Hiker's Paradise

Before I came to Sedona I saw a picture like this of a woman sitting just like this and I said "that is what I am going to do."

I love it when you reach your goals!  Even if they are as simple as climbing the red rocks of Sedona.  This particular hike was called "Cow Patty Hike," and it was explained as very easy since you drove up most of the way, and it was about three miles total. 

Well.  I had chosen an easier hike because until LAST NIGHT I haven't been able to sleep.  I toss and I turn and I have crazy dreams and all kinds of variations of my previous post and the night before this hike I maybe got three hours of sleep.  Brutal.  But I want to get a hike in everyday, so off we went.  (My mother and I.)  But the road was absolutely unbelievable!  The rental car is a Jeep Patriot, which has low clearance and is NOT a worthy Jeep, and let me tell you, I was DYING that I have a Jeep at home which would be perfect out here and here I am with Wimpy Car.

So.  I am not afraid, so we start up the road.  Oh my.  From my map it said that it was 4.8 miles to the trailhead.  About half a mile in (going about 1 MPH) I said to my mother I didn't think I could take much more.  I had to keep pulling over so Jeeps (of worthy quality) could pass and after going down this crazy patch where the ditches had rocks sticking out and I thought OH NO! I said I would rather walk on the road then deal with this ridiculousness.

So that's what we did.  We had gone exactly ONE MILE!  So now this quick little hike had gained a few miles.  Okay.  So off we trek and the scenery is amazing, and then this wonderful man stops and asks us if we are hiking to the top and I say yes, and he tells us that we don't have to walk the road, that there is this trail that meanders along the creek.  And sure enough, right before our eyes was this most FABULOUS trail.  Oh.  I kid you not, I felt as though I had died and gone to heaven.

 

Doesn't this look like something you've seen at Disney?  FAKE?  I know.  I know!  It's crazy, you feel like you are in some place that truly isn't real.  So, off we trek, and I am in heaven, big smile on my face, the trail is the best thing since sliced bread because it meanders back and forth across the creek, and oh!  There is nothing I like more than jumping rocks across a creek.  I don't know why.  Love it.

And this trail goes all over the place.  Soon we are headed in the direction of not-so-red-rocks, kind of granite-like and covered with snow.  Which was fine, I thought of everyone back home in the cold climate with snow and you know?  Happy to be here!

I was actually happy to find that I was up to the added mileage and the hike was perfect.  We reached the top and sat down and chowed down on a little trail mix and chatted with some people up there and then climbed up to the top of the red rock (where the first picture was taken) and I sat there and meditated a bit, and this WILD wind came along ... and I was truly at peace.

The different landscapes were incredible; one moment you were walking through "the enchanted forest," the next it was like the river raft ride at Disney, and then you would come back out of the woods and it would be red rocks as far as the eye could see.

Today we went on a short hike.  It was later in the day and I went through my book and found a loop that said it would take an hour.  So off we went and I am telling you, there is just no way to describe the surroundings.  This trail meandered between two rock formations and then around it.  It wasn't an especially difficult hike, but I was a little concerned because the trail was difficult to follow because so many people had ventured off the beaten path, so you really had to stop at times and try to figure out where to go.  I was standing on top of a little hill, gazing out at the rocks, when I heard coyotes.  Hmmmm.  You know, coyotes right where we are headed.  Interesting.  I wondered, what does one do when faced with coyotes?  Heck if I know.  I picked up the pace and my mother asked me what was the hurry?  Well, hmmm, the sun is setting and I have no idea if this is TRULY a loop because well, does one ever know, and there are coyotes screaming and well.  I am a little, well moderately freaked!

I was pushing on and then I came to a high point and could see the parking lot.  PHEW!

Not for a second do I pretend to be the ultimate hiker.  I have nothing but deep respect for the wilderness that surrounds us -- and not for one second do I believe that I am prepared.  I try to be -- yes.  But this is unfamiliar territory and I am constantly on the outlook for snakes (I swear, I'd faint) and yesterday my mother said there was a skunk by me, and I just pretended it wasn't there.  And when I am in the midst of a hike and the sun is setting.  Yeah, I'll admit it, with the coyotes singing in the background, I get a bit freaked.

Hiker's paradise.

Love it.