On top of the world near Brins Mesa Trail, Sedona, AZ
ExploreBeyondYourDoor is spot to talk travel, share hiking adventures and experiences about places far from home, in the greater Southwest or right in our own backyards.
This year has been an exciting and unique one. To sum it up, I got married to Stéphane (a Frenchman) in March and spent most of the spring and summer navigating the unknown waters of marriage and the immigration paperwork process!
Although exciting, this new lifestyle did not lend itself well to travel or adventure or offer a lot of time for travel writing (hence the huge gap in my blog posts.) Luckily, between paperwork sessions and adjusting to a new life, I was able to fit in some fun hikes this past year with our hiking group and Stéphane ventured out into the wilderness with me too.
Thought I would keep the theme going from my January post and provide an overview of my favorite Arizona hikes over the last twelve months...December to December from Brins Mesa to the Whitetanks. Enjoy!
Brins Mesa Trail, Sedona - December 2015
A great hike you can access from uptown Sedona. We did the easy/moderate out and back trail (1.5 miles one way) from the Jordan Road trailhead to the mesa rim.
We walked a bit beyond the mesa to a cool rock formation. I did a little rock scramble (see above pic) to enjoy the views and we walked back the way we came.
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| View from the mesa of Brins |
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| Jennifer and a beautiful Sedona backdrop |
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| Enjoying a sunny December hike |
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Mount Lemmon/Meadow Trails, Tucson - June 2016
Stéphane and I took a trip to Tucson to visit family and escape the heat of summer up on Mt. Lemmon. We drove all the way up to the Ski Valley area to hike the easy Mt. Lemmon and Meadow Trails and have lunch at the top.
This makes for a perfect day trip with a friend or your hubby. (I love a man who wears his fedora hat while hiking!)
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| Check out the hoodoos on the drive up to the top |
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| Stéphane leading the way on Mt. Lemmon Trail |
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| We stopped in here for lunch with a view Click here to learn about Iron Door restaurant ~ |
Veit Springs Trail/Lamar Haines Loop, Flagstaff - August 2016
Another fun escape from the heat is to head up to Arizona Snowbowl to hike in the cool pines. Exactly two years prior, our ladies' hiking group did this hike but we never found the old abandoned cabin.
This time we found the cabin...and discovered a few other artifacts too!
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| Trailhead is a bit hard to find but it's marked as 9008U |
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| The caved in cabin of the 1892 settlement by Ludwig Veit |
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| Me pointing to the pictographs on the rock face above a small cave |
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Waterfall Trail/Whitetank Mountain Regional Park, Waddell - December 2016
Once it cools off, the greater Phoenix area offers many hiking options. I love that you can drive 30 minutes to an hour and be out of the city and in the desert exploring its beauty.
Our ladies' hiking group drove out to the west valley and did the easy and family friendly Waterfall and Black Rock Trails. No waterfall on this hike but the rock formations and petroglyphs are worth the trip.
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| Example of petroglyphs in Petroglyph Plaza on the trail |
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| Christina (lft), me and Jennifer at the end of Waterfall Trail (photo by Carole) |
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| No waterfall on this hike...have to come back after it rains! (photo by Carole) |
This year was a great year for Arizona hiking. What hikes are on your wish list for 2017? I wish you many fun adventures next year when you...Explore Beyond Your Door.
Happy Hiking!
~ Chris
~ Chris
