| |
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 7.74 Miles |
480 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.74 Miles | 3 Hrs 10 Mns | | 2.44 mph |
| 480 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Yard work in Camp Verde = Sedona hike. The Hangover has been on my to do list for quite awhile. One of my favorite trails that deserves a yearly visit. However, it’s been three years since my last visit. I was also anxious to try out our Honda Ridgeline on Schnebly Rd. Not much for off roading and I definitely feel like this qualifies. I went in to the first obvious vehicle pull off. The Munds Trail was directly adjacent to it. I was hoping to cut off enough mileage to make this hike doable for my wife. I shaved maybe a mile going into this spot. While I was hiking, I noted even further in, there was another pull off with picnic tables that would have shaved an additional mile off the hike (making the hiking distance closer to 6.5 miles). Not sure if the drive to either of these spots is worth the effort. It’s a slow drive. Hiking would be almost as fast and definitely more enjoyable.
Anyhow….Got on the trail at 5am. Did the trail CCW. I went in on the Munds Wagon for the first 2.4 miles. From where I started it was about .5 miles to reach the other pull off with the picnic tables and then it was an additional .5 miles to reach the first turnoff for the Hangover Trail. My preferred route is to take Munds to the Cow Pies. This keeps me out of the sun longer and when the sun does hit me it will be primarily at my back. Plus, in my mind, it saves the best (Hangover Trail) for last. Over the years, I’ve done Munds Wagon probably about 10 times. It looks like it has fallen on hard times. Never seen it this bad. There was a downed tree across one of the washes and quite a few trees that looked like they were dead (either through fire or disease) and then there were weeds crowding the trail to the point where you couldn’t even see the trail. I don’t consider this to be one of the back country trails and am surprised that the Sedona rangers would allow the trail to fall into this kind of condition. Made me curious about the other two trails.
The Cow Pies is a much shorter trail. The trail itself, starts off rather blah, but it transitions into the red rock playground soon enough. The views are great enough from the get-go that you are not worried about the initial mundaneness of the trail. Great way to build up the anticipation for the Hangover Trail. No trail issues on this section.
The Hangover Trail is one of the crème de la crème’s of the Sedona Trail System. It delivers both on “trail engagement” (that is, how entertaining is it to hike the trail) and on the views. For me, both these conditions are met throughout the hike. Not many trails can deliver for the full duration like Hangover. It’s about .5 mile scramble going along the slopes of the red rocks, before reaching the climb to the saddle. There was a lot of walking on a slant. My ankles were very annoyed with me at the end. There are white arrows painted on the rocks to try to keep you on track. These arrows are becoming faint so you have to look for them, however there is some dirt tread along the way that will show obvious use and confirm that you are still on trail. (The white arrows are fairly frequent, so if you don’t see any white arrows for a time or if you cross a dirt section that doesn’t show use it may mean you’ve wandered off trail). Following the arrows makes the climb to the saddle deceptively easy. Great views from the saddle! It’s hard to believe that the north side could be as entertaining as the south was, but it is in its own way. More of a dirt track (much easier to follow) with less of a slant on the ankles and with awesome views that are constantly changing. It’s on this side of the trail where you see how the trail gets its name. The trail holds its elevation until it gets to the west end, where it descends rapidly down the rock facing. The arrows on this side have been repainted so it is much easier to follow. The trail finishes by going through a “budding” forest that offers a little shade and tantalizing views of the surrounding mountains. Connecting back to Munds Wagon it was a mile hike back to the car.
As always, Awesome hike! Stunning views throughout. Had the trails to myself  Didn’t see anyone, no wildlife and only two pink jeeps while I was out. Century plants were in full bloom. Don’t recall seeing so many at one time. Drive back was a little nerve racking. Scraped bottom twice, but didn’t have to share the road. So I avoided a pink jeep entourage. Little annoyed with my Garmin. Mileage for this hike is in doubt for a couple of reasons. The Garmin has a tendency to creep if I’m it moving. I was taking a lot of pictures and enjoying the views so I’m sure it “gave me” more miles than I actually did. But my Garmin also stopped tracking mid hike and it took me some time before I realized it. I think I lost about 20 ministers of my hike. Not sure why my Garmin did that. It was still showing a full charge at the end of the hike. That being said, I think these problems offset each other and the mileage is pretty close to what it should be. |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
