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| Hiking | 6.48 Miles |
2,496 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.48 Miles | 6 Hrs 3 Mns | | 1.19 mph |
| 2,496 ft AEG | 35 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | My memory of Bear Mountain held through pandemic hiatus. That memory? That Bear Mountain challenges, yes, strains, yes, but just as assuredly invigorates and enlivens. And that is what I experienced on my hike, a bit of a challenge but a lot of invigoration.
I started out early morning, 4 am, with head lamps, plus a Velcro wrist-strap flash light. I love my wrist-mounted light. Its tight, sharp beam allows me to scan out into the distance for trail makers and directions, while the head lamp still keeps the ground in front lighted. And I love an early morning start. It gets me going in the peacefulness of essentially complete solitude (I do enjoy meeting the people I see later, but early morning is for solitude). And the darkness gets me good progress, since I can’t stop for photos or scenic viewing (plenty time for that later.)
Now the trail. The initial section, flat, with a few ravines, of course just teased. That section bears no resemblance to the rest of the trail. Soon enough, the trail rose, steeply, one might say unforgivingly, through rugged red rock, climbing up unevenly in multiple series of stair-stepped boulders, the trail itself turning back and forth . As noted, a bit challenging, but I fell into a rhythm, step up by step up, pace moderate, my circle of light against the darkness. I felt a sort of oneness with the terrain and the mountain.
As I progressed, the trail did give a respite as a relative flat section emerged, but then as the sun hinted its presence, more steep climbs. At some point, didn’t note exactly, the red, rugged rock becomes sloped, angled slices of white and tan sandstone. I am amazed to think of ancient mountains, hundred of millions of years ago, weathering into sand, and that sand blowing across beaches and deserts, millennium after millennium, building up year after year, forming sand dunes, and the sloping dunes being compressed across eons into the slanted lines of rock so prominent now in the upper reaches of Bear Mountain.
I reached the top. From that vantage, one can see west and northwest, across an expansive vista. I noted something not noticed so much before – the strong, dark mountains beyond Sedona, with what I take as Black Mountain and Casner Mountain in my view, as well as the basin of Sycamore Canyon. Awesome, in a different way then the red rocks, but still spectacular.
Back down now, camera in hand. Now, one drawback of an early morning ascent. Haze to the south and east. As the sun rose, the view south and east from the summit filled with a summer haze. And back shadows on the vistas. Since the sun sits south, looking south from the summit meant I was looking at the north side of the mountains to the south, a north side in deep shadow. Result. The haze plus shadow dimmed and diminished the view of the traditional Sedona sites, i.e. Capital Butte, Cathedral Rock, and the other mountains and formations.
But no mind. I took a closer focus, noticing and photographing the slanted, flowing lines of the sandstone, under foot and in my foreground and at my side. And catching the intriguing way trees and vegetation clung to these sandstone formations. Sometimes a single pine would take root, other times clumps of trees and bushes found an indentation or flat on which to grow. And I thought of the the amazing time lines. The cycle of life for for the vegetation lasts mere seconds, when compared to the time line of the geologic cycle of sandstone deposition and weathering.
My hike included two side excursions. The first, on a sandstone flat at about 5600 feet, took a semicircle loop west. I had an informal GPS track for a route. But no luck. Could not find any distinct path. But, fortunately, the undergrowth was spread out sufficiently sparse that I could just navigate my own semicircle. That allowed me to get close enough to the western cliff edge to view out in that direction. Again a wide, expansive vista.
The second excursion involved a well-defined, and amazing, “unregistered” trail, but likely reasonably documented across the internet, Faye Canyon Overlook. Distinct, multiple boot prints, my GPS track just about right one, and in the red rocks, this side trail offered a treat worth the effort to take the time to travel down it. The red rocks rose tall, boisterously, rising with great stature. More awaited me on this trail, but I turned back as the trail turned out onto some exposed ledges. I didn’t sense I would have the patience or focus to navigate the ledges, as I don’t have a natural ability to cross exposures.
On my way down, I passed a good number of individuals on their hikes up, exchanging plenty of good morning pleasantries, and for some going over a question or two about the route. And while at my early morning start I saw no other cars, the lot had filled when I finished, as Bear Mountain is a main attraction, as is the companion Doe Mountain. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
This second "shelf" is really more of a hill that you have to climb....a maze of manzanita, dotted with scrub pine. When you reach the top of the hill, you get a good look at the rest of the climb. A little intimidating, but very cool looking! This third stage of climbing is very unique in that it is composed of large slanted slabs of rock. Nice in that it is not really "staired" so I was not having to lift my foot up to the next step, but it definitely had an upward tilt. I was alittle worried about the return about traction on these slabs, but it wasn't a problem. (Not sure if I want to do this in wet weather though). The third shelf provides a brief respite before the next climb. I believe there was a lone pine tree (this tree could have been on the fourth shelf) which gave limited shade. There were great views on both the east and west side of the mountain. Fourth climb, probably my favorite part of the hike. Very similar to the third climb, though it seemed shorter. Probably, in part, because of the views which were amazing! 
Red rock formations are fantastic and you get the unusual view of looking down at them. In my opinion the fourth shelf has the best views of the hike. I would say you could stop there because you have the best views on the mountain, but you are so close to the top that it would be a shame not to bag the peak. Plus, this fifth climb, is the easiest of the climbs, though it may not seem like it after having done the previous four. Ironically, it composed mainly of dirt (the first four were very rock oriented) and it has some gradual inclines and switchbacks as it takes you to the western side of the peak. There is a marker at the top that says "trail end", which is nice. (I wish Munds Mountain had a marker like that 
The nearby views were still amazing, but the layers of Sedona were lost.
at the TH, and 6 made it to the turnaround time, just short of the summit.
But the views on this blew my mind. I loved seeing Boynton Canyon from the top and it brought back awesome memories of being down in that canyon and how amazing that hike was as well. Sedona continues to surprise me and I cannot wait to find more hikes to do there. Now if only the government can start working again so that I can buy my annual red rock pass 
