Please Forgive the Sabbatical
This blog has been unattended for some time now as I found it difficult to be inspired to write personally while completing my master’s degree. With my M.Ed. complete, I have regained enthusiasm for writing and am excited to again send out my words. If you are interested, please subscribe to this blog using the subscription button on the right. Below is just a quick post to get things started again while I edit other pieces.
Thanks for reading
-T
Just a quick thought about a great hike in Sedona, AZ:
Inside the Arch, Sedona AZ
I have hiked through the beautiful colors that make Sedona, Arizona so special for a few years now but just discovered a wonderful place in plain view! Right out of town there are a few trails you can use to create a classic loop hike and a classic day.
I should preface this by saying that a gentleman at one of the tourist/visitor shops in town tried to dissuade me from doing this adventure by saying “there is nothing to see there!” referring to the final short trail section that needs to be traveled to make this a loop. Boy was he wrong and he should be ashamed for saying so.
This hike affords beautiful views and spectacular geological sights! Along the way we traveled up through Smooth-bark Arizona Cypress trees with shinny green peeling bark to a unique desert mesa area with tall grass and the remains of an old forest fire. Dropping from the mesa we entered back into the forest and were surrounded by the greens, reds, oranges and yellows of the forest, rock and soil. These colors all mixed together is what continues to make me stumble and trip over my feet as I stare up at the walls and into the woods, not wanting to waste one second looking at my feet.
When hiking on the weekend you will run into a fair amount of people, but if you can escape to this wondrously close to town place during the day, then do it! Solitude in a busy and recreationally active tourist town is a difficult thing to find, but you can find it here. I still have traces of red dirt in my truck from hiking in Sedona and it reminds me of its beauty and how much I enjoy each trip to Sedona.
The Seven Sacred Pools, Soldiers Pass Trail, Sedona, AZ
The Link Up: From the Trailhead at the end of Jordan Rd in Sedona, AZ, hike the Brins Mesa trail, then link that up with the Soldiers Pass Trail passing beneath a few amazing arches that you can climb up into! (Hike a well traveled trail for about 1/4 mile uphill, about 4 feet wide at the start, at a small wilderness boundary sign on the east side of the trail, crossing over three medium sized logs discouraging travel). After returning from the arches you can link Soldiers Pass trail, passing the seven pools and devils sinkhole (or kitchen) to Cibola trail and then back to your car.
For great detailed info check out Todd’s Desert Hiking Guide www.toddshikingguide.com
