Jack's Canyon, Hot Loop, & Horse Mesa

Weather:  69º, sunny

About this Hike:  I am intrigued by Munds Mountain near Sedona. However, hiking Munds appears to involve many miles of hiking to the trail via Jack's Canyon, or a drive over some challenging forest roads that likely aren't suitable for my truck. 

I opted to explore Jack's Canyon / Hot Loop to Horse Mesa instead, thinking this might be a similar alternative. 

The trail starts in typical Sedona red rock. It offers some interesting canyon views while the drainages along the trail still had some standing water. This year is an interesting conundrum in that Sedona is downright hot for January, yet there is still a lot of mud and standing water as we come off a very wet holiday season. Last year at this time Sedona was cooler, but drier too. 

Eventually red rocks give way to the black rocks that define the tops of many of the mesas around Sedona. The foliage changed to high desert. By the time we were on top of Horse Mesa there was a lot of juniper, yucca, and scrubby pinon pines. The soil on the mesa was dry, yet was muddy and stuck to our boots at the same time. 

We visited an overlook and got some views of the immediate area around Horse Mesa. Bell Rock, Cockscomb, and other Sedona landmarks were in full view. Otherwise, local neighborhoods were all that loomed below. 

This was just over the two-mile point. I originally intended to go about four miles, but the map indicated the trail would move to the center of the mesa and away from any viewpoints. It was boring desert scenery, so we opted to turn around and return the way we came. 

Someday with some further research I may check out Munds Mountain. I gather the scenery is better up there, and if there's one thing I've learned, you never run out of new things to explore in Sedona.  

Secret Canyon

Weather:  61º, sunny

About this Hike:  The mystique of Secret Canyon and Secret Mountain Wilderness continues to allure me. Coming off a rainy spell, I decided to hike to Secret Canyon today to see if the waterfall was flowing. I hiked in via Chuckwagon, having parked along the side of the paved Long Canyon Road. Even if FR-152 were open (barricades are up), I would never attempt this in my truck. The mud, the ruts—152 is hardly a road anymore. It's a shame too, because it limits how much of this area one can explore in a day, with at least five extra miles hiking by using Chuckwagon as an access point. 

The Secret Canyon waterfall had decent flow to it today. Being as I reached it by noon, I opted to press on. Every other time I've done this trail circumstances have never allowed me to go much beyond the waterfall. Today that changed. I pressed into Secret Canyon.

There were plenty of creek crossings, although always with solid rock bridges. The creek was flowing enough to be pretty, but not enough to impede crossings. The canyon was cold in spots, with some snow remaining while icicles hung off the red canyon walls. At one point the creek narrowed into a little slot canyon. 

The trail crossed the creek, climbed up above it, and then dropped down to cross again.  This cycle repeated often. Beyond the red canyon walls, this secret area is filled with ponderosa pine and some firs. It is beautiful. However, it does feel very remote, and I had a foreboding sense today. No worries though, the only wildlife I saw was a deer. My footing was always solid. And remote as it feels, Edge of the World sits just above Secret Canyon on the rim top. 

I opted to turn around about halfway into Secret Canyon per the All Trails GPS track. The trail was getting more overgrown and harder to follow. I figured it would just get more treacherous the deeper I went. While old-growth pine and red rocks are beautiful, the scenery was getting to be a little underwhelming. 

The hike out felt endless. I was tired and a little sore. If only the Secret Canyon parking area is where this hike ended with my truck waiting to carry me out on a graded gravel road! There was still close to three miles back along FR-152 and then Chuckwagon. 

With a properly equipped ATV I imagine one can explore a lot more of Secret Mountain Wilderness. Maps indicate miles of forest roads on the rim top near Edge of the World. There are some intriguing trails up there, although I get the impression most of those exist only on maps and in memories these days. I'll be honest—the mystique is wearing off. I'm beginning to think I've seen the best of what I can access in Secret Canyon. 

Hellsgate FR 1270

Weather:  55º, mostly cloudy

About this Hike:  A few weeks ago when we explored Hellsgate Trail 37 I noted a vast canyon. Across the canyon I saw a peninsula-type outcropping with a clear ATV road / trail on it. Studying the map, I thought this to be FR-1270. 

We drove in via FR-371, and parked near a shooting area and old corral. The 1270 road is very rough and narrow—at best it'll accommodate ATVs only. 

The hike starts off in interesting pinon pine and juniper forest. It drops down to Green Valley Creek which had a good flow to it. The canyon around Green Valley Creek contains sycamores in addition to thick pinon pine. The humidity was noticeably higher down in here, and there was a clean, earthy smell to the air. The rock formations are a pale pink color, reminiscent of the nearby Granite Dells / Stewart Pocket area.

A long, steep climb up eventually led away from Green Valley Creek. We slogged it out a few more miles, the views into Hellsgate Wilderness becoming increasingly better. As we neared the end of the hike just past an area called The Buttes (I didn't note any impressive buttes, but whatever), Payson came into view. 

I was not expecting Payson to be visible from here. Not only was the town visible, but I noted several landmarks including one in my own neighborhood. While I could see the neighborhood thru my binoculars, I was unable to find my house, likely because it's a one-story and hidden by trees. Also visible were the Granite Dells and Stewart Peak—both very visible from my front yard. With similar rock formations and vegetation, today was a reminder that boundaries are drawn by man. Granite Dells is part of the same ecosystem that largely forms Hellsgate Wilderness. 

The hike ended at Butte Tank. Supposedly there's an old cabin in the area called Neal Cabin, although I did not look for it. While I didn't get the rugged canyon views I anticipated today, I still enjoyed the views into Hellsgate and of Payson. It's funny to me how close I was to home as the crow flies, yet so far away in a remote wilderness area.