This morning I hiked up Cockscomb Butte. Near the top of the butte the trail requires some scrambling and a short class 3 climb up the cliffs. I didn't see anybody climbing the butte this morning. So nice to escape the Sedona crowds. It took me 47 minutes to reach the top.
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| I brought my tripod with. |
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| Mingus Mountain on the horizon. |
Finally I took the correct route up Mescal Mountain to the 5,043 foot summit. The mesa is reasonably flat, and I spent an hour circling the mesa along the cliffs. I made a one mile loop.
The trail is unmarked, and an unofficial climbers trail leads up to the mesa. Then there is a short class 3 climb up the cliffs and this eliminates most hikers. As a result you get solitude in Sedona. The hike is 3 miles round trip.
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| Indian ruins. |
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| At the saddle. |
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| Hiking up the mesa. |
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| On the mesa. |
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| Me on the highest point. I brought my tripod with. |
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| My route. |
My camp in the Verde Valley near Cottonwood. The Verde Valley lies in the High Desert transition zone between the Sonoran Desert to the south and the Colorado Plateau to the north. It is about 100 miles north of the Phoenix metropolitan area. I'm working at Walmart in Cottonwood now. Summer is too hot in Phoenix so I requested a transfer.
My goal was to hike and climb to the top of Mescal Mountain but I went up the wrong saddle. When I checked my GPS location I realized that I was not on the summit. Nonetheless it was a beautiful hike and climb. There were too many social trails and I got confused. Now I need to go back and try again.
Once I began my hike up Mescal Mountain I didn't see anybody. I had the whole mountain to myself. There are easy ways to escape the crowds of Sedona.
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| You can see where I went wrong. |
I stopped and visited Badger Springs at the Agua Fria National Monument while driving north to Cottonwood. Due to extreme drought I'm surprised there is water still flowing. But it is at the lowest level I have seen in the last 3 years. This is the most northern part of the Sonoran Desert along I-17 at 2,950 feet elevation. I'll be now working at the Walmart in Cottonwood.
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| The Agua Fria River |
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| The Agua Fria River |
This
morning I did a 3.9 mile hike at Deem Hills Recreation Area. It took
me 1 hour and 20 minutes. This coming Friday I am relocating to
Cottonwood, AZ, in the Verde Valley. I need to escape the brutal summer heat of the
Phoenix Metro area. I'm also tired of the Phoenix metro area and need a change of scenery. So one month ago I put in a transfer request at Walmart where I work in Peoria, AZ. Tomorrow I migrate north to higher elevation.
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| My 3.9 mile hike. |
