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| | | Casner Canyon to Damifino Loop, AZ | | | |
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Casner Canyon to Damifino Loop, AZ
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| Hiking | 8.40 Miles |
1,814 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.40 Miles | 5 Hrs 50 Mns | | 1.44 mph |
| 1,814 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Having visited Sedona at various times, I have been enchanted by the red rock formations just north of town east of Midgley Bridge across Route 89A.
As I surveyed trails into those formations, some offered potential, but not enough. Casner Canyon held interest, but ran a bit north of the formations. And then the rather daunting creek crossing at the trail’s start made me wonder if the vantage point of the trail warranted the effort of crossing. Hangover Trail, reached via Munds Wagon, did provide a short look into the formations from the south, but turned back to Munds Wagon before reaching the center of the formations.
I then discovered the unofficial Damifino trail. Being unofficial, the trail would go unmaintained, but the snippets about the trail on various web sites indicated the trail still allowed passage. And the Damifino ran to and through the formations of interest, at least sufficiently close for good views.
With the Damifino discovered, a quick look showed not only does the Damifino cover otherwise untrailed vistas, but Damifino allows a rather glorious loop. This loop starts at the Casner trial head, up Casner, across the Mogollon Plateau until Casner intersects Schnebly Hill Road at an overlook named, guess what, the Schnebly Hill Vista.
From the vista, the loop takes Schnebly Hill Road down and around a large outcropping, then to an upper trailhead on Munds Wagon. We then proceed on Munds around Merry-Go-Rock, to Cows Pies, and Cow Pies to Hangover.
We now reach the key to the loop, which otherwise ceases to exist. Midway on Hangover, the loop catches Damifino Trail. (Note, I have entered a Damifino triplog, which provides insights into navigating that trail). Damifino runs west and north through the red rock formations that enchanted and enchant me, then down to intersect Casner Canyon just at Oak Creek, closing the loop. Another creek crossing brings one back to where one likely parked, or was dropped off.
This loop engulfs the hiker in the breath of the geologies and ecologies of Sedona. The loop features the mixed vegetation along Oak Creek, the mountainside forest as one ascends Casner Canyon trail, then the twisted cubic dark rock formations gracing Casner just before the rim. Above the rim, on the Mogollon Plateau, one enters a completely different zone of open flat grassland dotted with randomly placed pines.
One encounters humanity along the Schnebly Hill Road stretch. These intrusions, certainly gentle but nevertheless noticeable, include a fiber cable maker post, a likely passing by a pink jeep entourage, drainage pipes and retaining barriers, and an occasional road sign.
However, one soon reaches an upper trailhead for Munds Wagon, which we take to Cow Pies and Hangover. One enters along this stretch the spectacular and renowned red rock vistas of Schnebly Hill on one side, and the towering white flanks of Munds Mountain on the other. If hiking, do not be deterred by the warning sign at the junction of Cow Pies and Hangover. The sign cautions bikers; hiking Hangover presents challenges, but nothing like the technical skills bikers must possess.
In any event, on Cow Pies, Hangover, and then to Damifino, one traverses right over and beneath to the red rock in all its forms and glory. Do notice how vegetation breaks through, how the red rock forms both rounded terraces and also vertical cliffs, how precocious pines sit high among the rocks, how cleaved boulders lay strew or have created a trail of broken rock, and how different environments as the sandstone formed hundred of millions of years ago created different colors and bands.
As one completes the Damifino, the formations to the west across Route 89A loom larger and larger, and one stands among the rock formations on all sides. Stop, don’t hurry, and admire the beauty and the vistas. Also catch the result of the fault that split Wilson Mountain, where the east side slide down relative to the west side. The dark rock cap on the east sit a good distances below that on the west, the result of the faulting and subsequent slippage on the east side.
The loop ends with another crossing of Oak Creek. I crossed both in and out without incident, but needing a good bit of care and precision to pick the proper rocks to use, both those above and below the water line. Falling in wouldn’t be the worst, but would leave one wet, a likely annoying and uncomfortable situation, except maybe in the warm days of mid-summer.
The loop provides magnificent views, allows a traverse of the relatively uncharted span of the Damifino, offers a good dose of solitude, and invigorates but not exhausts with a length of 10 miles and a cumulative elevation gain of several thousand feet.
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
report is for oak creek @ casner
I was about 5 miles into the hike and I knew the distance was going to be "about" the same either. Since my intended trail was Casner Canyon, I decided to change back into my dry shoes and forge on. 
Based on previous writings, I expected the trail to be overgrown and a rough climb. It was a rough climb, especially toward the end of the climb, when the incline increased noticeably, but the trail was easy to follow. The last mile of the Casner was flat and marked with the Sedona "basket cairns". Ironically, at the end of the Casner Canyon Trail, which was Schnebly Lookout, I met a couple who was doing the same loop in the reverse direction. I warned them about "logs that looked too good" and wished them happy hiking. This was a nice spot. Good views of Sedona and all downhill from here.
Once at the upper Munds Wagon TH, you just need to walk the road another mile up to the Vista pulloff.
