Hike #36 - Bell Trail, Camp Verde, AZ

Cattle rancher, Charles Bell made this trail for his cattle in 1932, taking them up-to and down-from the Mogollon Rim.  Bell trail follows close to Beaver Creek and offers spectacular views of Wet Beaver Creek Canyon.  The trail was easy to find and well maintained. I LOVED THIS HIKE!  Paul and I hiked 4 miles to a swimming hole know as The Beaver Tongue aka "The Crack".  The water there was 10' to 12' deep and several people were swimming/jumping/back flips off the rock cliff into the water.  The water was freezing but felt good after the long hike.  It was also a lot cooler hiking back 4 miles after taking a dip in the cool water.  We plan to go back and hike some of the other trails we passed along the way like White Mesa and Apache Maid.  These were important byways made by the Sinagua Indians.

Hike #35 - West Clear Creek Trail, Camp Verde, AZ

Yucca Tree near Cottonwood

Yucca Tree near Cottonwood

 Camp Verde, AZ is approx. 90 miles north of Phoenix and about 40 miles South of Flagstaff.  As the June temperatures in Phoenix have been consistently over 100 degrees, Paul and I headed north to escape the heat.  The best part of the West Clear Creek Trail is that you cross the creek several times and it is deep enough to swim in places.  Even though it was cooler in Camp Verde, splashing ourselves in the creek was refreshing.  The creek/trail is in a canyon which serves as drainage for the Mogollon Rim.  In some places the canyon is 2,000 ft. deep.  The trail was easy as far as minimal elevation gain in the 4 miles that we hiked.  If we had hiked another 2.5 miles, the trail would have gotten steeper with over 1,800 ft gain.  We saw 2 young Big Horn Sheep on the side of the canyon wall. The area is rich with sycamores, cottonwoods, Arizona walnut and ash trees, with glimpses of red rocks periodically.  The road to get to the trail head was 13 miles of wash board, bumpy dirt road and steep in places.  A little challenging for a regular car.

Hike #34 - A.B. Young Trail, Sedona, AZ

For Memorial Day weekend, May 26-28th, Paul and I hiked in Flagstaff and Sedona.  This trail, A.B. Young was very close to the beautiful Bed & Breakfast Garland's where we stayed along Oak Creek.  We were spoiled with delicious food, cozy cabins, breathtaking views and warm/friendly people from all over the world. The trail starts at the Bootlegger campground and is 5 miles round trip with an elevation gain of 2,100'.  We kept our eyes peeled for rattlesnakes as another couple had seen one the day prior on the same trail.  It was a little tricky finding a safe place to cross the creek but that was part of the fun.  There were many interesting rock formations and the trail was lined with pink and orange penstemon flowers as well agave and shrubs which made the trail narrow in places.  Near the top we had shade from large ponderosa pine trees.  The trail ends at the East Pocket Fire Tower.  The ranger was there and let us climb to the top.  I took a video of the views from the tower. We shared a snack and much needed rest before heading back down the trail.

Rattlesnake Steve and Nancy saw the day prior

Oak Creek

East Pocket Fire Tower

Garlands Bed & Breakfast

Cabin at Garland's

Garland's

Cabin at Garlands

 

 

Hike #33 - Kendrick Mountain, Flagstaff, AZ

Kendrick Mountain is one of the less travelled trails in Flagstaff, AZ.  It is a moderate hike at 9.2 miles round trip and reaches the elevation of 10,418' with an elevation gain of 2,000'.  The views are worth the climb and there is a lookout tower at the top.  After about 4 miles we reached an old Forest Service Lookout cabin built in 1912-13 that still has bunk beds and emergency supplies.  The cabin would be a welcome shelter if you were caught on the mountain in a storm etc.  We hiked through forest of Douglas Fir, aspen and Engelman Spruce  trees. We hiked this trail on Memorial Day Weekend May 26, 2012.  It was cold and windy with a high in the 60's.

This photo of Kendrick Mtn was taken from Mt. Humphreys. I downloaded it from http://www.flickr.com/photos/alanenglish/2648448266/

Forest damaged by Pumpkin Fire in 2000

Old Forest Service Lookout Cabin built in 1912-13

15,000 acres of the Kendrick Wilderness was affected by the Pumpkin Fire in 2000.  We passed large open areas that had been burned by this fire.