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| Hiking | 4.66 Miles |
718 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.66 Miles | 2 Hrs 42 Mns | | 1.92 mph |
| 718 ft AEG | 16 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | My Calgary friend was unable to use her points for their Sedona Hyatt timeshare so she asked if I would like it and what dates would I be available. After finding availabilities, not only did she get me a couple days, I got the whole week  . She called it my retirement present. I sure know how to pick my friends. Anyway, thx to Tina who I will be camping, backpacking, chaleting and backpacking with in Glacier Park toward the beginning of August. Meanwhile, it's a week in Sedona and so far, it's been awesome!
I picked this hike for us to do as a warm-up. Ambika and Guru haven't been hiking much so I thot this would be a good choice with a lot of bang for the buck. But first, we had a great breakfast at the airport's Mesa Grill and then joined the throngs heading down to the eastern saddle of the loop. This is a bit of a rocky uneven trail in parts; seems worse from when I was last here. At the saddle, when I was reviewing the interpretive sign, I noticed they had labeled Courthouse Butte as Cathedral Rock; not sure how long it's been like that.
The trail is a little rugged in places, I forgot about that too. However, the views are as awesome as ever. The trail was very busy with people and dogs, mostly going the same direction as us but some the other way. We would see a few couples twice as I guess they circled back the other way or something. Most everyone was friendly. When we got to the west side the breeze was nice and steady. We did see one small jet come in for a landing.
The last big hurrah is when you near the northwest side to see Capitol Butte/Thunder Mountain almost hit you in the face. The north side is pretty boring but at least the trail is a little nicer. You still have decent views and there are occasional spots of shade. And then there's that 1/2 mile climb back up to the parking lot once you get across the road. The trail was as busy as ever with people of all ages and sizes wanting to get to that little viewpoint above the saddle. I don't think many realized it wasn't just a quick and easy jaunt.
Later that evening, after dinner on our balcony, we went in search of a sunset and ended up at the trailhead for Bell Rock and got some nice pictures.
WATCH: 4.55 miles burning 711 calories. Temp at start 64.3 and 14% humidity finishing at 12:22PM. FYI we ate at the Shorebird Restaurant just down the street; food and service were great. I had a Blood Orange Drop that was quite good  |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
prickly pear were blooming and spotty sego lilys. |
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For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
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