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| Hiking | 10.10 Miles |
1,775 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.10 Miles | 5 Hrs 50 Mns | | 1.73 mph |
| 1,775 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | This turned out to be a really nice hike. Jim wanted to do a hike in Sedona during his visit to AZ over the holiday. He suggested Wilson Mt., but I had already done that in 2005, before the fire. I did some cursory research and saw the Brins Mesa was centrally located, and gave access to several other trails I've never done. In particular, the Lost Canyon hike looked very intriguing. We decided to hike up to Lost Canyon from the lower end of the Brins Mesa Trail, and then complete the Brins Mesa-Soldier's Pass Loop on our way back.
When we got to the parking lot, there was only one other vehicle, a semi creepy looking white van that was unattended. We agreed to ignore this and got ready for the colder than normal temps for Phoenix we were about to encounter.
I think the first mile I hiked was the fastest I did all day, about 20 minutes. I was still a little tired, but the cold weather was motivation to keep moving to warm up. By the time we got to the high point on Brins Mesa, I had removed my hoodie and gloves. This lasted until about 300 yards later as we started to descend and the cold began to bite back quickly. The direct sunlight didn't hit us much due to some cloud cover, but on the top of the mesa, there were great views to the north.
We got to the end of the Brins Mesa Trail in under 2 hours, and then headed up the Lost Canyon trail. That quickly became steep and required some effort to get up. At one point I decided to take a rest and turned around to see some really stunning views. Once we got to the level section, the views were even better, expanding from the north to the west and southwest. It was also where the canyon begins to narrow and the trail threads the wall and cliff. On our way in, we spotted a whitetail buck, which was very quickly spooked by our presence and bolted past us up high above the trail with no problem. Jim and Jamie both got pictures, I was too slow on the draw.
As we got to the end of the canyon, and the end of the trail (probably), we spotted the lower ruins, which are actually way below the trail. There was only one ruin we could spot, and to get a decent view of it, you had to get uncomfortably close to the rounded edge of the cliff, which also had scree.
After we got our views of the lower ruin, we decided to head up to the upper ruins, which you can see from the trail. It looks fairly easy to get to, but is actually just a bit more difficult than it looks in a couple sections, especially coming back down. The upper ruins were a bit underwhelming, but it was still nice to do some scrambling and make a bit more of an adventure out of it. We didn't stay long as a storm was rolling in and we couldn't tell whether to expect rain or snow. Just before our descent, we noticed the first few snow flurries of the day.
On the way back on the Brins Mesa Trail, we took the Soldier's Pass Trail, and from there the hordes were en masse. Even saw some mountain bikers that were probably in wilderness area. The Devil's Kitchen as the junction of the Soldier's Pass and Jordan Trials was very interesting to see, and not expected. the Cibola Pass Trail gave us an unexpected and not very welcome additional 200' of AEG, but soon after we were at the trailhead, with some snow flurries rolling in.
We had hoped to have a late lunch at the Oak Creek Brewery and Grill on our way back, but the traffic and crowds were insane. We made a cursory check of the parking lot and found Costco-like conditions, so we decided on Plan B, which was the Verde Brewing Company in Camp Verde. Decent enough food and good beer. Got home before sunset, rarity in late December on a long road trip and hike. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
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. Kelly came down from where she was and went up in the alcove. Next we headed up and over to the main attraction, eventually climbing up to the ledge. I did need a boost as one rock was really hard to get up and I have a bum right leg. I asked a gal behind to give my behind a push and I was finally able to get up. It was worth the trouble and Kelly and I made our way to the other end. I got one really awesome photo among the several I took. The Arches were crowded, but everyone was kind.
One small, stagnant pool just off of Secret Canyon Trail
. First time on this part of Brins Mesa. The west in my opinion is much nicer than the east end. It is a solid single track that is bordered by hills and mountains that can be glimpsed between a variety of pines that shade the trail. The trail gains elevation slowly, except for one short steep hill just prior to the Soldier Pass junction. It was still relatively early and I was surprised to find myself somewhat chilly in this area. Went off trail a couple of times while I was on the Brins, following user trails, hoping to discover a hidden gem. Neat little trails, though they tended to fade away or cross over with a multitude of other trails. Alas, no hidden gems 
. Perfect weather, awesome hike, not too hard, not too easy
It'd been a few weeks.
