This journal entry covers our stay in the Sedona area and the many hikes we went on over the 2 week period.
March 24th, Tuesday, we drove R Sherpa to Camp Verde, AZ, about an hour north of Phoenix, where we are staying at Distant Drums RV Park for 12 days. After settling into our spacious concrete pad, site #70, we took off to drive to Sedona, about 30 minutes from our park. We stopped at the Hike House and bought a map of all the many trails in the area and had a nice vegan dinner at the Chocolate Tree.
Hiline/Baldwin/Cathedral Rock/Templeton/Slim Shady Loop Trail
Ready to start our first hike, we woke up early the next day and headed to the Yavapai Vista Trailhead to the Hiline Trail, 3.2 miles, climbing gradually to the saddle with spectacular views looking out at the red rock formations such as Bell Rock and the Courthouse Butte and many other red rock mountains. It was a steep, rocky, technical descent from the saddle, and we were surprised to get passed by mountain bikers. We arrived at the Baldwin Trail to the edge of Oak Creek where we stopped for lunch by the creek. Then it was a challenging 0.4 mile climb up to the saddle of the Cathedral Rocks, where we had amazing views looking out at the vistas. It was difficult to leave these views but it was time to head back, we hiked along the Slim Shady Trail for 2.5 long miles, and we were running out of water and getting tired after a total of 8 miles today. It was all worth it as the scenery is out of this world. Continue reading