by U2

Carolyn and I were able to head up to Sedona this past week thanks to my Hilton Team Member benefits and decided to spend a couple nights and get a hike in as well. Wednesday night we arrived at Vino Di Sedona in time for happy hour. I always go for their Bison Chili and it never disappoints. Great selection of craft beers and wine, plus friendly staff make it a fun stop.

We get to the Hilton Sedona Resort and it always feels like home since we have stayed there quite often and are recognized by their staff. Just love those Hilton travel benefits. Anyhow we plan on an early evening but I surprise Carolyn with a nice desert, the Smores Skillet: rocky road ice cream, Hershey’s chunks, toasted marshmallow fluff, graham cracker crumb Let’s agree that it was as good as it sounded. That was the splurge of the evening as Carolyn has a 12 mile hike up Loy Canyon to Secret Mountain cabin site.

It’s a long drive (about 50 minutes) from the hotel to get to the trailhead and we get started at 7:30. It’s already hot by Sedona standards when we get started.

The first three miles or so are like walking on the beach. Lots and lots of sand. On the west side of the trail there are some very beautiful red rock cliffs. Even though you are walking through areas of trees, the trail is very exposed to that bright sun. Around mile 4, you really start to climb up the side of the Rim. Some spots are narrow so you really have to watch your footing. Throughout our hike, we had to constantly battle flying insects as they seemed to constantly be swarming at us on our journey. Halfway up the Rim, Carolyn gets stung twice, once on each leg by what we believe was a wasp. It was quite painful for her and caused bruising and some swelling on her calves.

We get to the top of the Canyon trail and head on Secret Mountain trail for another mile to reach the now almost completely caved in cabin. We have taken our time and get to hang out for awhile but we can see monsoon clouds building so we start back down the canyon. It is quite beautiful but the hike is pretty tough for me in the heat and the sun beating down. I do stumble and fall into one those cactus plants that looks like an agave plant and it spears me right in my tricep. Battered and bleeding we head back down.

I drank 3 liters of water, and was beat on this hike. The terrain is mixed, rock and sand, so it jars your joints regularly. I wish we had brought our bug spray but I forgot and it was a battle on the entire hike with flying bugs. It felt great to be finished. This may have been one of my least favorite hikes I have done in the Sedona area due to the bugs, the heat, and the sun exposure but any hike is a great hike. Due to my slowness the 12 miles takes about 6 hours of hiking time with elevation gains of 2080 feet. (No wonder I was tired)

Though battered and weary, we traveled another mile down the road to see the Honanki Ruins. We were glad we did as they are just a short hike to see some dwellings on the sides of the cliffs. Some great petroglyphs are viewable as well. This added about another mile to our total for the day.

Headed back to the hotel, we stopped at Picazzos to see an old bartending friend that has served us for about 16 years: Robert. He’s great and we always love visiting him as he always makes us feel special and at home. By the way, he makes a great old fashion with Rebel Yell Bourbon. After our visit with Robert, we head over to Oak Creek Brewing Co. on Yavapai Drive. Don’t get this confused with the touristy one at Tlaquepaque. This one is the real deal and a great local hangout place. You also get free peanuts in the shell for soaking up the beer and replenishing lost salt from the hike. They have added a kolsch style beer that was truly amazing. Probably one of my favorites along with Huss Brewing’s Scottsdale Blonde.

Once again an amazing day that has worn me out. Even the Hilton’s Jacuzzi doesn’t take away all of the aches and pains and I have learned that a man will rise and a man will fall just like a fly on a wall especially when that man is me. I leave you with an oldie but goodie from U2. My favorite version of the Fly.