The Huckaby Windows - Sedona

I hiked a moderate 5 mile loop up to the Huckaby Windows, and I only encountered one person traversing the slickrock. The hike took me 4 hours. The deep red color for which Sedona is famous is due to the presence of hematite (iron oxide, otherwise known as rust) that stains the sandstone of the Schnebly Hill and Hermit Shale layers. The steepness of the terrain is due the fact that the top layers of the strata are composed of basalt and limestone, which are harder than the underlying sandstone. Water running off the edge of the escarpment eats away at the lower layers, creating the shear cliffs.

Capitol Butte

Me on the slickrock.

 

Me on the slickrock.

My feet.

The Huckaby Windows

My hike.

Fay Canyon West Fork - Sedona

I hiked 3.5 miles round trip up Fay Canyon. This is a popular trail but most people hike only to the arch, and even more people stop at the end of the trail where the canyon forks. However I kept going on the left fork on an unofficial trail into the box canyon. The result was solitude and the most beautiful part of the canyon that most people don't see.

The left fork.

 

Yeager Canyon - Prescott National Forest

I hiked the 6.4 mile Yeager Canyon Loop Trail in the Black Hills of the Prescott National Forest. The Yeager Canyon Trail is on the west slope of Mingus Mountain and offers amazing views of the Prescott Valley and Bradshaw Mountains. The trail passes through ponderosa pine, but stays primarily in pinyon pine and juniper. I started at 5,893 feet elevation and went up to 7,084 feet. It was chilly and windy. It took me 3 hours.

The range is the first major fault-blocked range west of the Mogollon Rim on the southwest margin of the Colorado Plateau. This is the Arizona Transition Zone.

Prescott Valley

 

Prescott Valley

Prescott Valley

Prescott Valley

My 6.4 mile hike.