At the end of January, my parents suggested we join them for a long weekend in Sedona, Arizona in February. A chance to see my parents and for Luca to spend quality time with his grandparents? A brief escape from the mid-winter Pacific Northwest clouds and rain? A longed-for opportunity to boost our Vitamin D reserves? It was a no brainer.
You may remember from previous blog posts that Lindsay and I have the exceptional ability to bring rain wherever we are traveling (if you’ve forgotten, just revisit these posts for a refresher: A Rainy Weekend in Squamish, BC, A Day at Lake O’Hara in Yoho National Park), so, naturally, it pours our first day in Sedona. Our first morning, we embark on the perfect rainy day activity - a visit to the local ranger station! Luca is thoroughly entertained.
By late afternoon Saturday, the rain has passed and the clouds have started to break. After a pretty sedentary day, I shake out my legs on a short jog. I marvel at the mountains and red rock, which had finally started emerging from the clouds. I even see some blue sky to the west! A coyote trots 20 feet in front of me across the road and into the trees.
My parents suggest a pre-dinner walk on a nearby trail and I’m so glad we take them up on the suggestion. Surprisingly the trails aren’t too muddy. The golden hour light on the red rocks is magical.
Bell Rock
Courthouse Butte
We wake Sunday morning to low-hanging fog and dense clouds. Undeterred by the cold and lack of sun, we pick up my parents and head to a nearby trailhead to hike the almost four-mile loop around Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock. I am chilled by the moisture in the air, but warm up quickly once we start walking.
I hope you enjoy the remainder of our hike, described below through images, not words.
Later in the day, my parents graciously babysit our napping toddler, while Lindsay and I get out for a few-hour trail run I call our Tour of Sedona. Over 12 amazing miles we hit my parents’ favorite trails in the Village of Oak Creek - Templeton, Hiline, and Slim Shady.
We snag one of the last parking spots at the Bell Rock trailhead and soon after we’re off on our big loop of the area. We start our run heading north on the Bell Rock Pathway. About two miles in, as we are approaching Little Bell Rock, the clouds start to burn off. What luck! The views are phenomenal. I cannot resist the urge to stop every few seconds to snap pictures with my iPhone. This place is unreal.
We climb almost to the top of Little Bell Rock before continuing towards the Templeton Trail. We encounter a few mountain bikers having a blast. These trails are awesome.
Before long, the light over Cathedral Rock becomes impressive. Around halfway into our 12 miler, we pause at Oak Creek for some quick calories and to catch our breath before jogging back to junction with the Hiline Trail, where the real climbing begins.
Cathedral Rock is illuminated in warm light. I am so happy to be here and feel a great sense of privilege to be exploring these trails on a trail run.
We run the Hiline Trail counter-clockwise so that if we encounter mountain bikers we’ll see them coming as they’ll be heading toward us and not from behind. The trail climbs steeply - over the next two miles we gain almost 1,000 ft of elevation. The views up here are stunning. (Have I said that yet?) On the entire Hiline Trail we see one mountain biker and three hikers. Where is everyone?
At this point, Lindsay is well ahead of me because I keep stopping to take in the sights and catch my breath (I’m not in 50K shape anymore!). This part of the run is my absolute favorite - not only is the weather perfect but the views are incredible.
The last few miles of our run is a sweet, sweet descent on the Slim Shady Trail. This. Is. So. Much. Fun. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for giving us a few hours to run some fabulous trails and for inviting us to join you in this beautiful place!
Our visit to the Sedona-area was short-lived but so worth it - quality family time and trail time? There isn’t much better. I hope to return someday to explore many more miles of these stunning trails.