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.