emd

OK, if you put yours up, I'll put mine up - of Boynton Canyon, Cathedral, Devil's bridge, Fay Canyon, Broken Arrow, and all the ones since I got the digital camera. I've never put pictures on the web yet though so I have to figure out where and how to do it. And I'll post the ones we take in Dec. too.

ssachida

Thanks for following up Eileen. Its nice to share with other other interested people. I guess its good to know what future development we can expect but its a little scary to realize how much more development there can be. In one way, I'm glad we've been there before it got even more developed.

Thanks again eileen, i appreciate your persistence.

emd

sscahida: I had to have my last post removed because some info slipped through on it that shouldn't have been included. But I am glad you saw it. I will report back in January on what the status is when I go in late Dec.

Now, are you going to give us a poetic entry on your last hikes to Cathedral and Bell Rocks? Please do. I also really like your writing style. It reminds me of how I feel when I am in Sedona. I am not into the new age stuff, but the raw pure beauty of the area brings out that awareness and expressive side in me also.

USNR

Because I did not see the animal described, I cannot tell you what it was. We have no feral swine in AZ, as are found in Appalachia and elsewhere in the East. Javelinas can grow to considerable size, especially old males. These tend to live solitary lives. Too, their coats can become quite shaggy and dirty, giving the impression of greater size than their bodies would confirm. They are good to stay away from, no matter their size. Their eyesight is poor, but they have acute senses of smelling and hearing, and they will charge for almost no reason at all. It is particularly important that dogs who go along with hikers be kept on restraints -- a javelina can cut a dog to ribbons.

In reading this report, I was struck by how careless and lucky ssachida was.
Hardly a month goes by that hikers in this part of the West do not get into serious trouble. They hike alone -- a very dangerous thing to do. They do not carry sufficient clothing -- once evening begins, temperatures drop very quickly. They do not respect the fact that they are hiking at 4,500 ft. or higher altitude. They do not carry enough water. They carry no food -- a few granola bars will keep you alive for days, hungry but alive. They do not carry a cell phone. They do not have maps or a compass. They become disoriented and cannot follow the correct trails. They fall and become injured. Try hiking with a broken ankle. They do not carry a whistle. They sometimes light fires to call attention to the fact they are lost -- AZ's largest forest fire was the result of just this kind of situation. Thousands and thousands of acres were destroyed throughg the selfish panic of one greenhorn. They do not know what to do if they are lost and all the above situations are in play.

Welcome to our area, ssachida -- you are one lucky person. We hope you will return, have a great experience, and remember -- you are a stranger, you should be more careful, and you should apply the suggestions I have stated. Hardly a year goes by without someone -- almost always from somewhere else -- who disappears in our forests only to be found (or perhaps never found) years later, only to be identified by dental records. I do not wish to sound like an alarmist, only a friend who gives you experienced advice.

ssachida

Hi USNR,

Thanks for the concern. In my defense, I was not careless.
I had more than enough warm clothing including rain gear.
Plenty of water (1.5 gallons goes a long way in November)
Plenty of food including cereal bars.
Yes, I did hike alone but that is why I specifically registered with the rangers and I did have other people who would have raised the alarm if I had not checked in by a certain time.
Both those factors coupled together would mean that I wouldn't be lost in the canyon for very long.
I also did have a non-incendiary flare.
I had first aid to help with a sprained ankle, a bruise or a scrape among other things.
I did have an excellent topographical map.
I did have a compass. And I know how to use one.
I did have my cellphone.
I did find out about the habits of the local wildlife, which is why I knew to make a lot of noise.
I did have a whistle, that I did use.
I have plenty of respect for the altitude. I had actually come "downhill" from 6500ft at the south rim).
This may have been only my second or third backpacking trip, but I am by no means new to long day hiking.

My only "carelessness" is that I didn't bearbag my food. However, all my food was sealed and in the odor proof bags (not zip locks) that the ursack makers sell to prevent bear attacks. Yes, I could have done better. If javelinas are going to charge without any reason and there were 2 people in the tent, given how vicious they are and that they travel in packs, it would have made little to no difference.

If hiking alone is carelessness, even though plenty of people knew by schedule, then that is a risk I am fully willing to take. If I was "lucky", then I was as lucky as I get every single day of my life.


I do appreciate the concern and the welcome extended. I do not appreciate the judgement passed.

USNR

My remarks were posted for everyone to read -- not just for you, ssachida. If you are offended by my advice, so be it. One person saved by reading my remarks is one more person who can live to enjoy his/her experience out here. Only last week, a person from Britain had to be rescued in Sedona's back ountry. In a few more hours, he probably would have been seriously endangered by hypothermia.

ssachida

"In reading this report, I was struck by how careless and lucky ssachida was." Thats what I objected to.

If your warning helps people, I'm all for it. I just don't care to be called careless. I'm not. No offence taken. I don't get offended by anonymous judgemental comments on the internet.

Peace.

TheWeasel

I'm sorry, I just don't see how ssachida was "careless and lucky". Solo hiking/backpacking is not inherently "very dangerous" if one is prepared. USNR has good points about the dangers of solo hiking if one doesn't go out with sufficient food/water/knowlede, etc. but those points aren't applicable to this thread or ssachida. I think it would make more sense to post them as a separate thread, lest inexperienced people get confused and try to figure out what exactly ssachida did that was so careless and entailed such luck for her to survive. They'll be hard-pressed to find much of anything.

Ssachida, thanks for the great report. It's good to see a trip report on here that is more backcountry in nature than the usual. Your report will certainly help me when I hike the Grand Canyon myself (solo, of course).

emd

Ok now - ssachida, will you please finish your trip report now? I am up tres early and heading to the airport for a 6 a.m. international flight and I was so hoping to print this entire thread so I could read it over again and read about your Cathedral and Bell Hike before you ended your trip.

I get alot of grief about hiking alone too. But I have been doing it for 30 years and I am good at it and have had no problems that I couldn't get out of yet (I said yet). I am so consumed w/my family and clients and everything else in my life that sometimes when I go hiking it is a good time to be alone. I have never stayed out overnight alone (I'm way too chicken for that) and when I hike alone I only hike on well-travelled trails where I know I will meet up w/other hikers. But I understand the impetus to hike alone.

Now please, finish the report. I am still looking forward to it.

ssachida

Saturday Nov 5th
Bell Rock hike:
Woke up with the sun, dropped off my room keys and headed to the Bell Rock pathway. I was dressed to go the airport and had worn my merrel jungle mocs. That turned out to be fortunate since they have much better grip than my hiking boots and that is what the rock climbs needed. Ankle support isn't quite as important for theses climbs as it is for hiking.

This part of Sedona is very different from West Sedona. The rock formations here are smaller than in west Sedona, but there is also not as much forestation. That means the rocks are more accessible for climbing and that the views are panoramic. I'm not hiking into canyons here but up little bare hills.

Somewhere along the rather sedate pathway there is a sign the leads to the path to climb up bell rock. Well there's isn't an actual path up. It isn't about mindlessly following a trail here, I had to plan out my own trail! That's part of what made this climb so much fun. Bell rock has a terraced surface. That means that very 20 or 30 feet there is a 4 to 6 foot ledge. The 4 foot ledges I could hoist myself up. But, ouch, my arms hurt. The higher ledges, I walked around till I found a break in them and then got up. Sometimes the break is like a sort of crevasse, I felt like spider going up these crevasses on all fours. Yes, hands are as big a part of these climbs as feet. I have no rock climbing experience at all, so it could be that I was just way more cautious than I needed to have been. Pro climbers probably think this an easy jaunt. It wasn't hard, but very different from what I'm used to. The last 50 feet or so (the handle of the bell), I could not figure out a way to climb. It really looked like it needed a rope. I could walk a good portion of the way around it though, so I got some awesome 360 degree views. I sat there for the longest time. Later I found out that the bell rock is supposed to be a vortex. I felt nothing, but it was lovely. A while later I heard voices and decided that it was time to head on down.

There is some loose gravel on the path I picked to get down. Luckily there was no one directly below me because for time to time I did send down a shower of pebbles. So I scrambled down, resigned to the fact that I would have to change my clothes before I headed to the airport. Oh well. it was totally worth it.

Cathedral rock:
There was an enterprising young man at the bell rock parking selling T-shirts. I asked him what his favourite hike was and he mentioned cathedral rock. So off I went in search of Cathedral rock. I had seen it from the top of Bell Rock and I wasn't sure it looked climbable, but I decided to take a look anyway. It was around 9:30 am now. As I arrived full of doubts, I saw this couple who were 70 years old if they were a day. I tell you, these 70+ women are very motivating. If she could do it, I'd better not wuss out! The path starts out pretty innocuously, and then it gets steep but still very easy. The 70 year olds are happily walking along. This climb isn't a free for all, pick your own trail climb like at bell rock. While the rock is just as bare, there are rock cairns (wire baskets filled with stones and rocks) at intervals that were to be followed. There are several points at which the trail levels out and has gorgeous views. I kept looking around because I knew that these were my last few hours with these beautiful, beautiful rocks.
At some points that look difficult a closer look revealed a triangular foot hold that someone had carved out and then it was a breeze. The trail gets to this rather steep and slick looking crevasse at one point. There were a couple of men at that point who decided to turn around because they weren't sure they could get down it safely. The rocks were dry and if I had to, I'd could slither down on my belly I decide. No it wouldn't be pretty, but I didn't care about that, besides my clothes were pretty dirty already. So, up I went and it wasn't that hard. When I got to the first saddle, I found this ledge going around to the right that took me to a short climb up to the second saddle. This spot is beautiful. I was looking out from between the 2 spires of cathedral rock. It was like my own private hidden alcove. The floor just above the saddle is carved with the initials of every idiot who thought they were something special. Those nitwits annoy me. I wasn't going to let that intrude on my experiencing perfect little hideout though. I got to the saddle a little before 10:30 and just sat there for about an hour. No one else who had come all the way up or at least they did not find the second saddle. The path here is a little obscure. The last rock cairn is at saddle 1. Once you cross the saddle, go around to the right. There is a ledge about 3 to 4 feet wide that will bring you to a short (about 10 feet) steep scramble up to the floor of the seconds saddle. A short steep scramble past this floor will get you to the point where you can touch this slender 40 or 50 foot spear of rock and look out on the world.
After about an hour of bliss I headed down. It was much, much easier than it seemed, though my knees aren't as happy to jump a few feet as when they were 10. Oh, well. Any way, I was back at my car a little past noon. It took me only about 30 minutes to get down.

I drove over to Javelinas, a restaurant on 79A, with gorgeous view and very good food. I ordered, got changed and freshened up, had lunch and was on my way to the airport at around 1:30 to catch a 5pm flight back to Chicago.

I could have stayed a year and still felt the way I did on my first day - awed and excited. I am totally in love with the area. Before I got there, I wondered how much I would like it because I love forests and I thought all of Arizona is a desert. Stupid me! Arizona has raging rivers, pretty water falls, tall mountains, deep gorges, stately pines and prickly cacti, lovely maples and tough gnarled bushes. Arizona has rocks of every colour, tiny little flowers and friendly people. And yes, it does have the desert as well, and guess what, I like that too!

emd

Thank you, love the last installment.

I feel the same way about the entire Sedona/Oak Creek area. For natural environment, it is the most lovely place I have been in the world. I think we will end up moving there for part of the year after my kids get out of college. I will still be consulting, but I can take the airport shuttle and fly out of Phoneix when I have to. I work with someone who lived in Chicago like you, and who moved to Sedona as a consultant and does that Sedona-Phoneix route twice a month on the shuttle that goes straight to the airport.

ssachida, post next time you are going to Sedona and maybe we can meet up for a hike. I have a feeling you will return. I go there about several times a year as I have some work in Phoenix and tack onto that, plus I take my family out there at least once a year for a week. In Dec. I am meeting up in Sedona w/another person I have met on this board.
Eileen

amwosu

Thanks so much for the trip report. I enjoyed reading your pretrip misconception about AZ being desert and your discovery of all that AZ really has to offer. I think lots of us have done the same thing.

I fell in love with AZ last fall so I dragged DH out in June and bought a place near Scottsdale. He wanted to buy near Sedona because we loved the mountain biking in the area but that would be a bit too far from the airport for weekend trips. emd and I may become neighbors at some point! LOL! And I won't have to know anything about hiking there. I'll just follow her around.

You've whet my appetite for a trek to the GC with your detailed description. I've stood on the edge of the canyon on three different trips during my lifetime but have never had the opportunity to hike it.

USNR, your warnings are duly noted. I'm in great shape physically but completely ignorant of backpacking into the GC.

emd- I'll be in AZ in 3 days- yippee! Looking forward to seeing you there in December!
Ann Marie

emd

Have a great AZ Thanksgiving, amwosu. I'm here in DC area in pouring rain and gale force winds. But I only have a few wks myself til I can see those huge cacti as I drive out of Phoenix.

amwosu

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