Refurbished Hip
As always, Arizona is sunny and beautiful. We had the option of choosing to visit either Tucson (which I did two years ago) or Sedona, as my parents were staying in both places this year. While I really enjoyed Tucson last time, it was time to do something new.
Wow! Even more beautiful in person. Everywhere you look is another amazing rock formation in those striking reds and oranges. Hundreds of miles of trails everywhere. It was paradise aside from the volume of tourists. Solitude is hard to find in this town. For anyone that's familiar with the area, this is where we hiked. 1.) Devil's Bridge - super touristy, but neat natural bridge you could walk over. 2.) Boynton Canyon - less people, varied terrain, actually walked through some forest, dead ended at the end of the canyon. 3.) Bell Rock - no set hike, just some scrambling around and exploring. 4.) Broken Arrow/Chicken Point/Hog Heaven - nice spot, technical mountain bike trails, lots of picturesque views. On our last full day we rented mountain bikes and did a 22 mile loop of mostly intermediate trails. It's mountain biking heaven out there. I was competent enough to ride 90% of the time with only some hike-a-bike involved on some of the advanced sections.
Me and my mom on the natural bridge.
This was the hardest hike I've ever done. This part of the canyon (second largest in Arizona) was really wild and remote. We decided to do the Taylor Cabin Loop (the internet said approx. 20 miles) in a leisurely (ha!) two days. We didn't realize what was in store for us... Day 1 was actually quite nice. While technical, the trail was beautiful, easy to follow, and we were happy to get away from the crowds in Sedona. As we made our way down to the seasonal creek, we quickly discovered it was no easy flowing creek. With the recent rain and snow melt, it had turned into a full blown raging river. And we needed to cross it. My boyfriend, the gallant gentleman that he is, first crossed the river to see if it could be crossed. It was high and swift, but crossable. He first took his pack across. Then he came back and took my pack across. Finally he came back and escorted me across. Thankfully we had abundant sunshine, as the river was very cold! Stopping to eat lunch and dry off in the warm and dry air never felt so good. The rest of the day was smooth sailing. We arrived at our destination for the night (Taylor Cabin, an old cowboy cabin built in 1931) in the late afternoon. My watch said we traveled 11 miles. We spent the rest of the day hanging out by the river and exploring the area before making dinner and retreating to the tent.
Day 1. Easy part of the trail.
First river crossing. Not the highest point.
The fresh water flowing off the walls of the canyon was delicious!
View of where we came from and after climbing out of the bottom. This was maybe 8 miles into the first day.
Taylor Cabin
The river just down from the cabin.
Day 2. This is the trail.
Day 2 river crossing #5 (?)
A brief section of smooth sailing trail before we climbed up the side of the mountain.
Up high in the snow.
Views from the snow section.
Views of Sycamore Canyon from the jeep road. We were camped somewhere in the bottom the night before.
I have a lot of complicated thoughts on the Grand Canyon after visiting and I'm not sure I can articulate them very well or that I honestly want to write them all down. At any rate, people will enjoy the canyon in their own way and it is what it's become at this point. I'm glad we went. I'm glad we hiked down the bottom and back up in one day, although I would like to travel to the North Rim via the trail someday. (I'll skip going back via the trail. I'm not interested in a R2R2R.)
- Going down SK was pretty magical. Seeing the trail snake down was really cool. People look really miserable climbing back out.
- In total I think we covered around 22 miles, as we parked at the visitor's center and walked 2.6 miles on the paved rim trail to the SK trail head before we even started.
Phantom Ranch cabin
Leaving Phantom Ranch
Obligatory suspension bridge shot
On Bright Angel
Trail twisting forever upward
Higher
We made it out! (With special appearance of puking sign guy.)
Running is dumb.
Thanks for the report Mandy. Loved the pictures.
For some reason I really like that area of the country even though I don't like extreme heat, and creepy, crawly things. I just feel like the Grand Canyon is always calling me back. I don't recall seeing any wildlife other than some birds or maybe squirrels on the BA and not much water either but that was the end of May.
running under the BigSky
Mandy- thanks for the report- great photos! The Southwest is a great area to explore.
it's too bad the logistics are so tough for a rim to rim; it was definitely that last rim that nearly did me in
from the sounds of your backpacking trip, you guys might want to consider the Bob Marshall Open!
2023 goal 2023 miles √
2022 goal- 2022 miles √
2021 goal- 2021 miles √
Le professeur de trail
Very cool!
I would give up my current life for the life of the guy selling lemonade in the GC!!!!
My favorite day of the week is RUNday
DD - I really like this part of the SW, as it has more of a familiar feel with trees and some green. I'm not sure how I would fare in extreme dry heat like that, as I've never experienced it. It was 90 degrees in Phoenix when we flew out and it honestly didn't feel that bad.
Mike - LOL. I think I will pass on the Bob Marshall Open this year. I'm still enjoying walking without actively attempting not to die.
Jamie - ME TOO! I had a nice daydream about that later. The employee said he absolutely loved it.
Sue
Yea I want the lemonade job too!!! or any job in nature where you work 4/10!!! Thanks for sharing..I love that place...
Very cool! I would give up my current life for the life of the guy selling lemonade in the GC!!!!
05/13/23 Traverse City Trail Festival 25K
08/19/23 Marquette 50 dns 🙄
MM, sounds like a great trip!!!! I hope you got to feel the vortexes in Sedona. When we were there my kids were running around saying "I feel it, I feel it...". I always thought there were some true believers there who were annoyed. My DW and I were laughing and trying to get them to stop at the same time.
Great photos of the ones I could see, but I'll need to see them when I get back to a real computer.
Thanks!!!
tbd.
Tim
MM thanks for the report. I was following along on FB when you and/or Thom posted, and was jealous as hell.
Sedona is spectacular. We hung out at a few bars in October and met a lot of strange characters who tried to reset our chakra points and /or magnetic field. Awesome place to hike and run.
When Jess and I were in the canyon in October, we saw an Asian group in sandals with an 80 year old woman who had a hard time walking down. They were below Oh-Ah point . I tried in vane to turn them around and get her up, they said they would be fine and wanted t see the river. WTF .
“Paralysis-to-50k” training plan is underway!
Looks like a great trip, Mandy. Thanks for sharing.
LB2
In the last picture it looks like you all are wearing spikes or is that just my eyes deceiving me?
Great pics! Looks like a great trip, too. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, gang! It was a great vacation. Who wants to open a little beer cart down at the bottom of the GC with me, Jamie, and Sue?
Sandy - we were the obnoxious disbelievers at the vortex(es) too.
Daydreamer - You're correct, we did wear spikes for the last 1/2 mile or so. BA was iced over at the top. Were they 100% necessary? Probably not considering the tourists sliding around, but I was happy to have the traction.
AT - Yikes! I would be worried about those people. Good grief. I also had an encounter that was similar to that. I was almost to the top, approx another 20 minutes to go, and a woman (maybe a little younger than me?) and her mother (late 50s/early 60s?) stopped me. The woman was wearing a small, generic backpack and had no visible water. The mother was carrying nothing but a walking stick. It was probably around 4pm.
Woman: Excuse me, can I ask you a question? Did you go all the way down the bottom?
Me: Yes, we went down SK this morning.
Woman: So how far away is the river?
Me: From here? Maybe 8-9 miles.
Woman: Oh! (Turns to her mother) Maybe we shouldn't go all the way down the bottom.
Me:
Very nice... I need to do a winter trip to AZ some year. I always end up in FL since that's where my folks are.. the pictures are gorgeous of course but dang that one hike sounds adventurous. Thanks for sharing!
PS:... you need to talk to Warden about obligatory selfies.
In dog beers, I've only had one.
Great pics!! Ya'll covered some miles.
Nice! That Sycamore canyon trip looks very interesting. You managed some pretty dicey stream crossings. Just to outdo your BF I once carried DW on my back across something similar a number of years back. I was a little younger. I am surprised neither of you were using trekker poles. When I wear a pack they are almost indispensable for me. Sure makes stream crossings a lot more stable.
I'll have to hear your complicated thoughts on the Grand Canyon some day though I have a pretty good guess. Probably the same thoughts I have regarding Yellowstone, Smokies, etc. (heavy sigh).
Anyway, glad you had a great trip. Well done.