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| Cathedral Rock Loop from Baldwin, AZ | |
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| | Cathedral Rock Loop from Baldwin, AZ | | | |
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Cathedral Rock Loop from Baldwin, AZ
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| Hiking | 10.57 Miles |
1,690 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.57 Miles | 6 Hrs 32 Mns | | 1.90 mph |
| 1,690 ft AEG | 59 Mns Break | | | |
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| Partners |
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| no partners | | My Son #2 – Johnny, wanted to hike in Sedona, so we opted for the Cathedral Rock Loop. We arrived at the Baldwin Trailhead at 730am and decided to the loop clockwise – Baldwin/Templeton/Cathedral Rock/Templeton/Slim Shady/HiLine.
The weather was pleasant, but we could feel the humidity. The Templeton Trail along the backside is always nice. The creek was flowing and the shade was nice too. Once you start hiking up towards the Cathedral Rock Trail, it becomes what the rest of the day was going to be like.
Lot of people hiking up when we go to the base of the formation. I have seen way more in the past though. We made it up to the “End of Trail” and explored a little. Did the obligatory photos and started back down.
Once we got back on the Templeton Trail and started heading towards the Slim Shady junction, we lost the crowds. A couple of brave mountain bikers passed up going the opposite direction. The clouds gave way in this section, and I could feel the heat. The Slim Shady trail is a little rougher than I remember, but we made it to the HiLine junction after checking out the Yavapai Point Lookout.
I have never been on the Hiline trail and I think it was the nicest part of the entire loop. Amazing views looking north/west/east. I think the view of Cathedral Rock from this trail is as good or better than Red Rock Crossing. We saw no other hikers along this part of the hike. Mad Dogs and Englishmen, I guess. In spite of the Double Diamond “warnings” at the start, I was really surprised to see as many mountain bike tracks on this one. It’s not bad for hiking, but I would not want to ride a bike up or down in a few of the steeper sections.
As we started along the trail, we could see the thunderclouds approaching from the north. The heat was tempered by the nice cool breeze being pushed ahead of the impending storm. We made it back to the Baldwin Trailhead just as the clouds arrived. A very light sprinkle hit us, but we could see some heavy rains to the west.
After the hike, we rewarded ourselves with a visit to the Sedona Beer Company. Very nice selection of brews for sure. A wonderful day spend in Sedona. I just wish my other two sons enjoy hiking as much as Johnny does. I guess the hiking "bug" bites you or it doesn't |
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"Jobs fill your pockets, adventures fill your soul."
instagram: @andydilling |
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