Apache Maid Trail - Wet Beaver Wilderness

I did an 8.4 mile round trip hike on the Apache Maid Trail in The Wet Beaver Wilderness. The elevation gain was 1,290 feet and it took me 4 hours. I was the only person hiking the Apache Maid Trail. The Bell Trail follows Wet Beaver Creek to The Crack which draws 99% of the hikers. But after 2.2 miles I left The Bell Trail and headed up the mesa.

The Wet Beaver Creek is a perennially flowing stream lined with cottonwoods and sycamore trees, and as you hike up the mesa it becomes pinyon-juniper woodlands. The Beaver Creek Watershed is located in the Transition Zone between the Basin and Range, and Colorado Plateau. It is one of several Mogollon Rim drainages providing surface flow to the Verde River.

The Subway - Sedona, Arizona

I hiked out to The Subway in Sedona. I finally figured out where it was. It's not on any trail maps but there is an overgrown trail that leads out there, and it is easy to find once you know where to go. However, there are many social trails, and I made one wrong turn but quickly realized my error. It's about 6 miles round trip with an elevation gain of about 800 feet.

The route to The Subway is located at the 2 mile point on the Boynton Canyon Trail. A large Alligator Juniper tree on the left side of the trail is a landmark for the unsigned junction. From here it is about 0.4 miles to The Subway depending on which social trail you use.

I brought my tripod and photographed me.

Sinagua ruins.

Blowout Wash - Cottonwood, Arizona

This morning I hiked the 4.4 mile loop trail at Blowout Wash at the base of the Black Hills. It is in the Prescott National Forest, and located at the edge of Cottonwood. It took me 90 minutes. The trail begins at 3,769 feet elevation and rises to 4,161 feet.

Brins Butte - Sedona, Arizona

My first attempt at Brins Butte was on June 14, 2020. I had turned back because lots of scree and loose rock. This time, at 8am I began my 4.2 mile round trip hike up Brins Butte, on a different route. I encountered only a few people, and nobody on the butte. I followed a faint trail up Brins Butte that was often marked with rock cairns. I made it to the summit in 90 minutes from the Jim Thompson Trailhead. Once I was on the mesa it had taken 46 minutes to reach the top. Near the top it is frequently a class 2 climb. The 5,502 summit of Coconino Sandstone is dominated by manzanita and pinyon-juniper woodland.

The blue track is my 4.2 mile route.

Soldier Pass Cave - Sedona, Arizona

I chose the western approach from Long Canyon Road to avoid the crowded Soldier Pass Trailhead. My 8.6 mile round trip hike is longer and more difficult but lots of solitude on the Chuckwagon and Brins Mesa Trails. From Long Canyon Road it is 1,014 feet of elevation gain, and took me 4.5 hours round trip. Basically my route is 3 times as long with twice the elevation gain.

The caves are formed in the Schnebly Hill Sandstone. It is a dark red sandstone 800 to 1,000 feet thick. The deep red color of the sandstone is due to hemetite (iron-oxide) which stains the normally white quartz sandstone.

Chuckwagon Trail

Soldier Pass

Approaching the caves.

 

Soldier Pass Cave

Soldier Pass Cave

Soldier Pass Cave

Soldier Pass Cave

The purple track is my route.

Mescal Mountain - Sedona, Arizona

Mescal Mountain is an easily accessible summit but infrequently climbed. The short class 3 climb up the lower cliff bands weeds out the casual hikers. Twice I have climbed it and haven't seen anybody. The mesa offers some impressive views for a low summit. It's about 3 miles round trip. I made it to the top in 45 minutes. The elevation gain is 750 feet.

Sedona is located in the interior chaparral, semi-desert grassland, Great Basin conifer woodland biomes of northern Arizona.

Looking at Capitol Butte from Mescal Mountain.

Plateau Point - Grand Canyon National Park

I began my 12.5 mile round trip hike at 2:00am, because I wanted to be back on the rim by noon to avoid the dangerous afternoon heat of the inner canyon. It’s a 3,195 foot descent on the Bright Angel Trail to Indian Garden and to Plateau Point Trail. the overlook is 1,300 feet above the Colorado River and overlooks the Granite Gorge between Pipe Creek Canyon and Monument Canyon. I arrived at Plateau Point at 5:15am. The entire hike took me 10 hours and 17 minutes with an hour break at Plateau Point to do photography. It was 91 degrees on the South Rim when I finished my hike.

It was an amazing experience hiking down the Grand Canyon in the dark with only a headlamp. Above me were billions of stars, and a crescent moon, and below were big black voids. My field of vision was limited to a beam of light extending about 100 feet in front of me, and I was blind to the expansive canyon below. Heading down the trail I encountered a Sonoran Gopher Snake, a Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion, deer, mountain goats, and a skunk.

Granite Gorge and the Colorado River.

Me on Plateau Point. I brought my tripod with.

Granite Gorge and the Colorado River.

Granite Gorge and the Colorado River.

Granite Gorge and the Colorado River.

Plateau Point Trail

Plateau Point Trail

Plateau Point Trail

Plateau Point Trail

Looking across the Granite Gorge.

Bright Angel Trail passing through Indian Garden.

Bright Angel Trail

Bright Angel Trail

Bright Angel Trail

My 12.5 mile round trip hike.