Another hike we had in mind to do while in Sedona was Cathedral Rock as it is one of the sites that are known as vortexes. What is a vortex? It is a place known for its centers of energy conducive to healing, meditation and self-exploration. Sharon and I wanted to experience one of these hikes.
As I mentioned before parking is always a challenge at Sedona trailheads where if you are lucky enough to find a spot you can purchase a daily pass for all Sedona trails for $5.00. However we have the Senior Lifetime Pass and it along with the America the Beautiful annual pass can be used as well.
Cathedral Rock towers over the surrounding landscape within the Coconino National Forest. The trail itself is about 1.5 miles round trip which isn’t very long, but the nearly 750 ft. of elevation gain makes it a moderately difficult hike. I read about the hike and thought Sharon might be able to do this one even though there would be some height related challenges.
The trail started off easy as we walked along a sandy bottomed trail which eventually gave way to a rocky trail. We were in a scattered forest of ponderosa pines and white fir. As we began to climb we could easily see where we needed to go because of the large basket cairns marking the trail.
As we continued we came to a large crevasse in the rock we had to scramble up. We got through a few of these with me inspiring Sharon that “she had this” as we continued upward. Well that all ended when we came to a section of the trail that required near vertical climbing along a crack in the rock some 40 to 50 feet straight up. Sharon decided that this hurdle was a deal breaker for her. She encouraged me to finish saying she would soak in the sights while she waited.
With Sharon waiting below I headed on up the crack in the rock and continued hiking steadily upward until I hit the final steep rocky ascent to the saddle. Once atop the saddle the views of the expanse below including parts of Sedona were in clear view. What an amazing view it was! There were some rocky outcrops at the saddle which may have been climbable but were beyond my skills so I headed back down to find Sharon.
Reunited we headed back down the trail and talked about the vortices in the area. While neither of us experienced anything out of the normal we both agreed that the beauty of this area warranted it as worthwhile hike to undertake. They recommend doing this as a sunset hike but I am not too sure the hike down would be pleasant without full light of day to go down.
On the way back we stopped to see Bell Rock which is known as another one of the vortex sites. We hiked partway up the trail but it was already too hot to finish this hike especially after doing the one earlier.We snapped a few photos and headed back home happy with the memories of beautiful Sedona Arizona.
NOTE: We are currently in Mesa, Arizona until November 1st…
Such a beautiful place, but so often very crowded. Nice to get out and enjoy the hike even if there was not a vortex to experience.
ReplyDelete