So Much to See in Sedona!

My two day trip out to Sedona was the first of many I now plan on taking out that way! There is simply just too much out there to be compiled into only a few days. Especially if those two days are weekends and you’re battling crowds of people.

Saturday started with an early drive north from Phoenix, and the arrival at my first hike: Fay Canyon. A Moderate 2.5mile Out and Back hike! And the end of the trail there was a rock scramble with got you up high enough to see back over the trail from witch we’d come. The scramble was not difficult at all so long as you were confident in your steps and checked for loose stones. See the image below for my view atop the rock scramble! One of my favorite shots from the weekend!

After Fay Canyon I headed up to the Airport. The Airport there has a trail running from its Airport Mesa Viewpoint down to the Overlook. It’s a 1.5mile Out and Back that takes you down past the Airport to a large rocky outcropping that you can summit and receive 360° views of Sedona and the surrounding Red Rock Cliffs. There were tons of people here all waiting with me for sunset. Below is one of my panorama shots of *half* the view from the Summit point.

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Sunday started rather slowly as I was indeed tired after my two trails the day prior. I made it out to the Boynton Canyon trailhead a little before noon and started my trek. While AllTrails had me prepping for a 6mile hike - mine ended up being about 8miles roundtrip. What I did not plan for was the famous Subway Tunnel Cave being a spur off of the Canyon Summit I was planning on. But I couldn’t not go while I was already there. The trail splits at the 2mile mark and one goes back to the Summit and the other to the Ruins and Subway Tunnel.

The craziest part of this trail for me was the diverse range of temperatures I was subjected to in my 8 miles. I started the trail in the sun and sweating. I was initially upset with myself for only wearing my quarter zip sweater; but by the time I reached the Summit I had added spikes to my hiking boots to better grip the ice and snow, I had my light parka on and even had my gloves out. Once in the shade of the canyon wall, the trail became slick with ice and snow and the temperature dropped by about 10-15°. Below the leftmost photo was how my trail started and the right two were taken at the Summit!

On the way back down from the Summit I took the split off toward the famous Subway Tunnel. What nobody seems to share about this “Insta-famous” location is just how difficult is it to actually reach it. Friends I had made on the trail warned me to take (and I quote) “the sketchier route”. The main route is known as ‘The Slide’ as it is a smooth steep climb up a rock surface of which you must wedge yourself between both halves and push yourself up. I did NOT take this route. I went off to the left and went up by the old ruins and shimmied around via a small ledge and then crawled into the tunnel. A nervous as I was to climb out on that thin ledge; after watching a man almost fall down ‘The Slide‘ I deemed my route the better of the two. Below are the ruins, the small ledge, and then me sitting in the opening of the Subway tunnel.

All in all this was a fantastic start to my time in Arizona and it only has me more excited to see what else this amazing state has to offer.

I hope you all stick around to see what else I manage to get up to out here! :)