.
014 Sedona.JPG
Should have been a national park out there.
015 Discontented Hiker.JPG
Disillusioned hiker. I hope this was at the end of their hike.
Last edited by Steve20050 on May 11th, 2018, 5:35 am, edited 4 times in total.

Steve20050
Posts: 395
Joined: November 12th, 2009, 8:06 pm

Re: Sedona day hikes of Red Rock country

Post by Steve20050 » May 11th, 2018, 5:00 am

Next up was Bear Mountain a drive out west of West Sedona. As I approached, dark clouds loomed with showers and lightning going to ground on the rim above. Maybe it would scare some tourists away. :lol: I was going up an exposed face with scrub for cover because the warning sign hadn't mentioned risky hiking with danger from above. My closest encounter when younger was one evening sitting on my parents porch at our house in Phoenix. The lightning hit the power pole across the street. Probably a bit too close. So up I went and showers followed. The high desert is exquisite when the temperatures are moderate with the cloud cover, lightning or not. Wow the views.
001 Hiking is risky.JPG
Hiking is risky.
002 Storming the mountain.JPG
Storming the mountain.
003 Doe Mountain.JPG
Doe Mountain.
004 Doe mountain is flat mesa in center.JPG
Doe mountain is flat mesa.
005.JPG
Everywhere you look.
006.JPG
This was one of my panoramas I did on film.
007 No thats not asparagus.JPG
No that's not a giant asparagus shoot.
008 Another Agavaceae.JPG
Another shot of Agavaceae.
009 Got to love Manzanita.JPG
Got to love Manzanita.
010 Manzanita Flowering.JPG
Manzanita flowering.
011Can you spot the houses..JPG
Can you spot the homes?
012 West Sedona line is airport.JPG
That line out there is the airport. Off to the extreme right is Cathedral Rock and probably the most famous photo of Sedona area. used to have a small camping area. When a kid I met a Los Angeles hippie and had my first beers, LOL.
013 Century plant  flower opening.JPG
Century plant partial opening. One of the most amazing sights in the Sonoran desert are these plants flowering. Like the Saguaros of bobcat's post I was too early.
014 Art.JPG
Art piece to class up the selection.
015 Sunset and time to leave.JPG
Sunset on a great day and time to head home.

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Bosterson
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Re: Sedona day hikes of Red Rock country

Post by Bosterson » May 11th, 2018, 11:32 am

These are great, Steve. I haven't been to Sedona since I was a kid. Thanks for posting - more pics of the desert, please! 8-)
#pnw #bestlife #bitingflies #favoriteyellowcap #neverdispleased

Steve20050
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Re: Sedona day hikes of Red Rock country

Post by Steve20050 » May 12th, 2018, 4:18 pm

<t>Thanks Bosterson. I am patiently waiting to get 120 film back. The photos posted here are from a cheap Cybershot I use for trail info. It does the job quickly with less quality if you will. Right side is fuzzy. I really should invest in some digital equipment that produces better results. The scenery there is fantastic. I am just spoiled at getting 50mp picture quality for years from my Mamiya rangefinder. To get the same in digital would require a big investment. I did take notice of a post on photo trail equipment by oldandslow. It looked like what I would love once the bugs are sorted. I really appreciate him posting this as I was wondering when someone would do something. It took forever to get photography to the digital stage and I love having a computer to do darkroom stuff as my old darkrooms were., well old. This camera is compact, has multiple lenses and does 50mp quality.Next would be getting the wife to see it would be great for me to spend the 2000 US on this. https://light.co/technology

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Don Nelsen
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Re: Sedona day hikes of Red Rock country

Post by Don Nelsen » May 12th, 2018, 4:52 pm

Nice report and pics! I love that part of the world and would love to get back there. You've piqued my interest again so thanks.

In '02 I really got lucky as I drove through the area as a huge rainstorm just drenched everything. The waterfalls were roaring and the sweet smell of all the wet foliage was amazing. This happened again on '09 but the '02 event was the best.

dn
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly

"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller

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romann
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Re: Sedona day hikes of Red Rock country

Post by romann » May 16th, 2018, 11:17 pm

Great pictures - Sedona's red rocks are just amazing. One of my favorite hiking areas aside from PNW.

I liked how straightforward is hiking there for tourists - they take good care of trails and make minimum rules (one cheap pass for everything, no limited entry, etc etc). But have to start early - one way they limit crowds is by keeping trailhead parking tight, and space fills quickly.

Loved Bear Mountain hike, and also Cathedral and Mitten Ridge..

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bobcat
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Re: Sedona day hikes of Red Rock country

Post by bobcat » May 17th, 2018, 12:20 pm

That is definitely a stunning area, and your photos do it justice. I've avoided it a couple of times because of its popularity and only once did some short hikes there when I had a toddler. Looks like spring is the time to go, though!

Steve20050
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Re: Sedona day hikes of Red Rock country

Post by Steve20050 » May 18th, 2018, 10:08 am

Thanks folks. It is a beautiful area.
Don Nelsen wrote:
May 12th, 2018, 4:52 pm

In '02 I really got lucky as I drove through the area as a huge rainstorm just drenched everything. The waterfalls were roaring and the sweet smell of all the wet foliage was amazing. This happened again on '09 but the '02 event was the best.

dn
I think the American Monsoon season is mid July till Early September. We just always said it was the "Dog days of August". It was the time of year where Phoenix would be cooler at say 105 but the humidity would head upwards and it would be miserable in the low desert. The higher elevation like around Sedona would be 10 degrees or so cooler and you would get those seasonal thundershowers more frequent. Have to watch for those gully washers then thou as the soil is thin and very much rain quickly turns to a flash flood.
romann wrote:
May 16th, 2018, 11:17 pm

I liked how straightforward is hiking there for tourists - they take good care of trails and make minimum rules (one cheap pass for everything, no limited entry, etc etc). But have to start early - one way they limit crowds is by keeping trailhead parking tight, and space fills quickly.

Loved Bear Mountain hike, and also Cathedral and Mitten Ridge..
Yeah, the early bird gets the worm there, they definitely control use in areas with limited parking. I haven't been up on Cathedral for decades. I know you can do a hike out there, but I remember as a teen hiking out there from the campground at Red Rock crossing, which is now Red Rock State Park without camping and a 5 dollar entrance. I rolled a few boulders off the shoulders as one of those dumb kid tricks. As the name implied you use to be able to drive across the Oak Creek there as there was a concrete bridge if I recall correctly. Course not during those heavy thunder showers. The creek became a raging torrent of red water. I seem to remember it took out parts of the campground and my parents wondering about the camping there. :lol:
bobcat wrote:
May 17th, 2018, 12:20 pm
That is definitely a stunning area, and your photos do it justice. I've avoided it a couple of times because of its popularity and only once did some short hikes there when I had a toddler. Looks like spring is the time to go, though!
Thanks Bobcat. I really liked your shot of Heart of the Chiricahua and the background Dragoons with Cochise's head formation. I recall as a kid being impressed that anyone could actually have a mountain that looked like their head. :) Save for mount Rushmore and that was man made of course. For those that didn't see this, the silhouette of Cochise's head in horizontal position is in the back ground of Bob's photo.

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romann
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Re: Sedona day hikes of Red Rock country

Post by romann » May 18th, 2018, 10:44 pm

Steve20050 wrote:
May 18th, 2018, 10:08 am
I haven't been up on Cathedral for decades. I know you can do a hike out there, but I remember as a teen hiking out there from the campground at Red Rock crossing, which is now Red Rock State Park without camping and a 5 dollar entrance.
It's possible to start on the other side of Oak Creek (Baldwin trailhead, a bit of a drive from Y in Sedona) or from one of little trailheads east of the Cathedral, with just Red Rock Pass. Fun scramble trail, hard to imagine something like this around here as an official trail, with Forest Service encouraging crowds to visit it :) .
DSC_6042.JPG
DSC_6044.JPG

Steve20050
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Re: Sedona day hikes of Red Rock country

Post by Steve20050 » May 19th, 2018, 12:25 pm

LOL. Wow. I haven't seen trails like that since I was in South America, where the governments aren't worried about your doing stupid human activities. ;)
Untitled_Panorama14d.jpg
Here's a panorama from the Sedona overlook on Wilson Mountain. The lighting was horrible by the time I got out there, but the view is worth the effort. You get a good look into the gapping hole of Oak Creek canyon as it empties into Sedona.

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