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| Hiking | 2.00 Miles |
51 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.00 Miles | 30 Mns | | 4.00 mph |
| 51 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | This was the second hike of the day and the last while I was vacationing in Sedona. This wasn't what I wanted to end with it, but time constraints dictated otherwise. Did this trail immediately after doing the Jim Tompson Trail. Very convenient in that they both use the same TH.
The Allens Bend Trail is really a tale of two trails. From Midgley Bridge the trail drops down, goes under the bridge and then parallels 89A. About .15 miles from the TH, the trail splits. Huckaby Trail begins a switchback down to Oak Creek. Allens Bend continues straight, paralleling the road. It continues to do so for about .4 miles. This is an ok stretch, but it is more of a "get me there" trail than a designed, scenic trail. You get a decent view of Oak Creek. However, the trail is flat, straight, cart wide and you have traffic from 89A rumbling by 15ft above you. At .4 miles you come to a road that is the entry point for Grasshopper Point. It appears that the Allens Bend Trail dies here, but you actually have to follow the road down to the parking area to continue on with the Allens Bend Trail. At this point, the trail aesthetics change completely. The trail engages nicely with its environment. You have Oak Creek babbling on one side and some beautiful rock formation looming on the other. The trail is immersed in trees so there is a more intimate feeling. Quite a change from the first part of Allens Bend. This t stretch is only about .6 miles long and ends where Casner Canyon Trail begins. On this hike I met the Red Rock Crew. A group of 6 volunteers that appeared to be focusing primarily on removing graffiti. Up until that time I had never thought about (or realized) that I have never seen any graffiti on any of the trails that I've hiked in Sedona!  Near the end (probably about .85 miles in) there was a split in the trail. There was a post there, but no sign. I followed the trail to the left that took me up and to the road. There was actually some stonework along parts of this trail that makes me think that this was a designed access trail at some point in the past. This access trail took me up to 89A and a pull off with enough parking for 3-4 cars. From here I turned around and took a more direct user trail back down to where Allens ends and Casner begins. From this point, I took Allens Bend back to Midgley Bridge. Nice little hike. No wildlife and no one else on the trail, except for the Crew. |
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](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
It was nice that we were able to park the vehicle at Midgley Bridge and use it as the hub for basically 3 hikes. We were able to resupply, so we didn't have to carry as much weight. 
Once at the upper Munds Wagon TH, you just need to walk the road another mile up to the Vista pulloff.
So we had to find another spot for our day hike with "Molly".
