Sedona Backcountry and Access

jls7s · Post by **jls7s** » Aug 13 2003 8:14 pm

Greetings, HAZ-maters! Great site! Loads of info. Visiting Sedona in a few weeks via bus from Phoenix, have about 5 days but am resisting renting a car for a week, only to park it on some trailhead. So, the question is, can one bus into Camp Verde or Sedona or Oak Creek (bus stop options) and directly access in foot either multi-day loops or areas to camp and day-hike? Looks great down in Verde, the Beaver/Bell trails, also up above Sedona. Bottom line, need to be able to wander in, stock up and head out, on foot (or with minimal thumbing). Thoughts?

Coming in from New England, will bring lots of water storage and filter, quick dry clothes. what else do I need to know? I've done backcountry in the G.Canyon about 8 times, so relatively secure. Have two trail guides coming in the mail to get more detail and water info. Am I in for some serious heat in early September still, at those altitudes?

Many thanks in advance. If you ever need New England trail info, visit http://www.outdoors.org, the Appalachian Moutain Club website, for trail threads.

Happy trails.

jonathan from boston

jls7s · Post by **jls7s** » Aug 13 2003 8:27 pm

Perhaps Sedona is over-travelled, just thinking of ease of access. flying into Phoenix, with a week between arrival and business obligation. any suggestions for other areas I could access by bus and with just my feet and a pack? I know that flagstaff area's beautiful and presumably accessible but SF peaks are quite a way's out of town. Don't need to see GG again. (or, need to see other parts of AZ; I've never had too much of GC backcountry!). Anyway, any advise for an AZ newbie wanting to do some backcountry wandering would be great! Arrive 8/29 in Phoenix.

jonathan from boston

hoppy47m · Post by **hoppy47m** » Aug 13 2003 8:34 pm

There is a LOT of info here about Sedona trails...One thing I have to stress is that sudden storms can turn a canyon into a death trap....these storms may not be visible to you, they usually happen "up top" ALWAYS pay attention to the thunder, even tho you may have blue sky above you, it could be raining an inch or more an hour at the head of some canyon....or even 1/4 mile away......If you click on my picture and view my personal gallery I have attached a couple of pictures taken at the beginning of Sept last year......they are of the same place.....within 15 minutes, what was a sedate DRY canyon turned into a flood.....I wasn't quick enough with my camera to get the initial flash flood but believe me...It was impressive, and very scary to think there may have been hikers somewhere in that canyon....

jls7s · Post by **jls7s** » Aug 14 2003 8:17 pm

Thanks, hoppy, for the rain tip; we've had a bit of flooding up here in New England the past 2 weeks (and now, massive power outage, though not Boston). So, I'd imagine there are lots of Sedona and Camp Verde area trails posted here....

...but:
how about the idea of coming into Sedona sans transportation--can you hike from town and link up to the back country? either in Sedona or Camp Verde?
If so, what are the trails? I'd be glad to read the ample info here, would appreciate some arrows pointed in the right directions.

thanks, again. this is really an outstanding site.

jonathan

hoppy47m · Post by **hoppy47m** » Aug 15 2003 12:18 pm

Yes...you can hike out of Sedona, actually if you head north out of Sedona in less than a 1/4 mile you're "out"...........Hang out at one of the local watering holes and I'm sure you could get a ride up to Slide Rock or somewhere near. Let me know when you are going to be here and I may be able to meet you there and get you pointed in the right direction.

jls7s · Post by **jls7s** » Aug 26 2003 6:39 am

Thanks, Hoppy. I'll be coming up this weekend, the 29th, staying at the hostel in town. Hanging around till the following friday a.m.

What I gather from reading a guidebook and correlating it with all the descriptions listed is that, simply put, it would be tricky to overnight much in the Sedona area due to scarce water sources, unless I packed in a couple of gallons of H20. Looks like it's been wet there, however, with some transient showers. What's the likelihood that there will be any creekbeds with water, esp. in areas north of Sedona, e.g. Secret Canyon, Dry Creek, HS Canyon? I've about decided to just dayhike around there and not test the water limits.

Thoughts?

Again, what a fantastic site, I've been able to get looks of good info from all the contributers.

hoppy47m · Post by **hoppy47m** » Aug 26 2003 9:20 am

I am going to be out of town for that holiday weekend. If you have a water pump you may be able to get some water. As far as availability goes I can't really tell you. Here it can pour an inch of rain across the street while the sun is shining on the other side! Be prepared for massive amounts of people that place is REALLY popular over holiday weekends. Sorry I couldn't make it.

Lizard · Post by **Lizard** » Aug 26 2003 1:46 pm

Like Hoppy said, it's possible to just walk out from Sedona to the trails. Most are not far, though keep in mind that the trails that are most easily reached from the city are also the trails that will have the most people on them. I highly recommend getting the Sedona, AZ map published by Beartooth Maps, it will give you a good overview of the trails in the area and is good enough for navigating with.

The upper part of Secret Canyon normally has at least potholes of water available, though I've never been there in August. Given the rain we've been having it's a good bet though.

G'luck with your trip. Please come back to the site afterwards and let us know how it went.

hoppy47m · Post by **hoppy47m** » Aug 26 2003 2:44 pm

Man.....we just got hammered by a thunderstorm!! Be careful about those, we just got almost 2"s of rain in less than an hour, and lighting everywhere