Six Hikes in Sedona (Arizona Trip -- August 2008, Day Five)

DAY FIVE:  Tuesday, 19 August 2008

Day’s Starting Pedometer Mileage:  827.

Picture the alarm clock from the “Tick” cartoon again, but I woke up before it (again).  I had it set for 4.30 am, but I woke up at 4.15.  A half-hour to get ready, and off I went.  It was a day or two past full moon, so it was still pretty bright, but I drove with my high-beams on to make sure I saw any critters looooong before I was near them.  Didn’t see any this time.

It was still pretty pitch black as I drove down 89A through Oak Creek Canyon.  By the fact I had already driven down it in the full daylight (and knew the drop-off that would await me should I take a corner too fast), it was pretty easy.  Still, I want to take that section of 89A, complete with elevation changes, but minus the drop-offs, and put that on a performance track.  20 mph for that turn, my ass!  I’m sure I could still make it doing 40, especially if I was driving Argent (the Jetta) or even Bete Noire (the Sunfire I had before).

I stopped at the bridge just north of Sedona and took a couple of shots just to get some contrast to what I had done the previous day.  It still wasn’t light yet.  My plan today was to venture to the furthest place out first, and then work my way back so I could avoid criss-crossing town and dealing with the traffic.

First was Bell Rock.  It was light by the time I got there, but the sun hadn’t come up yet.  While I simply wanted to hike around Bell Rock, the trail got confusing after a bit.  At one point I was starting to ascend Bell Rock in the opposite direction (the way I had just come), and at another point I was closer to Courthouse Rock than I was Bell Rock.  I figured I would just do the Courthouse Loop then.  A little longer than I had planned, but for me it’s no sweat.  In a little bit, the trail had a completely different name (like Lhara, or something like that), and I was going away from Courthouse Rock towards something else entirely.  I figured the distance I walked would’ve equaled to one time around Bell Rock, so I back-tracked to the car.  First one done.

Now as a quick aside here, when I hike trails in Austin, I hike every pathway I find until I have hiked everything on that trail, and then I move on to the next one.  But in Austin, I have every weekend to work on the trails (or at least, whenever I want).  I only had one more planned day in Sedona, and I wanted to do as many trails as possible.  I knew I wasn’t going to properly complete them all, I don’t think I could’ve done that if I had just spent the entire time in Sedona hiking (which I thing will be Dave’s next trip to Arizona).  So I went for quantity.

Second was Cathedral Rock.  It was a short distance down from Bell Rock, and the sun was over the mountains now.  The first thing I noticed at Cathedral Rock was a machine that would’ve dispensed Red Rock Passes (if it wasn’t out of order).  That would’ve been a handy piece of information to have yesterday, and that was all I thought about it.  There were two twenty-something guys that were a little bit before me, tossing rocks all over the sides of the trail, talking loudly, and such.  It didn’t seem like they were respecting the rock, unlike the ladies with their dogs I saw back at Bell Rock.

I started to go around Cathedral Rock, perhaps I got an eighth of the way, and decided I would just ascend it (as the trail had presented itself).  The trail markers were piles of rocks in a barrel-shaped chicken-wire frame, so you couldn’t mistake them for a natural formation.  The trail-heads also referred to them as “cairns.”  My inner Garou smiled at the reference, and wondered which side would control the nodes of Quintessence in Sedona.  Would it be Tradition Mages (like the Dreamspeakers or Verbena), or any of the Garou tribes (except Bone Gnawers, as there were no gangsta’s present).  Even though Upper Sedona is tourist-based, it’s not the type of city that would attract the Technocracy.

I ascended up about half-way that I could, as the trail got a little steep and a bit more vertical for me.  I sat for a bit and drank in the beauty (even though the I was hearing laughing after the sound of rocks being tossed about), and then worked my way back down.  I met a local couple at the base, who go up here about once a week, and when asked where I could get breakfast nearby, directed me to a place in Oak Creek Village (just south of Sedona).

So what it was back past Bell Rock, the tip sounded good.  Arriving in Oak Creek Village, it was smaller than Sedona (at least what I saw of it).  This was more what I had pictured when Lee first described Sedona to me; a small, basically rural town.  I located my destination, the Desert Flour.

The young girl behind the counter that greeted me oozed perkiness, which was very refreshing.  I got a cinnamon bagel with egg, cheese, and tomato, and washed it down with a large chocolate milk.  Ms. Perky asked if I knew what all the military officers were doing in town, and pointed those out who had their noses in their laptops (as opposed to the locals just reading the paper).  Maybe she asked me because she thought I was one of the military guys (must be the hair cut), but I told her I was just here to climb some rocks.

Next target was Mystic Trail.  That wasn’t even on any maps I had seen for Sedona, and Frommer’s guide (which didn’t have it on their map either) had it as a footnote of someplace that was rarely visited and not well-marked.  I like the places that are not well-visited.  There was a little pull-off a ways before you got to the Chapel of the Holy Cross, which has no restrooms (as the sign on the porta-potties said out in front of their gate).  Also signs next to the porta-potties said “Parking for 15 minutes maximum.”  That also struck me funny in my twisted humor.

I parked at Mystic Trail, took a picture of a bird that I didn’t know (as the only other ones I saw in Sedona were doves, and it wasn’t one of those), and hiked a quarter of the way in when I realized I didn’t have my Red Rock Pass out and displayed in the car.  Since it was so out-of-the-way, I figured the chances of being towed were slim, but I was determined to have no bad experiences today.  [Later learned the bird was a quail.]

I hauled ass back to the car, and pretty much burned up a large chunk of the calories that were suppose to hold me to lunch.  I had no issues, and fished the Red Rock Pass out of the cubby-hole where I had put it (to keep it from blowing out the window, as it was not humid at all, so I was driving with the windows down).  I would later have the Red Rock Pass sticking out of a cubby-hole on the top of the dash, so I in my mentally-retarded state wouldn’t forget again.

That potential issue avoided, I returned to the hike of Mystic Trail, which was right in front of Elephant Rock.  Notice I didn’t say “in the shadow of,” because there wasn’t any shade.  To keep myself cool, the shirt was off, and it was a very pleasant, fairly easy hike.  I was really able to get into the “groove” that I like, where my mind goes and wanders while enjoying the scenery.  Mystic Trail ends at another trailhead at the end of a cul-de-sac in a residential area, so I turned around and went back the way I came.

I met no other humans on Mystic Trail, and that was great.  At about the half-way point (across from a small rock I had taken a picture of the pyramid with on my way in) there was a table-sized reddish rock with some white portions on it (that made the letter “C” from where I was looking).  It looked inviting, so I pulled out the pyramid to sit on the rock with my back to sun to meditate a bit.  My ass fit perfectly in the small depression the formed the middle of the “C,” so it was very comfy.  I soaked up some good rays.  It was very nice sitting there, but I don’t think I soaked up any vortex energy there.  I had some good energy feelings at the Meteor Crater, and in the morning at the Grand Canyon (especially at Moran Point), but I’m not sure if I tapped into any energy in Sedona.  Once I sat long enough, I resumed the hike, and back to the car.

On the way down Route 179 from Mystic Trail was a sculpture gallery that I wanted to take a picture of the outside yesterday, but construction trucks were blocking the entrance.  Today they were only partially blocking the entrance, so I was able to pull into Exposures Gallery, and take a picture of the eagle sculpture out front.

Next I arrived at Airport Vortex, also known as Outlook Point.  There was limited parking, but I was easily able to find a space.  While there was one or two trails that would take me to points nearby, I went right for the top.  It was only about 150 yards up as the crow flies (so let’s say 200 when walked, due to turns in the trail).  There was an excellent view from the top, and that was not counting the two sun-bathers up there (who were originally from Lubbock, but now were full-time residents).

I informed the sun-bathers that I wanted to take a 360 degree shot, and asked if they could please move for the short period I was taking the shot (and then they could go back to their space), unless they wanted to be in the shots.  They stayed behind me for most of the shots, but ended up being in the last of the panoramic shots anyway.  The tree that I had used as my twelve o’clock position, which was what the sun-bathers were sitting next too, had been re-occupied by them when I had by back to it.  I didn’t see any sense of asking them to move again, so they ended up in the shot when I ended on the tree that I started on.

I meditated at the top for a bit, focusing on my pyramid for a bit, enjoying the views, and then it was time for lunch.  The recommendations from the sun-bathers were all pricy dinner places, nothing I was quite ready for.  And before you ask, no there were no invites buried in there (none that I noticed), and I would’ve not taken them up on it anyway.  I already had a place in mind for lunch; I just wanted to see what other tips I could get.

I arrived at Coffeepot House, a place where breakfast is served all day (and you could get 101 different omelets).  I sat out in the back patio, and enjoyed that my waitress just didn’t get me a glass of ice water, but left an entire jug on the table.  I finished that, I was so thirsty.  The rule at this place was when you place your order, you give the letter(s) of the menu.  With 101 variations, you had double-letter combinations.  I kept it simple and got sandwich “M,” which was a chicken breast.  This was a very nice place, and the painted décor inside was also nice (even though I didn’t spend a lot of time inside).

Now when sitting at restaurants, you don’t purposely try to listen to other people’s conversations, but you overhear snatches of things.  One table had a guessing game going on between a father and a couple of elementary school age boys who were trying to come up with all the Greek Gods’ names (and they were doing a good job of it, too).  It was nice to hear a literary game.  At another table these older people were talking about their “shows” and describing how they were similar to stuff done by Fireside Theatre.  I know Fireside Theatre from listening to Dr. Demento.  Sounding like this was a skit-oriented group, I did ask them if they did any shows in Austin.  This was the male-version of the “Vagina Monologues,” called “Abandoned Minds,” and they had no current plans to come to Austin.  Still, it was a nice chat.

After refilling my bottled water at a local stop-and-rob, I headed past where Chimney Rock was, and went to a trail called Dry Creek.  It wasn’t as much of a trail, more of a 4x4 road with no shade whatsoever.  I walked in about a mile or so to a turnaround/vantage point, where I met a couple who had been doing the 4x4 trail.  They said by car to go to the end of the trail was over an hour, and the view of the valley didn’t change much from here.  With that I decided I did pretty well on the trail, wasn’t going to walk without shade for miles without a change in scenery, and headed back out.

Now I know I wasn’t doing every bit of every trail like I would back at home.  At home I have any number of weekends to concentrate on one trail at a time, and walked every part of it until I’ve covered everything.  Here I had limited, and wanted to get in as many trails as possible.  I decided I would just have to come back to finish the trails I touched today on another trip out here.  I wanted to get a couple more trails under my belt.  I had already done my primary target trails that I really wanted to do (Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, and Mystic Trail), and Outlook Point (aka Airport Vortex) was a bonus.  Everything else was just gravy.  I wanted to do Boynton Canyon (where there was a vortex) and Long Canyon before they day (and my energy) ran out.

I arrived at Boynton Canyon, and noted from the map at the trailhead that it was 2.5 miles one way, certainly the longest hike I would do all day.  Mystic Trail was roughly 2.5 miles round trip (counting the portion I had to go over again).  I figured at the end of the trip into Boynton Canyon when I would try to meditate at the vortex, I would be able to rest and recharge some energy.  I saw a note for a far, far shorter trail called something like Vesta, which would be one of the trails I did at a later time.  I figured out at the end of the day that it was the trail that would’ve taken me to the vortex.

There’s a resort snuggled around the first part of the Boynton Canyon trail, and once I got past that I hooked up with two couple who were going at a good pace.  Both couples were snowbirds from Ohio who had their vacation homes in Sedona, although only one of the couples had actually done this hike before.  The other couple only had a single bottle of water to share between them, and we had to wait every now and then for them to catch up.  The first part of the hike was around the resort, the second part was thru some shady woods, and the last part was ascending the mountain that formed the Canyon.  I got close to the top of the mountain, meditated on the pyramid a bit, and when I heard thunder, figured it was time to start working my way out.  The others continued on towards the top.  I had a good pace going in, and I was starting to feel it now.  My pace out was slower, with a little bit of pain from the left foot.  There were dark clouds gathering, and I was determined to be off the trail by the time that storm hit.  It was pretty clear that Long Canyon would not be hiked this trip.

I knew I had some major blisters going once I got back to the car, and had finished off my water.  The storm hadn’t hit yet, but the sky was pretty dark, and the thunder rumbles were loud.  It looked like it might just be passing by, but I still made the right choice to come out when I did, considering how much I hobbled on the last third of the hike out.  The hiking boots came off, but I wasn’t going to peel the socks off until I got back to the hotel.  I put on my right shoe just so I could drive easier.  I thought about amputating the left foot.  >grin<

I considered just driving up to Long Canyon just to say I saw it, but even that was not going to happen.  I needed to refill with energy, and that was the priority.  I still needed to drive back to Flagstaff, and then I could collapse, die, and regenerate a new body.  Leaving the area of Boynton Canyon, I stopped at a Walgreens (the first place I came to that I could get a quick beverage and stuff for foot care), chugged a Gatorade in the parking lot, and a Fuze on the way back to Flagstaff.  On the way out of Sedona, I was finally able to see the corner store Lee had mentioned where one allegedly could obtain a Red Rock Pass.  All other times I had been through here, with the way trucks were parked, I couldn’t see the store, just a separate small café.  Plus all the other times in the morning the place had been closed.  Still, something to file away for the next trip.

Having returned to the hotel, I finally (for the first time all week) was able to swim in the pool.  I don’t know if it was because it had just rained, or I was just feeling the affects of my sunburn, but, but I froze in the water.  I swam for five minutes, and then went back to my room where I drew a hot bath and soaked in the tub to ease my aching joints.

Each night I had been trying a local restaurant in Flagstaff to eat at, but since I was having difficulty walking, I didn’t want to go too far.  I could’ve ordered food, but I didn’t have any beverages (except the ice that was melting in the buckets which I used to fill my water bottles in the morning).  I ended up going across the street to a place called Sizzlers.  No, of course I didn’t walk.  I barely could.  I drove across the street.  Sizzlers was a steakhouse similar to Ponderosa or Ground Round, where you stand in line to order your steak, get a tray for the all-you-can-eat salad bar, and a waiter brings your steak to your table when it’s ready.  The waiter would also refill your beverage for you, which for me was just water.  I needed some protein to replace when I had used up today, and there’s not better way to do that than meat.  I ordered a small steak and a chicken breast, and hobbled over to salad bar to fill my plate, and hobbled to a booth to sit in.  It wasn’t great food, but it was food.

I made the attempt at trying to sleep that night, but I think the pain and the energy from the Gatorade and the Fuze kept me up.  It took an hour or so before I fell asleep.  During the night (after I had been asleep for about two hours) the Band-Aid that had been used to cover the blister on the left heel came loose, stuck to the bed sheet, and when I moved, ripped it part way off my heel.  Needless to say, the pain associated with that woke me up.  After readjusting it, I had to put my sock over my foot so it wouldn’t happen again.  I hate sleeping with socks on.

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