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| Sedona Cliff Dwellings and Pictographs, AZ | |
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| | Sedona Cliff Dwellings and Pictographs, AZ | | | |
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Sedona Cliff Dwellings and Pictographs, AZ
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| Hiking | 9.59 Miles |
1,400 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.59 Miles | 7 Hrs 55 Mns | | 1.80 mph |
| 1,400 ft AEG | 2 Hrs 36 Mns Break | | | |
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| no linked trail guides |
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| partners | | It'd been almost two years since I hiked in Sedona, and we were looking forward to getting back. This wasn't the day we had planned, but it turned out to be a good one. Plan A was hiking into Secret Canyon and going up to the arch. In case the masses heading for Devil's Bridge/Birthing Cave had filled the Long Canyon/Chuckwagon Trailhead parking sports before we got there, Plan B was a loop at Hangover Trail. We managed to find a spot ~100 yards up the road from Long Canyon Trailhead, so Plan A was on.
Before we reached the trailhead, a vehicle stopped in the road, and the driver asked if we knew how to get to the Birthing Cave. A minute later, someone in the parking lot asked the same question. Later in the day along Chuckwagon Trail, a big group asked if the trail would take them to Devil's Bridge and admitted they didn't know where they were and were wandering around. My answer every time: "No clue!" I shouldn't be surprised anymore, but I'm still amazed that so many people show up without even putting in the 45 seconds of effort it would take to find the location of these places, which are both on Google Maps and countless apps/websites. But maybe they just plan to show up and follow the line of people...
Anyway, we started down Chuckwagon Trail and then turned onto FR 152 toward Secret Canyon Trailhead. There was a Forest Service vehicle parked near an "Area Closure" sign, and the ranger seemed very suspicious of the hedge clippers I was carrying to deal with the overgrown route up to the arch. She asked who I was with and what the clippers were for, then warned me that cutting any vegetation is a federal offense  . She told us Secret Canyon was closed because of the Miller Fire. I hadn't even thought to check for closures in that area, and there wasn't a hint of smoke in the air, but Plan A was shot ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall") .
By that time, it was too late to hike out and drive to Hangover Trail for Plan B, so we had to come up with Plan C and decided to return to two cliff dwelling sites we first visited three or four years ago. Without the GPS tracks downloaded, we'd have to find the landmarks based on memory. It took one missed turn before we found the route to the first location, which is one of the nicest pictograph sites I've seen in Sedona. It had been long enough since our first visit that I'd forgotten a lot of the details, so there ended up being a few surprises in a familiar spot.
That site has two dwellings, two grain storage holes carved into the ground, and multiple pictograph panels scattered along the walls, with various people/animals/symbols painted in different colors. There were more artifacts that I remembered, including one painted pot sherd, some corn cobs, and quite a bit of material that looked like ancient rope or twine. The views were great, and we relaxed in the shade and ate a snack. We'd seen quite a few daddy longlegs wandering the cliff walls, then we noticed one particular spot on the ceiling with a black stain that they seemed to love--there were thousands of them congregated there [ photo ] .
Dwellings/Pictographs: [ youtube video ]
More pictographs: [ youtube video ]
From there, we headed to the second site. I didn't remember the route exactly and led us into some unnecessary bushwhacking and catclaw before we found a more efficient approach. We made our way along a ledge and then up a steep slope to a cave, where the ruins are perched on a ledge. TBoneKathy didn't make it up to the cave on our last visit, but she got to see it up close today. Most of the walls at this site are badly deteriorated, but the back wall of the main structure still has plenty of mortar and a wooden support beam--located at the bottom of the wall, which I don't see often. Once again, great views, and we ate lunch at the ruins before heading down.
[ youtube video ]
We went to an overlook along the ledge where we could see the well-preserved lower ruin, which we visited on a separate hike a few years ago. I'd heard that the natives had carved Moki steps into the rock nearby that make it possible to climb up and down between the levels. I searched from a few different angles but didn't see them, so we stayed on the upper level and enjoyed the views from there.
It was a very different day than we originally planned--fewer miles and a return to some places we'd been before--but it was a really enjoyable return to Sedona once we got away from people and their questions about the Birthing Cave . The weather was perfect, and we didn't have any delays on I-17 on the way home, which is always a win. |
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