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| Hike & Climb | 2.62 Miles |
1,183 AEG |
| | Hike & Climb | 2.62 Miles | | | |
| 1,183 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | This is one evil nasty pumpkin of a mountain.......well, if you try what we did today.....oops, I'm sorry honey, and I promise next time to actually look at the downloaded route on my GPS.......nuff said.
I couldn't get my eyes off this mountain. It sits in like the middle of Sedona and looks intimidating. So I read hippiepunkpirate's description and downloaded the "official route" the night before Liz and I tried to go up it. On the way out Liz was trying to figure out where to park, lost the signal on her phone, and blurted out (she had forgotten a certain username) "I can't load the Butt Pirate's description!" No offense intended, seriously, but it made me laugh hysterically.
Anyway, heading up the mountain, I announced that I would not be referring to my GPS unless things became very dangerous.....I ate those words later.
It seemed straightforward for a while. We found a trail, which turned into a cairned route, which later turned into a decent game trail, which eventually turned into WTF have we gotten ourselves into?! We found ourselves on the side of an incredibly steep loose rock ravine, and our options turned into either free climb with no hope of going back down, or simply turn back and try this mountain on our next Sedona trip. Liz decided for us as she asked at one spot "What do you think?" and my response was "I can go up it but probably not back down." The equation became very simple for me as:
1. Liz is the center of my universe and not worth the risk.
2. Liz is a valuable doctor who will be making money out of the pumpkin a year from now. Simply not worth the risk.
The latter is less important, and we turned back even though we were well beyond the point where she had said "There's no way I'm going back down that stuff!" Honestly, with a different and more hardcore hiking partner, I probably would have just gone for it.
Needless to say, I was a perfect gentleman helping her back and using myself as a human stepladder (on the way up as well).
We did find ourselves on a very nice smooth ledge on the way down with a great view. From there I saw a couple in the distance on probably the official route, and I yelled "How does it look?" They yelled back that they were on a trail and invited us over, however Liz (along with our water supply) were pretty much done for the day. So we headed back down to the car, off to Hot-n-Spicy heaven, then home to greet our lonely and cranky kitties. We were both frustrated about being defeated this time, but we will be back.
I couldn't help but be impressed at how Liz maintained her composure during this failed hike. She never freaked at all despite going through the worst nightmare I've ever put her through; it was nothing short of Mother Lode quality.
Next time Capitol, you evil nasty pumpkin, next time! |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
. It was good to get out and hike with Todd again. It had been over a year since we last hiked or climbed together. I did remember the views and they are top notch. The other route in my opinion is way more fun with more scrambling and less trail. On the way back, I encountered a female bandit that mirrored my every move to avoid coming anywhere near me.
From the reports this is a trail where eagles fear to tread but we must have taken a different route. ;) We started up the Lizard trail and missed the first right but after some discussion and cheating by looking at the route we were back on trail at the cliff under the lizard. The trail is well defined but there are places where you can miss a turn so if it gets crazy turn back and find the trail again. The sandy soil in spots did make a few of the rocks a little slick but this is easy to watch for so no real trouble there. The final climb looks crazy at first glance but once you get going it's class 3 scrambling just as the hike description says. The 360 views on the summit are top notch so this should be on your short list if you're in the area. Reena was in med school shape so Brian, Duane Boone and I circled back to make sure she was on track a few times but no trouble. Since we were in the area a side trip to Devils Bridge was in order as well. Great hike and great company with an after hike beer and burger at Tlaquepaque. I'd do this one again. 
I had a couple hours to burn this late afternoon and I figured what better way to spend it than climbing up this butte and catching the sunset. I'd done this route last fall, so I was able to make short work of the hike up as I rushed to beat the sun as it slowly dropped towards the horizon. 
I made it in time and spend a good 10-15 minutes enjoying the sunset and it's amazing effect on the red & creamy Sedona sandstone as the full moon was slowly rising to the east. On the descent, I ended up using my headlamp for the last 30 minutes and someone thought I was a lost hiker stuck on the mountain and called the Police on me... 
So I accidently took the very first left and quickly turned back when it started paralleling the road and then I took the next left which shot me towards that drainage to the north of the SW ridge... So FYI ignore the first 2 lefts and take the 3rd one. 
So from that drainage I decided to bushwhack up that slope to that red rock wall below the SW ridge. And once I found the trail below that wall, it was relatively easy to the saddle and then of course the class 2/3 scramble up to the top. Such sweet views and I didn't have to hike 5-10 miles to see them either! 
