Sedona isn’t far from Flagstaff, but to get there one must drive through Oak Creek Canyon, which, although it has nothing on the west coastal roads, is rather winding and a little slow, but pretty. This partially explains why everything in Sedona is so expensive.
Sedona was voted the prettiest town in America in USA Today or something like that. That’s mostly due to the red rocks surrounding the town, but also the town seems to have an ordinance on the appearance of all buildings. They seem to be limited to shades of red and green, which has the buildings kind of blend into the scenery. Even the McDonald’s arch was a sage green instead of the usual cheerful yellow. I wandered around the town a bit, but I wasn’t in a shopping mood, and didn’t need anything, so I didn’t spend too much time there.
I decided to do the Chimney Rock Loop, a moderate 1 mile loop for my hike, so I wouldn’t have to retrace my steps. The trailhead was in a suburban section of Sedona, but I soon left civilization behind. What the trail map failed to mention was that there were two trails, Lower and Upper. I mistakenly thought the signs just referred to different sections of the trail, and ended up hiking quite a bit farther and on more steep and dangerous terrain than I expected. Well, no harm done. It worked out fine. I learned just how wicked those cacti are; I thought if I was really careful I could touch the skin of a cactus without getting poked by the spikes. However, it seems the big spikes aren’t the ones to worry about – it’s the little spikes that you can’t see until they embed themselves into your skin. I’ve found a new appreciation for the people in movies who fall on a cactus. Just two of them really hurt!
I’ve hiked that trail!! We also failed to realize there were two different trails and ended up waaaaay off of the trail. Wondering around in the dessert for two hours was acutally pretty fun.
Can’t wait to compare photos!