Since the weather was good this morning, we decided to go on a hike. I assumed, since it was sunny, that it would warm up as the day progressed, and dressed accordingly . . running shirt and shorts. I was the only one on the trail so attired and the weather got rather cold, especially when the wind picked up. Actually, it got really cold. I will bring appropriate attire on the next hike. Cathy and Barbara were smart enough to bring along jackets.
We picked the Big Park Loop, including Bell Rock Pathway and Courthouse Butte Loop totaling about 5 miles roundtrip for our morning hike. Here is Cathy and Barbara starting up the hill . .
Looking back at our first destination, Bell Rock, as we continue on the Courthouse Butte. A lot of cacti for the dog to get into.
Typical rock formations along the trail between Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte.
Annie likes the water. This was a very clear seasonal stream along the trail. Normally, this area is totally dry at this time. I was assured she would be dry by the time we reached the trailhead.
A couple of shots along the trail. This was a very well-marked trail (and easy, but definitely not ADA accessible!) and we passed several hikers along the way.
This is Courthouse Butte, our destination for the morning.
This trailside formation looked like a crown so I had to climb to the top . . .
The next four photos are our views, looking up into the Minds Mountain Wilderness from the trail. There were numerous opportunities there to hike, but Wilderness Permits are required to enter and due to the distances encountered, the treks would be multiple day adventures. The sun was coming in and out of the clouds and I tried to capture some of the variances in lighting. The mountains/rocks look a LOT closer that they really are. For example: We saw a small town on the way here that we thought was about three or four miles down the road. When we finally got there, it was 27 miles!
Returning to our starting point, Cathedral Rock came into view. We were able to see this for a good distance while descending to the trailhead. This looks close but it is, in actuality, many miles away. In the distance, behind Cathedral Rock is the mountain range where we ran the Sedona Marathon two weeks ago. We passed recent “evidence” of black bear and Javilina.
We left in the late afternoon to take short hike to one of Sedona’s famous “vortex” sites. Vortexes are reportedly areas of concentrated energy rising from the earth. There are four such sites within the town of Sedona.
The trail was supposed to be level and about a mile. After walking down a steep and rocky single track for a while we met a couple of hikers going in the opposite direction. They informed us that the trial we were on was over four miles in length, and it was almost dark. (Sedona is one of only eight cities worldwide to be recognized by the International Dark Sky Association where you can actually see the stars at night. When it gets dark in Sedona, it gets DARK.) Here is Cathy traversing a stretch of slickrock that has a pretty steep drop-off to her left.
We did manage to get some pretty good views of the rocks around Sedona in the late afternoon light.
After turning back, We got one last glimpse of Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock in the evening sunlight. We had hiked that area earlier in the day.
It was rather dark when we reached the uphill section of the trail so Barbara and Cathy waited at a bend in the road while I went up the hill and retrieved the truck. After picking them up, we stopped in old downtown for a minute so Barbara could get her Kokapelli and we headed back to our campsite in Verdi Valley, taking a couple of side roads looking for the elusive Javilina.
Travelling with the Schinglers 